Sunday, October 26, 2014
Testable theory //// EDIT: Tested.
A dog's hatred of vacuum cleaners is usually explained on the basis of noise. Not the only possible connection. Different vacuums make very different sounds, but all have one thing in common.
Trying to fit myself into a dog's perspective ... I hate the vacuum because it creates confusion and chaos. It snatches up the millions of unique and interesting smells that properly reside in millions of places on the floor, and mixes them all into one big fast-moving everything-smell. Sort of like putting kaleidoscope glasses on a human.
The hypothesis should be easy to test.
Do deaf dogs hate vacuum cleaners?
Update: I should have checked Youtube before asking! Most questions about behavior and culture are answered decisively on Youtube. The clear (and cute) answer is:
Deaf dogs love vacuums, or at least think vacuums are interesting. So the conventional assumption is right. It's the noise, not the smell!
Later: After watching a wider variety of dog vs vacuum clips, the correlation disappears. Some normal-hearing dogs like vacuums, and many of them fight the vacuum even when it's turned off. Maybe it's the snake-like shape, not the noise or the smell. Mammals certainly have an inborn fear and hatred of snakes.
¶ 7:28 PM 
