Source
r/dogs•
002dk

I both love and fear dogs help!

Dear r/dogs

I've been living with a fear of dogs for a long time, every single time I see a dog I think about how to defend myself against a sudden attack, I'll happily cross the street if I see a person come walking with a dog on a leash on the same sidewalk that I'm walking on. I fear cykling home every day because I know that there is a woman with a big dog walking around the neighbourhood from time to time. (Angry dog at that).

The paradox is that I also really like dogs (and most animals), and I would really like to not be afraid of them. As I have cured myself from fear of flying before by reading a book, I thought that you may have some experience calming people down when it comes to being afraid of dogs.

Bonus info I'm not afraid of dogs when I get to know them and I would love to have a dog myself when I'm not in university anymore.

Tl;dr: I'm afraid of dogs. Can you give me any advice on how to get rid of this fear?

Thanks a bunch in advance. -002dk

Posted Nov 15, 2011, 4:40 PM UTC

13
reddoggie•

I would ask a friend with a well-behaved dog to help you out. If you spent more time around predictable/calm dogs, I think you would find that your fear lessened greatly.

3
misplacedhyperboleFozzie: NSDTR•

Volunteer at an animal shelter or service dog organization. You can slowly spend more and more time with the dogs and can learn how to recognize real aggression and how to appropriately react. You'll also be doing something good for your community at the same time.

3
Fuqwon•

Uh, probably best just to force yourself to interact with them. Go to a dog park, dogs there are generally pretty sociable.

2