A dog owner posted a viral TikTok sharing how to get your pet to stop being scared of the vacuum or blow dryer.
Candacce (@candacce) has reached over 1.4 million views and 229,000 likes on her video by Thursday.
She captioned her video, “not to be dramatic but whoever gave me this tip deserves a nobel peace prize.”
To start, Candacce references another TikTok she saw talking about pets being scared of the vacuum. “Someone on here said that if you want your dog to stop being scared of the vacuum or the blow dryer, you have to like discipline it,” she says.
She says yelling “No!” and treating the vacuum or blow dryer like it’s another dog, not an inanimate object, works to discipline the appliance.
“Whoever told me this tip, thank you,” she says. “I hope you find $100 on the floor this week.”
Candacce says her dog used to jump out of her arms when she used the blow dryer on him because “he was so scared of it.” Next, she sets her phone on the floor in front of herself and her dog and pulls out the hair dryer.
“No, bad!” she says to the hair dryer while holding her dog in her arms. “Now, look.”
After “disciplining” the hair dryer, Candacce turns it on to dry her dog’s coat. The dog sits calmly in her hand while she dries the back of his coat.
“He would not let me get the front of his coat, ever,” she adds. “But now … I’m disciplining the blow dryer, he’s like, ‘Yeah, you listen to my mommy!’”
Before ending her video, she says, “So, if you have a dog that hates the vacuum or a blow dryer … I’m just saying, you should try it.”
A viewer who received over 24,000 likes on their comment suggested, “Maybe he feels like you are in control and the dryer will listen to you so he trusts you to keep him safe.”
“Definitely works. I beat the vacuum and my dog stopped being afraid of it,” a second said.
Another viewer wrote, “I tried doing this and my dog ATTACKED the vacuum to back me up. I guess that’s halfway good but also d*mn.”
@candacce not to be dramatic but whoever gave me this tip deserves a nobel peace prize (sorry for the cracked screen lol) #fyp #foryou #fypシ ♬ original sound – candacce
According to ADAPTIL, there are a few steps you can take to calm down your pet before “disciplining” your vacuum.
First, you can “help them adjust gradually with exposure training.”
“Start by placing the vacuum in the room, without turning it on,” the site states. “Then bring your dog into the room and let them explore around the vacuum in their own time. If they are immediately spooked by the sight of the vacuum, try distracting them with play, and encouraging them to focus on you.”
The next step is to “reward positive behavior.”
“To build their confidence – with the vacuum still off – help your dog move near the vacuum by feeding a treat, moving closer, and feeding another treat,” the site continues. “This can help them understand not to be spooked whenever they see the vacuum standing around the house!”
Then, ADAPTIL suggests you “help your pet adjust to the noise” by reassuring your dog while the vacuum is on and rewarding them with treats for remaining calm. When your dog has gotten comfortable with the vacuum being on in the same room as them, you can introduce the noise and movement of the vacuum at the same time.
ADAPTIL says to remember that “Rewarding calm behavior at every stage with treats and praise is crucial to help them know that they are doing a good job for staying calm!”
The Daily Dot reached out to Candacce via email.
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