Dogs in stores: Your dog versus my kid (husband, person, member)
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OP mentioned nothing about these dogs not being leashed. He said it didn't matter to his daughter if the dog were leashed. He claims the dogs were IN stores, on leashes, which again I do not believe there are that many stores that allow dogs. I agree it would benefit the girl to find ways to cope with the fear, for her own well-being. My little great-nephew who is 6 is terrified of dogs...when he goes to his cousins house, they put the dog in a bedroom, door closed....my nephew still won't walk to the bathroom past the closed door, we have to walk him. And this kid has never had a strange dog jump on him or been bitten...his fear is irrational, and it holds him prisoner. At 10, is he going to want to ask an adult to walk him to the bathroom? I think not, and I hope we can help him get over his fears.
A leashed dog jumped onto the picnic table? I don't believe she said that the dog that jumped on the table was leashed. In addition, in my every day life, I've seen many dogs unleashed outside of designated areas because their owners "trust them". I had a golden -- the biggest lovebug if there ever was one -- but he was on a leash whenever we were in public. He would never be near enough to jump up on a picnic table with a clearly anxious child.
And I have yet to see a kid run up to complete strangers and lick them.
Work retail a while...or ask your average cashier if a parent ever hands them toys covered in saliva & snot to scan, or worse, put BACK because stellar parent has decided they don't want drool covered item.
Kids are NOT clean creatures any more than dogs are, so if the point is cleanliness, then we need to remove those sources from public stores. All of them. We don't get to pick and choose based on PC-ness.
To the OP, this isn't likely to resolve on its own (my 68 year old aunt is TERRIFIED of cats since being bitten as a 3 or 4 year old-- and has 'passed down' the same fear to her 20 year old granddaughter, who doesn't even like seeing pictures of kittens and cats!)-- but it's very easily treatable by a trained therapist, as others have mentioned, or there are things that you can do to lessen, if not eliminate, her anxiety.
Providing her with the tools and the ability to overcome this fear will make her significantly more confident and you will be able to relax.. as a mom myself, I can only imagine how hypervigiliant you have to be, even when just walking out of your front door, as dogs are seemingly everywhere.
I don't think that getting a dog-- or going to a dog park is a good idea, at ALL. But the other suggestions of visiting a friend with a very small, cute and non-hyper dog-- who is tolerant of small and scared children (a therapy dog was also a great idea) might be a step in the right direction.
Ironically, I have a rescued German Shepherd who has been instrumental in getting two different kids (mostly) over their fear of dogs-- because my pup remained calm even when the kids were scared and with gentle encouragement (and after observing the dog being gentle with my kids), the scared kids were able to be (while being encouraged by their parents) to pet my dog. One of the kids, within minutes, was lying on the floor and snuggling with my German Shepherd-- the other kid (two different families), while still not a fan of dogs, no longer leaps into his mom's arms when he sees a dog-- he might never be a dog lover, but he's no longer terrified either.
Please note, that I didn't take it upon myself to 'treat' someone else's kids-- both times the parents asked if they could introduce my dog to their children as they knew that my dog was very well behaved and would tolerate a scared kid extraordinarily well and without reacting-- and both times, the parents were there and involved (I managed the dog, they managed their children).
As a former retail slave, I can confirm that many people would rather see dogs in stores than children because these customers would tell me that as a worker. As a worker, I would agree with them.
Dogs are quieter, cleaner and far better behaved than most children these days.
Yes. As a customer, I agree completely. I will leave a store if someone enters with ill behaved children.
Dogs are going to be in stores/public sometimes, so talking to a manager won't help. Service dogs are allowed anywhere and they are not be questioned.
Having a severe phobia myself I feel for your daughter. I suggest really working on overcoming this fear while she is younger. It'll be much easier to overcome now than in 20 years. Best of luck! Hope she can see that dogs are typically friendly and loving animals someday.
Maybe stat my slowing introducing her to dogs. Maybe start with little puppies (no big dogs) and she can see them from a less threatening point of view.
Having a phobia myself I know I cannot expect society to do what makes me feel safe and I cannot control other people, but I can control myself and learn how to cope and better myself. Best of luck! I think she can overcome this! I know many kids who were once afraid of dogs and are no longer.
Totally disagree with the posters on here who seem to blame the OP and her child--so typical of the mentality in this country that it's the "victim's" fault. Yeah, so if I'm afraid of a guy wielding a gun, I guess I should just get over it and let him swing the gun around because there's a lot of guns around and I gotta get desensitized to it? No, no, no, no, no, no!
It's not necessary for this child to like dogs! People can go through life and not like dogs and still be happy! YES they really can!
Dog owners seem to think that everyone MUST love dogs. sorry, it's my right not to like them. I have seen too many people with dog bites and I've heard too many stories of dogs mauling kids to death in my area.
I had 2 large black dogs charging at me and barking when I've done absolutely nothing, was merely walking through the park, and the owner just stood there and did nothing to call them back! I had a dog chase me all the way down the street when all I was doing was merely jogging past the house! he jumped on me and started biting and tore at my pants! I had dogs barking and snarling at me for no reason! It doesn't matter if you try to be friendly to the dog! some dogs are just ill mannered, ill behaved animals, owners do not take the time to train them properly and train them how to recognize a real threat from an innocent passerby.
If it were my child, I would definitely protect my child. The child DOESN'T need therapy and is NOT the wrong one here!
Totally disagree with the posters on here who seem to blame the OP and her child--so typical of the mentality in this country that it's the "victim's" fault. Yeah, so if I'm afraid of a guy wielding a gun, I guess I should just get over it and let him swing the gun around because there's a lot of guns around and I gotta get desensitized to it? No, no, no, no, no, no!
It's not necessary for this child to like dogs! People can go through life and not like dogs and still be happy! YES they really can!
Dog owners seem to think that everyone MUST love dogs. sorry, it's my right not to like them. I have seen too many people with dog bites and I've heard too many stories of dogs mauling kids to death in my area.
I had 2 large black dogs charging at me and barking when I've done absolutely nothing, was merely walking through the park, and the owner just stood there and did nothing to call them back! I had a dog chase me all the way down the street when all I was doing was merely jogging past the house! he jumped on me and started biting and tore at my pants! I had dogs barking and snarling at me for no reason! It doesn't matter if you try to be friendly to the dog! some dogs are just ill mannered, ill behaved animals, owners do not take the time to train them properly and train them how to recognize a real threat from an innocent passerby.
If it were my child, I would definitely protect my child. The child DOESN'T need therapy and is NOT the wrong one here!
No, it's not necessary to like dogs, but it isn't good for anyone, let alone a child to have such fear and anxiety of anything, let alone an object that she's likely to encounter multiple times a day. Treating her is for HER benefit not for the benefit of anyone else.
Additionally, being fearful of dogs likely increases the chances of being hurt by one, as dogs do react to fear/anxiety (NOT blaming the child, just stating a fact) and will often react to someone screaming, running and/or flailing their arms, yes, sometimes with aggression (and, yes, as a responsible dog owner, it's MY responsibility to keep my dogs calm, leashed and controlled at all times.)
Totally disagree with the posters on here who seem to blame the OP and her child--so typical of the mentality in this country that it's the "victim's" fault. Yeah, so if I'm afraid of a guy wielding a gun, I guess I should just get over it and let him swing the gun around because there's a lot of guns around and I gotta get desensitized to it? No, no, no, no, no, no!
It's not necessary for this child to like dogs! People can go through life and not like dogs and still be happy! YES they really can!
Dog owners seem to think that everyone MUST love dogs. sorry, it's my right not to like them. I have seen too many people with dog bites and I've heard too many stories of dogs mauling kids to death in my area.
I had 2 large black dogs charging at me and barking when I've done absolutely nothing, was merely walking through the park, and the owner just stood there and did nothing to call them back! I had a dog chase me all the way down the street when all I was doing was merely jogging past the house! he jumped on me and started biting and tore at my pants! I had dogs barking and snarling at me for no reason! It doesn't matter if you try to be friendly to the dog! some dogs are just ill mannered, ill behaved animals, owners do not take the time to train them properly and train them how to recognize a real threat from an innocent passerby.
If it were my child, I would definitely protect my child. The child DOESN'T need therapy and is NOT the wrong one here!
She's not afraid of a barking, snarling dog that is chasing her and ripping off her pants. We'd ALL be scared of that!
Per the op: "It's annoying to us as parents as we have to pick her up if there is a dog within 100'"
She's afraid to be in the same room as a leashed dog. Do you see the difference?
I enjoy the comparison of dogs to guns, though. Good one.
No, it's not necessary to like dogs, but it isn't good for anyone, let alone a child to have such fear and anxiety of anything, let alone an object that she's likely to encounter multiple times a day. Treating her is for HER benefit not for the benefit of anyone else.
Additionally, being fearful of dogs likely increases the chances of being hurt by one, as dogs do react to fear/anxiety (NOT blaming the child, just stating a fact) and will often react to someone screaming, running and/or flailing their arms, yes, sometimes with aggression (and, yes, as a responsible dog owner, it's MY responsibility to keep my dogs calm, leashed and controlled at all times.)
As multiple people have pointed out in this thread!
I have two dogs. I don't normally take them in stores. Pet stores, yes, sometimes. But it BURNS me up when people don't control their dogs. Especially in light of fearful people. You can't just "get used to" things that scare you. You shouldn't have to deal with it. I had an aunt who was terrified of dogs.
We were walking our dogs and a loose dog came running over to us. My male dog acts aggressive when he's on a leash. I blocked the other dog and saw people moseying along the trail. It was a public park. I was ticked. I yelled/asked: Is this your dog? They were all -what's the big deal - attitude. I sort of wish my dog had gone ahead and jumped the little spaniel. But it wasn't the dog's fault.
My dogs get off-leash when we go on some trails but never around other people. Plus it's very easy to recognize people who are afraid of dogs. Control your dog.
Mom, I think I'd block the dog and make a scene - wave arms, yell at dog.
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As multiple people have pointed out in this thread!