Guest Posted January 7, 2011 Share Posted January 7, 2011 My dd3 is afraid of dogs. We went to a park day today and we ended up leaving early because she was just terrified of all the dogs that people had brought. These dogs were on leashes and weren't all huge dogs. She is just terrified of them. I'm not sure what to do. In normal circumstances, I'd just avoid them and let her grow out of it. But, this Friday group is a homeschool group that we belong to. Suggestions? We're not allowed to have a dog in our house and we don't really know anyone with one, either. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lovinmyboys Posted January 7, 2011 Share Posted January 7, 2011 I have no advice. My DS (almost 3) is terrified of dogs. My IL's have 2 old,gentle dogs and we tried to gently introduce them, but have given up. He freaks out! He has been scared of dogs since he was just a few months old. When he was 5mos old, my SIL even told me I should video his reaction to a dog because she said later no one would believe me that he was that scared that young. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
chickenpatty Posted January 7, 2011 Share Posted January 7, 2011 My dd11 was terrified of dogs when she was that age. If there was one in sight, she would literally climb up my body to try to get away from it. She overcame her fear when I had to leave her (at age 4) and her siblings with my bil & sil for a few days while my great gramma (who raised me) was dying in the hospital. Bil & sil had a very hyper, nutty, big dog, but miraculously, dd got used to him & was no longer afraid of dogs. She's not an animal lover now, but definitely not afraid. I don't know if it was because I wasn't there when she was around the dog or what it was that helped her get over her fear. Anyway... all that to say... I'm sorry. I hope your dd overcomes her fear of dogs, too! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
chickenpatty Posted January 7, 2011 Share Posted January 7, 2011 That reminds me! When my dd was a small infant, she would cry whenever she heard our neighbor's dog bark - and he was across the street! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dobela Posted January 7, 2011 Share Posted January 7, 2011 My dd3 is afraid of dogs when they are out and about. I think the unpredictable behavior is what scares her most. She does much better with smaller, very calm dogs. Maybe you could take her to a pet store or humane places for her to see other dogs. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rosie_0801 Posted January 7, 2011 Share Posted January 7, 2011 So is mine. They are large compared to her, loud and unpredictable. But she's quite ok with reptiles and tried to stuff a snake back in its box as it was trying to escape when we were out at a family fun day once :lol: So I've no idea. Every time I think we've got her to calm down and be ok with them, she has another experience with a large, loud dog and it sets her off for months. I think I'll just have to wait until the difference in size is larger. Rosie Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Posted January 7, 2011 Share Posted January 7, 2011 Well, it's good to know that she's in good company.... Our group meets under a relatively small ramada, so either I'm under it talking to the other moms, or I'm out on the playground, which is very lonely, lol! Normally my dd will go play on the playground, but today there were really a lot of dogs, so she stuck with me and it just wasn't pretty. I wish there was something I could say to her to ease her fear, but it doesn't sound like it. :( Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bootsie Posted January 7, 2011 Share Posted January 7, 2011 I have always been terrified of dogs. A couple of years ago I had allergy testing done--guess what I am highly allergic to-DOGS. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
weaver_67579 Posted January 7, 2011 Share Posted January 7, 2011 (edited) Many of the members will likely have registered therapy dogs or know a therapy group in the area. One or some of them may be willing to work with you. People that work with kids and/or handicapped kids will be best. those dogs will be used to eratic kid behavior and yelling-jerky movements... All 4 of the dogs I have/do own are/were therapy dogs and having a screaming kid wouldn't phase them a bit (probably having to live with 3 kiddos-desensitized them...well and the specific teaching I did such as pulling ears and hair....) My poor Dalmatian that I lost last Easter had a kiddo about 1 1/2 pull his tongue out of his mouth at an education booth one time. He just stayed down and looked at me till I could get the kid to let go. Helping kids (and even adults) with this probem can be very helpful. There are a lot of dogs in this world. Also-a screaming running kid may in fact incite a prey drive response from a dog. It is in fact one of the worst things to do around a strange/agressive/fearful dog and one of the things first things I instructed when teaching bite prevention-do not run screaming from a dog. Edited January 7, 2011 by weaver_67579 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Laurie Posted January 7, 2011 Share Posted January 7, 2011 Our group meets under a relatively small ramada, so either I'm under it talking to the other moms, or I'm out on the playground, which is very lonely, lol! Normally my dd will go play on the playground, but today there were really a lot of dogs, so she stuck with me and it just wasn't pretty. I wish there was something I could say to her to ease her fear, but it doesn't sound like it. :( Is this a city park? There are signs posted at our city parks to let people know that no dogs are allowed on the playground. Could you contact someone and find out about restricting the play area to people only? That's what I would do. Even dogs on a leash can be frightening...especially if it's one of those popular retractable leashes that some owners use. I'm afraid of some of the dogs who are pulling their owners around on those! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Truscifi Posted January 7, 2011 Share Posted January 7, 2011 Ds7 was afraid of dogs when he was that age. He outgrew it as he got bigger and they didn't. :D Really though, he is still a bit skittish about crazy huge dogs, but the reaction is much less dramatic, and he is fine with dogs that aren't big enough to knock him over and sit on him. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
hillfarm Posted January 8, 2011 Share Posted January 8, 2011 Could you perhaps contact a local humane shelter or veterinarian and find someone with small, very young puppies that your dd could help bottle feed? I have seen that putting someone in a position of power and care giving often helps to make them more confident. Then I would consider letting her observe (at a distance) some small puppies playing and running around with each other. Explain to her that their barking and biting are play behaviors for puppies. I would not put her in close physical contact with the puppies because they do tend to nip and those little puppy teeth are sharp. They also often accidentally scratch and jump up. But I would assure her that this behavior was perfectly natural and a puppy's way of rough housing, not violence intended to harm each other. And then I would see if she could shadow someone with a therapy dog, letting her know that the dog was specially trained to help people who were in the hospital or nursing home, etc. Perhaps after observing a while, she could be permitted to be the one to hold the leash to walk the dog to the next patient visit. (Again putting her in a position of power and authority.) I totally agree with the pp's about it not being safe to have children that are terrified of dogs. There are just too many dogs in the world and you will not always be close enough or quick enough to keep your child from reacting to them. I would be much more worried about a terrified child rushing out into traffic or some other unsafe area than I would be of the dog attacking. If you can't work this out yourself, I would definitely ask your pediatrician for a referral to a child psychologist who could help you through this. A terrified child is a child in danger. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
the4Rs Posted January 8, 2011 Share Posted January 8, 2011 My daughter is terrified of dogs too...and some cats. This has been as long as I can remember. She literally starts shaking, jumpy or frozen if they come near, her heart races, and she can't do anything if they are near. I blame a good portion of it on my MIL who got a puppy when Emma was a toddler. She never trained the stupid animal who was jumpy skittish and would knock Emma over all the time. She was scared. Then we've had some loose dogs circle us on walks growling or barking and even some come into our yard from our neighbors with hackles raised toward my kids. She esp doesn't like ones that are black with black eyes. She doesn't like that she can't see their faces clearly. I will say she does MUCH better around old animals that move very slowly. All that to say you aren't alone. We tried everything we could to get her over it and it only seemed to make it worse...now we just talk calmly to her. I figure she just has to grow out of it when she's older. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
annlaura Posted January 8, 2011 Share Posted January 8, 2011 I was terrified of other people's dogs as a child even though my family always had them. I loved ours, and would slowly become comfortable with friend's dogs if introduced carefully. Size didn't matter much, although bigger dogs were naturally even scarier. I think pp suggestions of therapy dogs, bottle feeding puppies, etc, are good. If you will be seeing the same dogs every week, talk with the owners about slowly introducing them to your dd. Maybe she could help you make some dog treats to take to the park. If she can have the dogs sit for her treat, she might feel some control. I hope it gets better. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
zimom Posted January 9, 2011 Share Posted January 9, 2011 My daughter has the sweetest dog.... she is her service dog. If anyone is near us that is scared of dogs, she can definately help you overcome your fear! She especially loves small children and knows to go into a 'down' and roll to get as low as possible so that she isn't intimidating. She will stay that way forever for belly rubs. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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