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Dog owners should have their dogs under control. I have my dog off leash if there is nobody around. If I see people, I keep her close to me and if I see people getting scared, I try to not walk too closely to them.
However:
Get your daughter used to dogs. It's an easy fix. Start with little ones.
For the suggestions about a dog park, in my situation, that is a terrible way of handling the issue. It'd be akain to taking a claustrophic person and locking them in a confined space, telling them that they'd eventually learn to enjoy it. Or taking someone with a phobia of heights skydiving. It'd be the worst possible idea.
I've love for my daughter to get over her fear of dogs, but I'm afraid it's not going to happen. I hope she'll outgrow it. It'll be up to her, not up to me, if she decides to let go of her fear.
Well it certainly won't happen if you don't do anything to address it. There are ways to address debilitating fears. I agree that you don't want to just drop her into a dog park, but controlled introduction to calm dogs is not a bad idea at all.
The problem with not addressing your fears is that if your daughter reacts to a dog with screams and flailing her arms and legs, the dog may see that as aggression and react in kind. Or the dog may think she's playing, and will interact more. Her fear has the potential of making the situation much worse for her. You have to teach your daughter to not react in fear.
You have missed the point that dogs are WELCOME in stores. The entire world is not going to change because your daughter is allergic to dogs. Get over yourself .....I don't take my dogs in stores that dogs are not allowed only the ones that they are allowed in so fair is fair. Leave your daughter home from stores where dogs are allowed and you can be safe I guess.
I think you missed the point entirely. Dogs coming into stores is a pretty recent phenomenon, typically coming about by well-meaning stores trying to kowtow to dog owners. Yet they really didn't think matters through. There are any number of issues at play when dogs come in contact with people. One is the situation pointed out by the OP. Another is the dimension that I pointed out just now.
Your response, by the way, is a self-centered one, essentially expressing the notion that your dog's rights trump my daughter's health, or her ability to function normally in the world. Sorry, but there is absolutely no conceivable reason for your dog to be in any stores aside from a pet store. But, in her adult life, my daughter has every reason to be in any store she sees fit to patronize.
What's more, the rights of people supersede those of dogs. My daughter shouldn't have to spend her life wondering if every store she enters either a) has a dog there or b) has recently had a dog there. Because you would have to willfully blind to not understand the fact that dog dander doesn't vanish the minute you exit the place with your pet.
So as you traipse about the world with Rex or Fido or whatever, you are literally leaving a trail of allergens wherever you go. I'm pretty sure that thought has never occurred to you until this very moment.
I think you missed the point entirely. Dogs coming into stores is a pretty recent phenomenon, typically coming about by well-meaning stores trying to kowtow to dog owners. Yet they really didn't think matters through. There are any number of issues at play when dogs come in contact with people. One is the situation pointed out by the OP. Another is the dimension that I pointed out just now.
Your response, by the way, is a self-centered one, essentially expressing the notion that your dog's rights trump my daughter's health, or her ability to function normally in the world. Sorry, but there is absolutely no conceivable reason for your dog to be in any stores aside from a pet store. But, in her adult life, my daughter has every reason to be in any store she sees fit to patronize.
What's more, the rights of people supersede those of dogs. My daughter shouldn't have to spend her life wondering if every store she enters either a) has a dog there or b) has recently had a dog there. Because you would have to willfully blind to not understand the fact that dog dander doesn't vanish the minute you exit the place with your pet.
So as you traipse about the world with Rex or Fido or whatever, you are literally leaving a trail of allergens wherever you go. I'm pretty sure that thought has never occurred to you until this very moment.
It really isn't anymore self centered than yours. Dogs are allowed in certain stores and I will continue to bring my dogs into those stores. It appears that you would like ALL dog owners to stop bringing dogs into stores because of your daughter and that isn't going to happen....sorry buddy. Are you also wanting people with service dogs to give them up just because of your daughter? This certainly seems very self serving and selfish.
Growing up I lived in an area where people would let their dogs roam freely and off leash while they were out walking. Unfortunately many of the owners would do the whole they are friendly nonsense and do nothing even if the animal was coming at you growling. I developed a death fear of dogs that got worse after my great aunt got mauled by her neighbor's dogs.
My parents never did anything to curb my fear of dogs, but it did lessen. Over the years I got exposed to friendlier dogs and responsible dog owners. While I am still wary of dogs I have never encountered before, I can actually be around dogs without being afraid.
I know from past experiences that no matter how nicely you ask people to get/leash their dog many would take offense. When I went into panic mode whomever I was with would just talk to me calmly and remove me from the situation. Calming your daughter and getting her refocused is one way to cut the panic.
Get serious....there are not dogs roaming loose in stores.
Except for the Yellow Lab owned by a blind woman who shops at my local supermarket, I don't think I've ever seen a dog in a store (except Petco).
Another vote for not getting a dog, btw. You might try a dog park, though if you are also uncomfortable around dogs, your child may intuit, and mirror, your discomfort.
I'm okay with dogs in some stores but needless to say they should be leashed and under strict control. There may be stores where they are inappropriate.
I can't tell people how to raise their kids but if you have a child with a phobia about dogs, I'd work with them to overcome it. Dogs have been a part of human life for 40,000 years and they help us in countless ways.
You have missed the point that dogs are WELCOME in stores. The entire world is not going to change because your daughter is allergic to dogs. Get over yourself .....I don't take my dogs in stores that dogs are not allowed only the ones that they are allowed in so fair is fair. Leave your daughter home from stores where dogs are allowed and you can be safe I guess.
Obviously, we live in different areas.
I shop/have shopped in a wide variety of stores, from little independent, boutique type stores, to chain stores like Target, Kohls, Toys R Us, to shopping mall type stores like Marshall Fields & Macys. I am a homeowner so I occasionally go to places like hardware stores or plumbing supply stores. I used to live on a farm so I often went into farm supply stores.
While I usually go to a well known chain food store in my area, I sometimes go to several of the "fancy, organic foods" type grocery stores and occasionally to a few tiny, ethnic specialty food stores.
I live in a large metropolis, and often visit relatives in smaller cities and in tiny country/rural towns. While, I do not travel as much as I would like to travel, I have visited several states and a variety of sizes of cities in recent years.
I am 63 years old and I have never, not even once seen a dog in any of those stores except for dogs in pet food/pet supply stores and a very few leader dogs/service dogs over the years.
So, where in the world is this place where "dogs are WELCOME in stores"?
Please name those stores, or type of stores, where "dogs are WELCOME"?
I am not being sarcastic. I truly am amazed that there is someplace where "dogs are WELCOME in stores". Most stores have to follow various local and state health codes and I can not picture those health codes allowing dogs, or other animals, except for service animals, unfettered access.
I really can not imagine that it is common to even allow, let alone WELCOME, dogs to most stores (except for pet supply stores or similar stores).
Last edited by germaine2626; 03-07-2016 at 09:42 AM..
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