This week we took our cue from Oreo over at Sara’s blog.  We’re working on the vacuum cleaner!

Ever since she was a little tiny puppy Katie has hated the vacuum cleaner.  I don’t know if she thinks she is protecting me, or if it’s a game, but she barks and growls and pounces and bites the vacuum.  She’s so vicious I am afraid she’ll break a tooth.  So mostly I put her outside when I do the vacuuming, and frankly I don’t vacuum as often as I should.  Which isn’t such a bad thing when you stop and think about it.  Sort of liberating actually.

But wait.  I digress.

I can’t even touch the handle of the closet door behind which lurks the evil vacuum without her spinning in circles and barking hysterically. To actually drag the hose out creates mayhem.  And turn it ON?  Unthinkable.

So one day this week I put her in a sit/stay and opened the closet door! If she barked I closed the door and walked away.  No treat.  I tried again later.  Eventually she sat while I opened the door and she got her treat.

Next we tried MOVING the vacuum hose.  Same deal.  Sit, don’t bark and you get a treat.  I’ve left the hose and the vacuum heads sitting in the middle of the living room floor for a couple of days now.  She doesn’t have a problem with that…

…until I move that evil vacuum head…it’s not even turned ON yet…then she gets all crazy again.

Sigh.  So much more work to do.  Of course we haven’t put in the hours and hours of relaxation work that Sara and Oreo have done.  Just goes to show…if you don’t do the work, you don’t earn the treat.

My treat would be to vacuum in peace.  I think.