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AIBU?

Share your dilemmas and get honest opinions from other Mumsnetters.

Original poster

to not understand people that are afraid of dogs

520 replies

Josico58 · 01/02/2019 20:59

Is it not an extremely debilitating and irrational fear? Based on how many dogs there are about in public, how do you go about daily life? And to think they’re all about to attack you for no reason?

I can understand people feeling nervous of a big dog hurtling towards them/their small children, but regular, well behaved dogs in public places. Really a problem?

Don’t mean to sound harsh but it just comes across as a bit pathetic to me.

A friend’s little girl is terrified of my dog. It’s a Cavalier puppy, hardly scary! I admit he can be excitable and full on, and we’re training him not to jump up or lick people. But the mum kind of enables it, picking DD up and saying “it’s OK, he’s not going to get you”. I’m left feeling a bit “Er, get a grip!!”

AIBU?

Sorry, as an animal lover I just can’t understand this seemingly common fear.

I suspect popular opinion will be that I am and I’m ready for the backlash!!

OP posts:
CatsPawsAndWhiskers · 01/02/2019 23:38

Perhaps not, I can’t really think of any phobias I have. I’m only really scared of rational, logical things to be scared of, such as rapists, car crashes, etc. This is a genuine comment,

Great for you, you are far superior. 😂

I suppose if I did have an irrational fear of something I would understand better the fear of dogs

So you don't understand or try to understand anything that you haven't experienced yourself? That is definitely a weakness and I think would hold someone back in life/relationships much more than a fear of dogs would.

Original poster
Josico58 · 01/02/2019 23:39

@chemenger

It’s seems that way, sadly. I can understand not everyone is a dog-person, but there seems to be a real resentment. Just read the majority of comments on this thread.

OP posts:
greenelephantscarf · 01/02/2019 23:41

I'm nervous of dogs because of twattish owners who let them behave badly,
I dislike dog owners who don't clear up their pet's shit or fling shit filled bags into trees or front gardens.
I dislike dog owners who mistreat their pet dogs. let them get obese. let them get smelly. leave them alone at home for hours...
I dislike dog owners who say 'dog before people'

Arnoldillo · 01/02/2019 23:41

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Original poster
Josico58 · 01/02/2019 23:42

@barkinatthemoon that’s great that you helped that child overcome its fear. It’s not dissimilar to what I was hoping the mum would demonstrate to her DD, that she could stroke him and she didn’t need to be scared. I certainly didn’t let my dog jump all over her. He’s being trained not to jump or lick but of course training takes a number of repetitions for the dog to learn.

OP posts:
anewdispensation · 01/02/2019 23:44

What a dumb question. Yes it’s perfectly ok to be scared of tiny spiders and even leave the room or the house but not for dogs with sharp teeth that have the potential to do serious damage!

Original poster
Josico58 · 01/02/2019 23:44

Except for the time when it jumped up on a small child whose mother had the temerity to comfort her. I am grown adult and I absolutely hate when dogs jump up on me with their filthy paws.

The mother is my friend and we were in my house. I did mention in my post that I could understand someone being scared of a large dog hurtling towards them in a park. That’s not what happened here.

OP posts:
somewhereovertherain · 01/02/2019 23:44

YABU only good dog is a curried dog. Fucking hate them and the irrational love the British seem to have for them. Same for cats.

Arnoldillo · 01/02/2019 23:45

🤣🤣🤣

somewhereovertherain · 01/02/2019 23:46

And I think any dog owners who let there’s dogs off the lead and attack sheep or children should be shot. - the owners that is.

And they should also be shot if they don’t clean up their muts shit.

Arnoldillo · 01/02/2019 23:51

I take your point but think a better punishment would be for them to have their face ripped off by a Doberman while listening to a 1000 decibel recording of some cunt saying, on a loop "he's just trying to be friendly and if you stroke him you'll soon get over your fear".

Coronapop · 01/02/2019 23:53

It is perfectly logical to be scared of a carnivore with huge sharp canine teeth, though I'm with 'whatsthepoint' - not scared, just intensely dislike them and think they're pointless. Most dogs I encounter are not well behaved. Take yesterday, with a group of volunteers on a sand dune project - endless off-lead dogs bounding up, getting in the way, trying to pinch food when people had picnic lunches, useless owners apparently oblivious and with no control over them.

Lalliella · 01/02/2019 23:53

They’re smelly, they’re noisy, they’re annoyingly needy, you have to pick up their shit, they lick you (🤢🤮), they jump up at you, they can be unpredictable, they can attack you. What is there to like really? I can’t understand people liking them, it’s pathetic.

YABU

Heratnumber7 · 01/02/2019 23:54

I bloody hate dogs. They smell, they slobber, they shit and they leave hairs everywhere.
I hate them jumping up at me and getting their slobber on my clothes. Every house where a dog lives smells of dog.
I'm not particularly frightened of them, though wouldn't want to be left alone with one.

jcq17 · 01/02/2019 23:55

What a pathetic thread to start!

safariboot · 01/02/2019 23:55

Is it not an extremely debilitating and irrational fear? Based on how many dogs there are about in public, how do you go about daily life?

Where I live dogs seem kind of rare. I could easily go to my local high street for some shopping and not see one. I expect that dog-fearers avoid parks and other popular dog walking places and times.

Heratnumber7 · 01/02/2019 23:55

only good dog is a curried dog
😁

blubberyboo · 01/02/2019 23:59

This is a refreshing thread..finally people stepping up and not pretending to like dogs just to be socially acceptable to dog lovers.

Probably not what OP intended.

OP maybe your friend picks her daughter up because she doesnt want her covered in dog smell..muddy prints. Dog hairs..or bitten or scratched.
Perfectly rational to have a fear of dogs...many injuries in news to prove it..some dont like loud sudden barking..the unpredictability.
Some people simply dont like dogs..you go into a house where a dog lives and it smells...sorry but it does...and the smell is horrid. They piss and shit and walk through it and then walk over carpet or jump up on you. They lick their balls..or sniff a dogs ass...or lick ( or eat) shit ...and then lick you...🤢..if a human did any of this they wouldnt be mans best friend 😁

BusySnipingOnCallOfDuty · 02/02/2019 00:01

I have a phobia. It's of something really irrational. It stems from exposure to something simple when I was four years old, which caused PTSD, which wasn't diagnosed til I was 24. People used to taunt me over the phobia over the years, ie deliberately setting it off. They thought I was just frightened of some stupid thing which I'm extremely unlikely to encounter. But oh dear, I'm pathetic, I have a phobia of something irrational.

I bet you would have been one of the cunts who deliberately wound me up over it when I was a very small child. That, or you're just a sad, pathetic troll.

ChristmasArmadillo · 02/02/2019 00:05

My friend’s calm, placid, well trained, reliable family dog ripped the throat out of her baby. He only barely survived. I never liked dogs to begin with ( no fear, just find them repelling ) but especially since that incident you will never find me allowing a dog to lick or try to jump on my children. Thankfully my friends with dogs are sensible.

AGHHHH · 02/02/2019 00:07

I like dogs but can still see this thread is as ridiculous as your inability to understand why some people may be afraid of animals who can injure you.

Summerisdone · 02/02/2019 00:08

I adore dogs and couldn't fathom being scared of them myself, but I can understand that some people are, and tbf their fear of dogs is probably much more rational than my fear of spiders, I'm petrified even when it's just a tiny common house spider Blush

Although I do understand your questioning of how people deal with this fear when so many dogs are about so often? If I see a spider I freeze to the spot and will scream for someone to come and save me., so whilst I've never actually thought much about it, I'm now curious as to how it actually feels to have a fear of something like dogs, which you come across much more often than spiders due to the size and the fact that a large portion of the population have them as pets etc. and how do these people deal with that fear as I'm presuming they'll most likely be out in public when coming face to face with their fears.

Piebeansandchips · 02/02/2019 00:10

*Don’t mean to sound harsh but it just comes across as a bit pathetic to me

@Josico58 *
I'll let you explain to my terrified of dogs 10 yr old who was bitten by a cavalier which resulted in an operation, iv antibiotics, a hospital stay and a scar that he's pathetic.

You've admitted your puppy isn't trained so why wouldn't your friend be cautious?

Arnoldillo · 02/02/2019 00:10

Mace.

Arnoldillo · 02/02/2019 00:11

That was to Summerisdone