[KWCFC]

I have had this problem for a while and dont know what to do.

Whenever Buddy here's the sound of the iron board coming out he runs to a corner in the kitchen he normally goes to if he is scared or wants some alone time. I have no idea why he is like this and I am wondering if he may of had a bad experience in the past. He has had 2 previous owners before us.

I have tried giving him treats everytime I get the iron board out so he associates it as a good thing but he doesnt eat when he's scared. I have even tried putting the actual iron on the floor so he can sniff it and familiarise himself with it but he just seems to get even more stressed.

Any ideas? I'm not sure whether it is the board or the iron but he wont come near either.

 

[_anita_]

Thats a new one on me! Good excuse not to do the ironing though!!

Have you tried not putting the ironing board up but just leaving it flat on the floor with some treats on and leaving him to it? He may come out to investigate it, give it a good sniff and then decide its not so scary after all! Rueben was nervous of the hoover when he was tiny. I used to just get the hoover out of the cupboard and he'd run for the hills! The treat thing worked with that (took a while but worked in the end) He now chases it around like a nutcase!

Probably not much help but all I can think of!

Anita & Rueben
xXx

 

[vonandruf]

Aww poor Buddy.

How old is he?

Rufus doen't like the ironing board or the hoover, he is two now and he's always been with us. No bad experiences, he just doesn't like them.

He has got better though. I just try to ignore but accept his fears. Act like there's no big deal. He has got better, he just slopes away and watches from a distance until the offensive item disappears.

Yvonne

 

[_Donna_]

My previous lab hated the ironing board and used to try atack it when i used it, not good when there's an iron on it. I just never took any notice of her when she started and she would give in and go find somethng else to do. She did this til that day she died and she was with me from 8 weeks old.

Alfie hates it too, he hides in his crate when i got to put it up. Again i take no notice of him on the hope that one day he might just get used to it.

 

[...]

I hate the ironing board too and tend to hide in a corner until someone puts it away. 8O :wink: :lol:

Seriously though, I think its that horrid noise they make when you put them up or down. Most dogs I know are wary of them and some run and hide too.

 

[KWCFC]

Thanks for the help guys. I will try the suggestions mentioned but if they dont work then I will just have to accept the fact that he doesnt like them.

 

[_Donna_]

Thanks for the help guys. I will try the suggestions mentioned but if they dont work then I will just have to accept the fact that he doesnt like them.

and you no longer have to so the ironing as you have the best excuse ever.... :lol: :lol: :lol: :lol:

 

[anniesophie]

Annie hates the ironing board as well. She waits until I start to put it away and then trys to attack it. Funny little thing she is. She also won't walk down a road where there are two elderly mini daxies that yap
they scare her rigid I thought she was going to slip her harness the other evening.

 

[Luna-Tuck]

Well I sport a creased look not because Luna dislikes the ironing board but because I do!!!!

Luna was scared of vacuum and would shake/hide and not eat when it was brought out. She no longer shakes or hides she lies down where she is and moves as the vacuum approaches. She will also now eat whilst I am vacuuming.

Here's what I did!

1) made a recording of the vacuum being got out, used and put away again and played it as often as I remembered at a steadily increasing volume.

2) I vacuumed EVERYDAY for only 5 mins at a time

3) I completely ignored Luna, I even try to avoid looking at her

4) I left the vacuum out in lots of different places

5) I hid treats on the vacuum when we played hidey hotdog

6) I sometimes pushed it around without putting it on or just picked it up and walked around with in my hands.

7) I don't particularly enjoy vacuuming so thought Luna could be picking up on this too. I try to believe vacuuming is THE most positive experience while I'm doing it whilst also staying as calm as possible!

Most of these could be applied to the ironing board. I wasn't happy accepting Luna shaking and hiding from something that was an everyday part of life so put the effort in to trying to change her response to the vacuum. It's been a year of work so far!!!

Good luck!

 

[-Angela-]

I'm not sure Minnie has ever seen the ironing board :lol: :lol:

If he's heading away from it and therefore not likely to knock into it in fear and hurt himself/you/the carpet, I would do as others have suggested and just not make a big deal of it, or even put him in another room while you're ironing

One of mine was really wary of the hoover when we first adopted them, I don't know that they'd had a bad experience, but the hoover *is* something I use a lot. I put them out of the room at first but gradually over the years they've got better and will stay in the same room, but they are still not 100% comfortable and just tend to hide on the sofa/an armchair and move when I get close.