Dog lover with fear of dogs...Can anyone help?

[Dee M]

I agree with dreamparkingplace that your friend will need to slowly expose herself to dogs in order to overcome her fear. However, there are a few things I think she should do before that.

The first thing is to learn how to meditate, and start doing it daily. Then, learn some relaxation exercises. Do these daily until they are second nature. Remember, that she will be paralyzed with fear, so she will need to be able to relax herself almost automatically. She might also try telling herself daily that she is not afraid of dogs, that they will not hurt her, that she knows what to do if a dog comes at her, etc. (This self talk sounds crazy but it works) Then slowly, expose herself to dogs.

This is coming from someone who has been there. It takes lots of time and patience but the feeling of success at the end is worth it. I hope she is able to conquer this. I will keep her in my thoughts.

[Moesha]

My youngest sister was attacked on our front porch by the neighbor's dog when she was 4. She had several bite marks on her head. She had a psychologist from Vanderbilt come out for several sessions. She was part of a study. I can't remember everything that he did with her, but I do remember one of the exercises was that she had to stay outside with our other neighbor's Great Pyrenees for increasing amounts of time. He was a very friendly, yet obviously huge, dog, especially compared to my very petite 4 year old sister. The whole process really helped her. It may have been so beneficial because of her age at the time. I do remember that after the sessions were all over, each of the other siblings got to pick a cassette that the doctor purchased for us as a thank you for helping out. (YaY George Strait!) Perhaps there may be some information to look up online.

[MoonandBean]

Thanks y'all (hehe...Moesha inspired me to talk country...yay George Strait). I have forwarded this thread to my pal on dogster.

[Jags mom]

I had one experience with 2 GSDs and my brother. Ever since i was little i would get to a dog before it got to me(my mom always tried to stop me), but with my uncles 2 dogs i was the first to run up to pet them, not asking(bad i know) but they were very friendly to me. when my brother came ripping around the corner and stoped dead in his tracks because he was scared, the dogs started growling at him, sencing his insecurity. Being scared can be a harmful thing to yourself when confronted by a more dominent dog. I personally am more scared to pet small dogs than the most muscular pits or presa canarios. Being a dog groomer i know first hand that the little guys can be more nasty than the big guys. But I really wish i could help with a situation like that. its horrible being that scared or situations(ive got severe stage frieght). i hope the best to your friend