be gentil of a dog nature.

[Scaredandalone]

I am sick to death of my family coming over and demanding my dog go out in the garden. My family are only scared of dogs because I was mauled by one as a child but I recently got over that fear and we now own a dog.

When I was scared of dogs I never expected people to put their dog outside. If I really could not handle it I didn't go to their house.

However my family demand I put my dog outside when he is normally behind a safety gate when guests arrive. But I think what bothers me most is I am doing them a favor doing free childcare and they dictate the terms of the favor by saying I will have to put the dog out. But waiting till a hour before they start work so they cant find anyone else so I have to ablige. I am very pissed off AIBU please tell me so I can either suck it up or put my foot down.

BTW he is a labrador and they screamed when he was a 8 week puppy which encouraged him to jump up.

YANBU. You don't like my dodg, don't come to my house.

My family are coming for x-mas tea and my mum asked what I was going to do with my dogs. I told her I didn't understand what she was talking about. I would walk them before tea and they would have their own tea in their crate while we eat ours and then they will most likely snuggle up on someones lap like they always do.

Thanks he has stayed behind the gate and not gone in the garden [hsmile]. I use my friends who are unafraid of dogs to socialize him because I find relatives screaming just makes him worse, more excitable so he is allowed out with about 50% of my guests.

My dog is bouncy. My nephew is horrifed of him. I usually find if I crate my dog while everyone is getting in and wait until every one is settled down and playing and then let my dog, he is not not so fussed on bouncinga round and will usually go and settle himself in the quietest room.

Some people feel extremely uncomfortable around animals...I wouldn't take it personally.

I am very wary of dogs, and on those occasions where people have not removed them from the room, I have sat on the edge of my seat with my heart in my mouth watching the clock until I could leave, and I would never want anyone to feel like that in my home.

The fact that you are doing them a favour shouldn't necessarily make a difference as to whether you want them to feel like that, but I suppose if you think they are taking advantage already, this might be a good way to put them off!

ChoChoSan I used to put him out but my family wanted me to re-home him and this is one of the hardest things I have done facing my fear so they would remind me of how ill I was and tell me stories of people bitten by dogs and they are not that scared because they like my mums dog who is a small dog.

It is just big dogs so they cant be that scared. I am annoyed at them for not supporting me in what has been a very hard thing they were never as scared as me they have all owned dogs at some point.

Well done for facing your fear. Your family don't sound that nice tbh. My mum has thing about dogs 'with unknown history' and rescue dogs. But she would never ask me to rehome mine. Even though he has snapped at me and pretty much everyone else in the family.

She trusts me enough to know that if he was dangerous I wouldn't have him around my children. She is scared of him herself, but still allows him to be in the same room as her.

at samey and gods chasing them! Would agree gate should be adequate, most children that come to ours good with dog but sometimes I put her outside for her own sanity/safety usually when more than 3 children & she gets over-excited, she's not a 'can do anything to' kind of dog so needs some peace at times.

I think it's a tough one - not black and white.

My dog barks a LOT when people arrive. The calmer they are with her, the more quickly she calms down, but with very nervous people it can take up to twenty minutes.

Like some others on here, I tend to keep her out of the way until everyone is settled, then bring her out on the lead, and let her off once she's calmed down.

She then behaves beautifully.

I make huge allowances for children and if a child is terrified then I won't let her anywhere near them.

I make less allowances for terrified adults, though. They can choose whether or not to come here, whereas the children usually have no choice.

DS recently had a friend over, who turned out to be terrified of dogs, as was his Mum. I had to keep my dog on the lead for the entire time they were here, and when they had to walk past her, the Mum would pick her boy up and edge past looking terrified.

It was exhausting, unfair on the dog, and I'm not inviting them here again.

Scared Blimey - I think it's going way too far to want you to get rid of the dog for their convenience, especially when they can see you are over it and have a lovely relationship - very selfish. You should set the gods on them!