Child afraid of animals - any advice?

aido182

Hi all,

Im not sure if this is the right forum for this question but hopefully somebody can help....

My daughter (3) is TERRIFIED of just about all animals. We are moving to an area where there are quite a few dogs living. The dogs are friendly and quiet but she is still terrified.

Does anyone know how to help get her over this fear? A friend suggested a few trips to a pet farm or pet shop to start off with.

Thanks

Run_to_da_hills

A day trip to the zoo.

Glowing

She's only 3. You need to start off small - are there any animals she likes? Kittens/puppys/chickens etc? Can you 'borrow' one from a friend and introduce your daughter to it at home? best to start off in an environment that she's comfortable with, with just the one animal to start off with.

A petting zoo might not be the best place bring her yet - she'll have goats, and sheep and things running around the place, and they might frighten her if/when they all come over at once!

Run_to_da_hills

Maybe start off with something small ilke getting her a pet mouse or a gerbil and then work your way up to something bigger.

LovelyTom

I used to be terrified of animals too when I was that age and what my parents did was try to encourage me to just ignore the animals. This worked after awhile and eventually as a I gre I felt less threatened by them and now I absolutely love animals!

Don't try to force them on her, that just makes it worse.

bernard0368

+1 The Zoo

sn00ps

I have a little friend that is nervous of dogs .. ok with all other animals but had a bad experience with the canine brand and that was that.

We have tried everything from coaxing to bribery but nothing worked, she was terrified to the point of not evening wanting to stand on the same ground as the dog.

Then one day when left on her own with my cocker around, low and behold she made a move, started playing with him and having a laugh when she wasn't aware we were looking. As soon as mum came out .. she moved away.

I think a lot of it is to do with self confidence. When on her own she feels in control and no one is pushing her to do anything she didn't want to or commenting on what she is doing.

If you have a pet you trust completely this is worth giving a go. My lad is a baby and even has the younger kids using him as a teddy bear (all hugs and squeezes!) she's fine with him now .. but still a bit nervous with larger dogs. We reckon this will get better the taller she gets .. she's only 8.

S

az2wp0sye65487

Don't force the issue. This will only make her more scared. Are you a bit nervous/scared around dogs yourself? If so, she could be picking up on this. Try to be more confident in yourself and your daughter when around dogs. Maybe even give dogs that you know and trust a rub/pet or a cuddle, just so your daughter can see how nice they are.

Let her come round in her own time, otherwise you will just push her further away.

Sigma Force

Agree with starting off small, also reading books with lots of pics of animals in them. If you know anyone who has a very small dog or puppy eventually that could be introduced to her. Is it just dogs she's afraid of or all animals?

She'll pick up vibes from you and want to copy you so anytime you see a dog from a distance just say awww I love that dog he's so cute with his fuzzy ears etc really over do how much YOU like that dog and the things you like about dogs or any other animal she's afraid of.

There are loads of books in the book shop perfect for her age where there's a picture of the animal and on the pic is a piece of (fake) fur or whatever to show what the animal feels like. Kids love those books. Mines 9 and she still goes to that section lol.

Perhaps have a realistic teddy dog and if she's not afraid have a look in the toy shop and if you go over to any of the dogs like fluffy go walkies etc and go on about how much you love that toy she'll be thinking hey well if she loves it I want it lol. There's also another dog toy called Lucky the wonder pup he barks and you can teach him to sing and sit etc.

aido182

Thanks for all the advice guys. I guess the thing is to just take it slowly and see how we get on.

Thanks again

bradnailer

Get a dog, I've got friends their daughter was terrified of dogs, wouldn't get out of the car if there was one around, cross to the other side of the road to avoid one. So they got a dog and now all is well she loves her dog and hasn't got any problems with any dogs in public.

cobweb

I have had a dog since I was a baby but because of a few bad experiences I was terrified of other dogs to the extent if I heard one bark in the area I would not go out.

But I was never frightened of my own dogs would spend hours talking the ear off them and playing with them and the only time as a kid I went near other dogs was if they were picking on my dog. I got into the middle of a dog fight once to rescue him as he was the smallest but otherwise would run a mile from dogs. Now I love them and its down to owning dogs as a kid gave me confidence.

So perhaps trips to the zo and a small puppy would help

Intothesea

Hello there. I'd start out small as well, and
project a strong aura of interest and concern
for animals in general. A specific statement
I'd make is that animals are like 'little babies'
because they need to be looked after and
protected (three-year olds are interested
in toy prams and babying dolls, no?). Time
and patience and the job will be oxo
Good luck.

kowloon

Dogs can be quite fast and unpredictable, kittens have claws and tend to bite.

Ducklings are the best intro IMO. All my neighbours/relatives used to bring their kids to see my chicks and ducklings. Small enough for a child to hold and very non threatening.

spinandscribble

ducklings ftw. show her nice friendly animal movies, babe ect. show her pics of puppies and kittens. eventually she'll want one.

the only animal i could play with as a kid was my uncles baby swans/ducklings. my dad would bring home big guard dogs when i was little and i was terrified. then one day he brought home the sweetest puppy. i wanted to keep it so badly but he gave it away later that night to a relative not 'his' type of dog. eventually we got a yorkie and she's the only animal i actually like. i'l never be a dog/animal person but i had alot of horrible attacks as a child (thankfully none from my dads stupid dogs).

littlebug

My eldest was like that. I took her to the zoo but she was more interested in the slides:D She gadually lost some of her fear when she started going to a childminder who had dogs and just got used to them being around though at the start they had to be kept away from her. She's ok with them now (6) but still can't stand them sniffing round her feet or jumping on her.

I also let her watch some animal rescue programmes on animal planet so now she loves the idea of animals and looking after them and frequently plays vets with her toys. In reality she's still not entirely comfortable with them... the stuffed cuddly versions suit her better:D