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!

One of the bastards bit me when i was a kid.

I don't trust any of them.

My Gran had a series of pekinese and chihuahuas which sat permanently on her lap. Whenever any of her grandchildren went over to her, or anywhere near her, they would growl and snap, often connecting to bite. None of us liked the dogs - Gran loved them but they were mostly untrained and not that well cared for. But it was very much a case of "go and give your Granny a kiss" and you just knew you'd get biten. Wasn't until I was about 10 and refused, and was able to explain why that my DM actually stood up for me and my DSis. And what did Granny say "He won't hurt you" when the proof of injury was plain to see.

Now I loved my Granny and my Granny loved me, and yet she continued to let her dogs hurt me. So yeah I don't believe dogs owners when they say "he won't hurt you".

How many billions of human / dog interactions are there every year? 32,000 is vanishingly rare. Also, one needs to understand whether they were actually attacks, or defensive bites. Even if you assume they were all attacks, which is really unlikely, it is still very low.

Of course, if you take the view that all of those were people happily minding their own business when a dog ran out of nowhere and bit them for absolutely no reason, then of course it is a startling statistic, but we both know it won't be that in reality.

Because they are unpredictable and they can bite.
They also jump up, have sharp claws and are strong. When I was little an Alsatian jumped on top of me and I’ve not liked them since.
I do a lot of walking and I really really do not like it if a dog approaches me and have very little tolerance for them.

I think another interesting question is why people who own large potentially dangerous dogs aren't more scared of ending up in prison or being taken to court in a civil lawsuit if their dog attacks someone.

I mean insurance could possibly cover the legal action (although it might not save you from negligence) but there is no cover you can take out that will prevent you from getting locked up.

Sure I can understand how someone with nothing to lose might not care, but someone with a decent house, job and life, why would you want to take that risk ?

Some had bad experiences as children.

But if you don’t have a bike you aren’t fast enough to get away. And children who are afraid of dogs are told not to run.

I’ve had a large dog get in the pram with my child at a market and the owner just laughed. A large dog is much taller than a young child and when they jump on them the child can be pushed over. Plus a lot of dogs behave differently when their owners aren’t there.

You mention snakes. Where I grew up (in Australia for context) I regularly saw (venomous) snakes but they never jumped on me or bit me, whereas dogs actually do that. Plus you saying small dogs aren’t scary, spiders are also small and fluffy but some people are scared of them.

For two main reasons, I think:

1. They have had a bad experience with a dog
2. Learned behaviour. Their parent/sibling/grandparent etc. is afraid of dogs and has passed that on to them, either consciously or unconsciously

When my children were little a dog ran towards us, I had a bad vibe so I picked up my children and the dog bit through my trousers, into my leg. It was fine, no real damage done, although it wasn't in the UK, so I did need to go and get a rabies shot, just in case.

Ever since then my children have been afraid of dogs, which does kinda make sense to me. A dog could have done more damage to a small child.

Denial 🙄. You forget you need to add to that number all the bites and attacks and ‘he’s only being friendly’ wank that doesn’t get reported. It’s a real problem. And people like you are part of that problem.

It isn't denial. My point is that in terms of how many interactions between humans and dogs occur, being bitten is rare. Being bitten without advanced warning is even more rare.

That doesn't detract from the seriousness and impact that those events have, which can cause future fear for those involved. But it also doesn't mean that every dog is likely to bite without reason or provocation, and that we should all walk around wringing our hands if we see a dog a hundred feet away.

Regulation of training, boarding, daycare and breeding would be helpful. At the moment, anyone can call themselves a trainer and they don't have to have any formal knowledge to do so. People can source dogs from all sorts of random places. In truth, it is a wonder there aren't more instances.

32,000 dog bites/attacks a year is not vanishingly rare

That is 87 attacks per day.

Posters who minimise this kind of thing give good dog owners a bad name.

Because dogs can kill.

Thank you for your insightful response, this is the kind of understanding of the situation I was after.

That must have been terrifying for both you and your poor dog.

I'm not scared of dogs I think largely because I can tell whether I need to be worried from their body language. I'm scared stiff of cats though even though I have never been savaged by a cat. For me, as I have poor eyesight their moving silently bothers me, I can't tell what they are thinking and their claws and teeth and their ability to jump makes me nervous..

Knocked over as a 2 year old at nursery by a great dane. Chased by a loose doberman when out delivering milk, pinned up against a walk by a staffie growling and keep moving forward towards my leg whilst the stupid owner was across the street saying it's soft and finally getting bitten by another dog.

I don't agree with dogs being locked in rooms in their own homes though, I just don't visit.

I was once walking up the road when I was 8/9ish and went past a front garden with a dog in it. It ran straight up to me (no provocation other than walking on a public footpath) and nipped me on my ankle. Not deep enough to break the skin fully but it bloody hurt. Every single time I walked on this path this dog would try to nip my ankles. I wasn’t the only one this dog did this to and these nips were never reported. There are a lot of shit dog owners out there. How many of these instances are unreported?

I grew up with a dog, my family all had dogs, I used to love them. I have posted earlier about a family member nearly dying from blood loss after their own dog went for their neck and wouldn’t let go. It was a very hot day and it must have sent it nasty. No warning. Just went fucking apeshit and went for her. I now massively distrust dogs (and owners). Plus I live in an area where a pet shop says bully’s are very welcome there for a cuddle and you have 11 year old kids walking them about without a muzzle. As if they could stop one on a rampage. Don’t even get me started on the turds left on the pavement that are longer than my arms.

Sorry that happened to you. For clarity, I am not saying it doesn't happen, what I am saying is that it is rare. In the instance you quote, the dog shouldn't be allowed access to the pavement, so definitely a training / control and management problem. You also don't say how old the dog was, not that you'd necessarily know at that age, but it sounds like a puppy / young dog. That doesn't excuse the dog's behaviour as it is more of a reason for the dog to be controlled.

Also, with the second instance, there could be a hundred reasons for why the dog bit its owner, but it is unlikely that the owner would have seen any of them. That does not deny the seriousness of the situation, but it is almost certain that there was a trigger of some sort.

Please don't think I am diminishing the circumstances. I have been badly bitten myself by a rescue. The trigger was that he had been abused by a drunk (I didn't know this at the time), and I had a beer. The smell of alcohol was sufficient for him to not wait for the abuse to start. Poor thing. There was absolutely a trigger though. It is not always possible to avoid the trigger, also, the target might be nothing to do with the trigger, but there usually is one, and there is usually a lot of warning.

Childhood incident in my case / I’m fine with them now , but was scared as a kid!

The law just isn't strong enough. In my view if a dog bites you (or causes you an injury in some other way, eg it's off lead, bounds over to you when you are cycling past and knocks you off your bike so you break your arm or similar), the owner should be done for ABH, GBH - or manslaughter, depending on how bad the attack is. Basically owners need to be charged in the same way they would if they had attacked you.

I suspect that would concentrate a lot of minds.

But it will never happen - the government just obsesses about certain breeds.

And it's only the ones that were reported. It's not so easy to report now either because a lot of councils have got rid of their dog wardens and people are less likely to go to the police unless it's serious.

It also doesn't include all the times dogs go for other dogs.

I hate their horrible black gums.

They smell.

It really hurts when they bite and most adults I know have been bitten.

I’m allergic to them so having them run up to me and lick me brings me out in a rash. Or if I come into contact with their fur.

They are dirty. People have them on seats and on tables in cafes and restaurants. People have them sitting on bus seats.

My brother got part of his ear lobe bitten off by a drunk woman on ket. He doesn't avoid women.

Don't be silly. You can't compare women to dogs.