I don't know why, but most of my adult life I have had a fear of dogs. I don't recall ever having been bitten by a dog. My ex had a ill tempered ill behaved poodle that I greatly disliked. The first dog I remember liking and trusting was my sister's huge German Shepherd. Once Blitz gets to know you, he is a big sweetheart. Slowly I have gotten to the point of letting a dog approach me without panicking. I let the dog approach me, I won't reach out to them, I won't touch them, until they have touched me gently. I fear being jumped on, a hard fall could have life changing implications for me and I am grossed out by dogs licking a person's face (I might have a panic attack if that happened to me.)
I have no idea where my reaction to dogs came from. It has gotten better. For the dog lovers, please understand some people are really uncomfortable around dogs they don't know and trust, and some of the behaviours you find endearing terrify others. What you see as affection, may be perceived as life threatening by others.
There, that is a little baring of my soul.
How do you feel about dogs?
Well obviously I love dogs and have had several. And I volunteer at the ASPCA. Great companions. But I get it. I have several friends who are terrified of cats. One hates cats and says there evil, and can't understand how they can walk all over tables, counters and such. She will even hyper-ventilate if a cat comes near her. And another friend is terrified of birds. Search me.
ReplyDeleteCats are neat, but I let them come to me,
DeleteI like dogs well enough, but many people do not train their dogs properly or indeed, at all, which is very annoying.
ReplyDeleteWHat some see as endearing, others see as a lack of training
DeleteMy first dog was a rough collie, just weaned when my dad brought her home. I was about four or five years old. I named her Lassie, of course. Since 1992 I've had three more sheepdogs: two shetlands and a border collie. Tasha (the second shetland) is coming up on four years old already. They grow up so fast!
ReplyDeleteSo, obviously, I'm a dog person. Still, very large dogs can make me a little nervous, so I understand how someone could not like dogs.
I would imagine that your dogs are well behaved,
DeleteWe've had two and I've been bitten twice by dogs. Once was when I was very young and I approached a stray dog who was eating. Bad mistake on my part. One of our dogs bit me when he became stuck in our catflap and was panicking and I had to free him. I didn't blame him. I do not like those lock jaw bull and Staffy terries though. They have too much bad instinct.
ReplyDeleteI learned the hard way to never pet a cat when it is eating.
DeleteI love dogs, although I've never had one of my own -- well, briefly had a cocker spaniel puppy but my mother gave it away (because she hated all animals). We had a big, studly AC installer in a few years ago. One of our timid cats peaked out from another room and this burly man jumped in the air and screamed in a pitch I never thought he could reach. Terrified of cats and he had no idea why.
ReplyDeleteGreat visual of the AC installer
DeleteI have and love having dogs. (You asked.) But I get that some people dislike/are afraid of/hate dogs and/or other animals. We all have our fears- we don’t choose them. I feel similarly about reptiles. And I have Galeophobia. Which is mostly a harmless fear unless I’m in water or see a shark in advertising. I define irrational fear when that happens (and I’ve never seen Jaws or been bitten by one, so I don’t know why, either.)
ReplyDeleteI’m sorry you have such a fear. It must be hard in a society that supports and encourages dog ownership.
Do pictures of dogs and people interacting with them bother you?
Pictures don't bother me, dogs I don't trust not on a leash do. Many years ago I was swimming in the Gulf of Mexico off an Island in the Florida panhandle, and found myself surrounded by Dolphins. I found it wonderful, others freaked out.
Deleteyou know I am a cat person.
ReplyDeleteI like dogs, but, like you, I let them approach me. and I also pay attention to the owner - is the owner in charge or is the dog. I like smaller dogs better, like breenlantern's; his harvey is such a sweetheart!
I think the owners make all of the difference.
DeleteI'm probably the exact opposite of you. I love dogs of all shapes and sizes. But, I have been around dogs since birth when my parent's fox terrier would sleep under my crib to protect me from strangers.
ReplyDeleteWe didn’t have dogs in the house when I was growing up
DeleteI love both dogs and cats. Anything with fur, actually. Snakes and lizards are fine, too. Dogs were the pets of my childhood along with a few cats thrown in.
ReplyDeleteEwe snakes!
DeleteBalder Half's sentiments precisely! Anything in the reptile family is a big ewwww for him. He says a different word though.
DeleteI love dogs and cats equally. In our house the dog is Nick's and the cat is nobody's. She does exactly as she pleases, the dog has been trained to behave properly around other people and other dogs. He and the cat are best friends - in that he adores her but she dismisses him, unless she is in the mood to have her ears licked and then, like a lovesick youth, he does her bidding.
ReplyDeleteI like dogs, they just frighten me. Cats I love, but respect that they have to come to you first. Didn't a cat come with the house in France?
DeleteAlmost. We got Daisy as a kitten two weeks after we moved in. Two weeks later she disappeared. She had been kidnapped by our horrible neighbour, but we got her back
DeleteI am sad to read such, as one does when one adores something only to find it is a horror to another.
ReplyDeleteMost phobias arise from no event/triggers. If this is an actual problem one can do exposure therapy .
Yes, I think that is it. It is not a dislike or hate, it is a deep fear.
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