Any advice for 3 year old DS who is petrified of other dogs.
We've had dogs since before he was born and he's been fine with our 2 dogs that we've had/still have.
In the early summer he got chased by a tiny puppy that barked and jumped up and him and ever since he's been petrified. He's not too bad if they are on lead, but if they are off lead, say the park, woods, fields then he will scream, cry, claw to get up our legs etc, even if they are 100 metres away off lead.
We obviously need to go on dog walks every single day, so this is very stressful.
He's hysterical before we even leave the house.
I've resorted to leaving him with family for an hour each day while I dog walk, but from Thursday this obviously won't be possible.
We've met a few gentle, slow dogs when out walking, and after the initial hysterics he will stand near them, touch them, speak to them and will almost act relieved and will keep saying "dog was nice, dog was nice"
But then the next day we are back to square one again.
I wouldn't say he's a huge fan of our dog. More he tolerates her. He will let her sit pretty close to him but doesn't like her touching him. He says she's stinky and too hot!
And he won't go out of his way to stroke her etc. They basically just co-exist very happily in the same house!