to not understand people that are afraid of dogs

[Josico58]

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!!

I was so terrified of dogs when I was a child I was taken to a psychiatrist, they blamed my mum who had passed her irrational fear onto me. It's HARD growing up scared of them, I couldn't go to friends houses or to the park or to the beach etc.

About 7 years ago, my mum bought a puppy. Best thing she ever did, completely cleared our fears and now I will happily be around dogs and go out of my way to try and show my DS there is nothing to fear.

It wasn't a choice to be scared OP, you sound quite judgy tbh

I can completely understand having a fear. There’s many reasons why you might have one. People who aren’t used to dogs might be frightened as they don’t understand them.

But what I think is very peculiar to a fear of dogs is that it’s apparently perfectly reasonable to demand other people curtail their activity to conpensate for your fear.

People have fears of lots of things, fire, deep water.balloons,clowns, birds, cows.... at no point do people start demanding their removal from society. That people should hide them from view.

The problem is that of the person with the fear, it is up to them to deal with it. To either avoid situations where they might have to face their fear or get treatment to overcome it. It is not the dog owners responsibility to make sure you aren’t exposed to dogs. Yes they should stop a dog running up to you and jumping up but that is it, don’t start telling them where they can cannot go because of YOUR fear!

What does annoy me is parents pulling kids towards them as a dog happily trots by it teaching the kid a reaction that will affect their feelings badly for a long time. Parents passing on this fear to their kids have a responsibility to sort their fear out for the sake of their kids.

Defensive posts. Really OP?

YABU. What a stupid thing to post. So you don’t get why people are scared of snakes, even little ones or spiders, even though they don’t necessarily represent an actual danger?

I’m afraid of walking into a field of horses because of an incident some years ago. It’s not an irrational fear, I was badly injured, weeks in hospital, months off work. Do you think I’m ridiculous, when previously I could have strolled round a herd of 20 with no fear?

You didn’t expect defensive comments on AIBU?! Have you never heard of Mumsnet?!

Op - people have shared their genuine fears with you. Do you have a response?

My parents also had the most aggressive little snarling monster of a terrier that bit me and my sister several times when I was a child. So I know from experience that some dogs are aggressive and potentially dangerous. That's hardly news to anyone, though, is it?

And calling people ‘pathetic’ isn’t rude? You’re not trying to understand, you’ve clearly got no empathy so I’d save your energy.

my first ever

It is not the dog owners responsibility to make sure you aren’t exposed to dogs.

Maybe not, but it is the owner's responsibility to make sure their animals are properly trained and that they respond to their commands. Honestly, round here, it's less than 10% of dogs I see out and about that do that. So I'd say your statement would only hold true if 100% of dog owners had 100% control of their dogs.

I'm not scared of dogs, I just don't like them. It's not a hatred, or even a dislike but I just really don't feel anything for them.

I don't want a strange, smelly dog jumping up on me. I don't want dog slobber on me, it's disgusting. Dogs are pretty gross, and I hate having to pretend I care about someone's dog. They are cute but I don't want to touch them and I don't want them touching me. People think I'm scared but I'm not I just don't want to fuss over a dog, maybe this child just doesn't like your dog.

A phobia of dogs is completely rational, they are animals. They have the potential to hurt you. You don't know how well controlled, or how volatile a strange dog is. Dogs have killed people. It's completely rational to be scared of a strange carnivorous animal. That's a totally natural response, we have trained ourselves not to be scared of dogs. Most dogs won't cause any hurt but if it's not my dog I don't know

Ignorance is bliss, to understand something properly you need to have experienced it, most dog owners do not understand how dangerous a dog can be.
What is dangerous is the dog owner who thinks their dog wouldn't harm a fly, let's their dog run loose off lead, allows it to lick people and jump up at them with muddy paws and sharp nails.
You do not need to know why people can be afraid of dogs, what you do need to know is they could be, and to respect their fears, especially children.
In today's paper a postman who had a finger bitten off delivering mail, in the recent past children and adults killed or maimed by dogs.
I was once atacked by three dogs at once, while the stupid owner looked on and did fuck all to stop them.

I can't even be bothered to read all of this but I'll say; I have a dog, I've been bitten by a dog, I'm afraid of other dogs.

HTH with your completely idiotic post.

I was attacked by a dog as a teenager. Yes it hugely affected my feelings towards dogs!
I’ve worked really hard to overcome my fear, and to not pass my nervousness on to my kids, but really don’t appreciate being called pathetic!

Wow, I can't believe the hate on this thread.

People seem to think of dogs as machete-wielding psychos. I don't know a single person who has been bitten by a dog (and my local park is full of them).

I do understand why children are scared of dogs - they are unpredictable, and their faces are at the same height as theirs. However, parents sometimes make this worse. The other day I saw a man grab his child off her bike, and hold her high up in the air shrieking at the owner "get your dog away from my child!" The terror in his voice is what will give her a phobia, not the actual dog. The dog wasn't mauling her, just walking past, it didn't even look at her!

I loathe dogs.

You can also have my first

OK so you feel a bit put out at the strength of the responses here OP.

But have you learned anything? I assume that actually was the goal of starting the thread ...?

It's not an irrational fear. I was attacked by a Rottweiler, for absolutely no reason. I was walking down the street and the dog came running out of a shop and bit me on the chest and started to shake me around. The owner ran after it and started to hit it with a cricket bat to get it off me.
As I was only 4 or 5 at the time it's something that has scarred me for life. Literally and figuratively.

It is debilitating, especially when selfish people assume that you should love their animals as much as they do. Dogs are everywhere, and dog owners rarely keep them under control.
I don't understand why someone thinks it's okay for their animals to run and jump at people. Not only is it frightening, it's disgusting when a dog licks you, as they've probably been licking their arse and are full of germs.

Sorry, but as a responsible dog owner you should respect the fact that not everyone loves or even likes your dog.

deadbudgie

But people ask others to obey rules all the time so as they don't affect others and to keep people safe? I'm pretty certain if you were lighting fires left right and centre you'd get in trouble.

Almost all the fears you've listed are normally well controlled and avoidable, there are rules surrounding the use of all those things.

Dogs are animals, they can be dangerous and need to be very well controlled. It's just part of the responsibility of taking on a dog. No one has ever said dogs need to be hidden from view but kept under strict control in public. It's your choice to have a dog not mine.

I’m afraid of walking into a field of horses because of an incident some years ago. It’s not an irrational fear, I was badly injured, weeks in hospital, months off work

That sounds awful!

My DH was attacked by a horse (he thinks it was because his farm dog was with him) and he was petrified. Luckily he was okay, but really shaken up.

misses point of thread

We can have different opinions without being rude to each other.

Then why did your initial post say it was pathetic to be frightened of dogs?

In any case, it's not really a matter of opinion. You claim to be 'just trying to understand'. How hard can it really be to understand that people can be afraid of animals that they find unpleasant and which could potentially injure them? It's not exactly rocket science. I understand it perfectly well and I love dogs.

Britchick I mean I know 4.

I do not understand people who have dogs, have to listen to them yap, call them their baby, let them sleep in their beds and lick their faces after they've sniffed another dogs arse or eaten another dogs shit .

You must be new OP. MN hates dogs.