Why are some people genuinely frightened of dogs?

[WanderingStar26]

Not a TAAT but kind of inspired by one.

I adore dogs, I have my own dogs, I work with dogs, and my hobby revolves around dogs. I had dogs growing up and with the very odd exception, I’ve never felt any fear towards any dog.

But I understand that some people are terrified of them, and I’m really interested to understand why? Is it an instinctive fear, which now I think about it would make sense as dogs are descended from wolves, or is it based on a past negative experience? It seems to be more children that have an obvious fear, so do people grow out of feeling scared, or just learn to conceal their fear as they get older?

I’m not talking about just not liking them, I realise dogs aren’t for everyone, but an actual fear. My dogs are tiny and not at all aggressive but I still don’t let them approach people unless the person wants them to. I’m honestly not trying to mock or judge, just genuinely intrigued to know more about this fear and whether it’s rational or irrational, and whether it’s something people can overcome. It must be hard to live with either way as dogs are everywhere!

I’d say both of those circumstances are completely rational - bully type dogs ARE definitely terrifying. A relative of a friend of mine was one of the headlines of people savaged to death by them. I can’t understand why anyone would want to get a dog capable of killing them or someone else.

And yes, I’d also be wary of a pack of stray dogs, they have no one keeping them in check and they could definitely be at least a nuisance, if not dangerous.

I get people saying 'oh they wouldn't hurt a fly', and my response is 'well I'm not a fly', how about you keep your barking jumping dog away from me.

I'm fine with dogs walking calmly on lead.
I'm not fine with dogs careering around the place off lead, jumping up at me, because they're "friendly".
Some dog owners are openly offended that my 3 year old doesn't want to stroke their random dog that apparently "loves children".

We even saw someone take their dog into the toilets of a motorway service station last week.

I am terrified of rats - can't tell you why, l just am.
Dogs are unpredictable- even the most docile one can go for you. That's possibly why.

I was bitten by a large dog as a teenager. He was tied up outside a shop and bite the back of my thigh as I walked past. I’m now very wary of any dog and the off lead dogs that run up to any passing person terrify me. The owners always insist their friendly but it doesn’t help.

im also highly allergic to fur and dog saliva. I wish I wasn’t this way

Nope, so far people said it's due to their experiences with them.

Now I live somewhere that has rules around dogs on leads I never think about being nervous around them as I know the owners have control. The UK is crazy about letting dog owners behave badly and letting dog off leads all the time running wild it is no wonder people get scared. It happen a lot to small kids when they are unable to defend themselves and it continues to be reinforced throughout their lives by ignorant owners.

If you look up how many people were injured or killed by dogs each year in the UK it is not an irrational fear at all.

I'm quite (very) short and I think that dogs jumping up at me is probably worse because they are immediately at face-height.

I've been bitten and scratched by dogs and it happens fairly regularly - at least once a year now. I think it might be my size and I also have a lot of 'prey animal' pets so I suspect I smell like something to chase.

I did not know either of those things, thank you. I’d heard that everyone was born with a fear of either spiders or snakes, but that could well be nonsense.

Maybe fear of dogs is a social construct in the UK (and I’m sure many other countries too), because they are the only animal we are likely to encounter on a daily basis that are capable of hurting us. Maybe if we had native lions or killer snakes, our focus would be more on them. I know when I’ve visited countries such as Thailand where there are large numbers of stray dogs roaming around the place, they just seem to co exist and humans and dogs just seem to go about their days ignoring each other.

Pretty much any dog can kill - some are more likely than others

I thought I’d share my situation from a different perspective for you, I have very severe OCD so for me i have a fear the germs from the dogs touching on me. I do love dogs though and I like to talk to them and wave at them just can’t bear to be touched by them. Feeling like I have germs on me will literally give me a physical pain it’s so bad. I absolutely love whippets and hope one day I can overcome my germ fears as I would love to get one one day. I’m like this with everything (except my husband and kids thankfully). I had cbt just before Covid as I constantly wash my hands over and over again until they’re cracked and red raw and use hand gel constantly and the therapist tried to ease my mind assuring me that if I get germs on me they won’t kill me, then Covid hit and it made me even worse as it re-enforced my fears. People believe I’m scared of their dogs but seem to think if they keep letting them jump up at me I will be cured as they seem to be insulted I don’t want to stroke their dogs as apparently the dog only wants to say hello and if I just stroke the dog and let it lick me it will leave me alone which seems really unfair as I don’t allow my children to jump on anyone in the same way. X

The only people I know who are or have been afraid of dogs are those who grew up in households with no pets.

Not sure that's true. My parents lived in Spain and did a lot of hill-walking and actually carried pepper spray and a knife because of the wild dogs!!

I don't like dogs, or most animals.

They can be aggressive and unpredictable, their owners think everyone wants to see/hear/touch them like they do.

Maybe fear of dogs is a social construct in the UK

I'm not sure I agree with this. Many posters have been attacked by dogs, yet you seem to dismiss and minimise their very real concerns.

I think it’s a combination of factors:

• lack of exposure to dogs
• media stories about dangerous dogs
• issues over perception of hygiene (this is an issue for my MIL)
• poor training/dog control
• the ridiculous rise in dog ownership in the last decade at least (covid puppies, but also, I think as baby substitutes for people with a need to care for something but not able to afford to start a family)
• the fact that so many hospitality venues are now dog friendly - great if you have/like dogs [like me] but awful if you really are not keen, and really, perhaps like smoking areas there should be ‘dog free zones’ in some of these establishments
• cultural issues [muslim delivery guys, esp for Amazon, will not deliver to my door because they are afraid of dogs - they are oftenferal, or working breeds in most Asian nations, and considered haram by strict adherents to Islam]

Not sure what the answer is… but I adore my spaniels and am very much ‘love me, love my dogs’, but I do have one friend who is not comfortable with dogs, so I just meet her outside my home. All but two of my close friends are also dog owners, so I guess I have simply edited out people for whom dogs are an issue from my social circle.

Chihuahuas are one of the most aggressive breeds!

I guess because apart from the one example I gave last night, I’ve never seen any reason to be. I don’t understand humans too well, but I do understand dogs. They are unpredictable, but they’re predictably unpredictable, nothing tends to happen in a vacuum with them, they display warning signs/signs of showing anxiety or aggression before they are likely to hurt you, and I understand those signs. But I appreciate not everyone does so any dog approaching them is a potential threat. I’d say the exception for this is the dogs bred for fighting, eg pit bulls and bullies, which do seem to attack just for the fun of it. I live rurally but I’d imagine if you live somewhere that you’re regularly encountering these kinds of dogs, that would be pretty scary.

You've missed out 'having been bitten by dogs'.

I don’t understand humans too well

That much is clear. Sorry.

Although, you are correct that people are very unpredictable.

Dogs have the ability to be very dangerous and are often kept by people with no understanding of dog behaviour, are untrained and put in situations very carelessly that could cause harm to them or people.

If you had a horse you wouldn't have it roaming free around a group of young excited kids. But people think nothing of that with dogs. People are just so used to them they don't see the danger.

I dont have a general fear of dogs but I am scared of large dogs that are capable of killing someone. Even if I am told they are friendly.

Because too many aren't under control. Even the "friendly" ones will jump up at you with muddy paws on your clean clothes, or try to lick you or shake all over you when they've just come out of the water. The less friendly ones can be aggressive and menacing with growling, barking, etc. And far too many owners encourage it and don't seem to understand that others don't want to be attacked (friendly or otherwise) by their dog. Also lots of owners have no control at all, i.e. dogs off leads, dogs on stupid extendable leads, which allows dogs to do what they feel like doing, with some pathetic shouting/squealing from the owner to "stop it daisy!" that the dog inevitably ignores. And I'm saying that from someone whose family have had dogs all my life - I'm still wary of other dogs that aren't on leads or on stupid extendable leads as most of the time, the owner doesn't have control and you never know what an animal will do, however "friendly" it appears to be.

It’s an animal and it can attack!!!!

Most people have NOT been bitten by a dog though - they FEAR being bitten by one for the reasons I listed above.

That said, I HAVE been bitten by a dog when I was a child, broken skin, tetanus jab etc - that didn’t manifest into a lifelong fear of dogs, so it’s not a given.

There are far too many dogs, which I did list, and amongst those far too many larger/aggressive/working breeds that really ought not be allowed in domestic settings ever.

Could be lived experience, lack of experience or passed on fear.

Could be a badly trained dog, my kids are scared of one family dog but have lived with our pet dog all their lives.