“Stop That! Bad!” — Man Disciplines Vacuum Cleaner to Try to Ease His Dogs’ Anxiety

Humanity has seen many classic rivalries. Achilles vs. Hector. Jesus vs. the Romans. The French vs. Hygiene. Hatfields vs. the McCoys. Lakers vs. Celtics.

And, of course, dogs vs. vacuum cleaners.

It's not difficult to understand why canines perceive these mysterious machines to be threats; they're loud, they have no face, and they hang low to the ground.

"You're scaring my dogs; bad vacuum!" the man in this viral TikTok video shouts as he stands, shirtless and in a towel around his pups. He smacks the vacuum cleaner as the pets stand there watching his activity, wagging their tails, seemingly happy that their owner is taking a stand against the machine that has presumably brought them so much grief.

"Stop that," he says, pointing to the vacuum again, the dogs still looking on. "Stop that, bad," he says, slapping the machine once more. He looks to the dogs, clearly having fun with the scenario: "I got it, Ellie, don't worry."

He then points to the vacuum cleaner and begins rattling off commands: "Sit," he says as he grabs the handle and the cleaner begins to collapse in on itself.

This is clearly not how he wanted the vacuum to behave.

"Sit!" he shouts again, as he places the vacuum cleaner upright. He points at it again: "Sit."

Before the video ends, one of the dogs approaches the vacuum cleaner, but still keeps distance. The dog lets out a muffled bark and the video is over.

So why was the man in the video smacking a vacuum cleaner in front of his dogs? According to a caption for the post, he wasn't just doing it for comedic effect, but rather for the benefit of his puppies.

The Weishaar family wrote: "We saw something that said if you discipline your vacuum your dog won’t be scared of it anymore."

And it seems like there are other folks on TikTok who've tried similar approaches as a means of getting their dogs feeling less intimidated by their vacuum cleaners, probably in the hopes of ensuring they won't wig out every single time they want to simply clean their carpets.

Alyssa (@itsmelyssk) wrote in a text overlay for her video: "Punishing my vacuum to see if my dog will stop attacking it."

In the video, Alyssa makes good on her promise of scolding the vacuum cleaner, and it does seem like her hard stance against the cleaning apparatus ultimately ended up working and her pup stopped attacking it so viciously.

Folks who saw the Weishaar family's video had a litany of different reactions to the clip. There was one person who recommended being kind to the vacuum cleaner as a means of letting the dogs think that it's not the enemy, but a friend: "What if you tell the vacuum it’s a good dog and give it positive reinforcement so the dogs thinks it’s good and not bad?"

But there were other folks who thought that punishing the vacuum cleaner was exactly what the doctor ordered; the Weishaar family's dogs, according to one TikTok user, were relishing the future moment when someone in the household would finally stand up to the vacuum cleaner for its poor behavior.

"The tail wags; they been waiting for this moment for a loooonnnggg time," they wrote.

Which was a sentiment echoed by someone else who penned: "The dogs are like, man… we’ve been trying to tell you guys how awful this thing was…."

And someone else added: "They are so honored to be stood up for, you can tell."

And if you've ever wondered why dogs seem to hate vacuum cleaners so much, Animals Matter penned a lengthy article exploring possible answers to this dogged question that's persisted for so long. The outlet explains: "Many dogs are naturally afraid of vacuums, just like they may be afraid of thunderstorms. The machine makes a high-frequency noise that can hurt your dog's ears or cause significant distress."

The piece went on to explain: "Keep in mind that dogs can hear at much higher pitches than the average human ear, which can increase that fear. Over time, even the presence of the vacuum when it is turned off and making no sound can induce your dog to bark."

Do you have pets? Have you found that they are super afraid of the vacuum cleaner for seemingly no reason? Will you be trying the vacuum disciplinary method? Or have you discovered your own means of ensuring that your pups are never afraid of another household appliance ever again?