What to do with a 6 year old thats terrified of dogs?

Cyrus

My eldest daughter is terrified of dogs, i believe it stems from a lab pup licking her hand when she was a toddler.

We live near killiney hill and any time we go up she is tense and jumps out of the way if a dog comes anywhere near her, or if we are on a footpath and someone is walking their dog she thinks jumping out on to the road is preferable to a dog thats paying her no attention walking past

we dont own a dog and are unlikely to for the foreseeable but a few neighbours have them and we have brought them over and she can be ok in that situation, but in the main she is terrified.

is there anyone running any sort of workshop or class to help kids like this?

frash

I walk our dog up Killiney Hill and believe me your child isn't the only one like this.
You especially see it up there at the weekend when dogless day-trippers might be there not knowing that dogs can be off the lead there.

I'd suggest you keep doing what you're doing with the neighbours.
Maybe offer to dog sit one of the friendlier dogs if they happen to be going away for a night or two.

Mrcaramelchoc

Why not find someone you know with an extremely friendly small dog and introduce them.
or bring her to the dog pound tell them your story and they'll introduce her to a ball of fluff that she'll fall in love with.
No need for a class, just more interaction with dogs.
Jumping away from or running from any dog is an absolute no no.im sure you know that anyway.

Cyrus

Mrcaramelchoc wrote: »

Why not find someone you know with an extremely friendly small dog and introduce them.
or bring her to the dog pound tell them your story and they'll introduce her to a ball of fluff that she'll fall in love with.
No need for a class, just more interaction with dogs.
Jumping away from or running from any dog is an absolute no no.im sure you know that anyway.

yes absolutely which is why i want to get her out of the habit

emmaro

My sister was terrified of dogs as a child too. My parents ended up getting us a tiny puppy and she was terrified of the puppy for the first few days. She'd sit up on the table and watch myself and our brother play with the puppy. My parents just left her do that initially and then after a few days had her pet the puppy while it was asleep and gradually made baby steps. That dog got her completely over the fear.

If you're not able/don't want to get a dog yourself, the suggestion from another poster of introducing her to/possibly petsitting a very quiet dog might be the best place to start.

micah537

I was terrified of dogs at a young age. It didn't help that I got bit by a yorkshire terrier and labrador by the age of seven. Be careful introducing her to certain dogs. Dogs sense fear, so a confident breed that obeys its owner would be the way to go eg. retriever thats a few years old or the dog the helped me get over my fear was believe it or not a GSD.


There's plenty of videos on youtube with dogs doing stupid and funny things. Let her see their good side. Certain smaller dogs (not all) can be a little to hyper when introduced so you need a relaxed chilled dog.

Jimmy Bottlehead

Exposing her to dogs and making sure she pushes pasts her "No, no, I don't wanna!" phase. If she leaves in distress before getting over the fear, it'll increase.

It does help if the dog is super friendly and silly and playful and good with kids.

If it doesn't cease, consider a therapist or psychologist as they can guide you through exposure therapy in a way that works best for your child.

bertiebomber

a person with a therapy dog would help you

cocker5

Personally I wouldn’t be introducing her to very friendly / excitable dogs - as they can run and jump (if even in a playful manner) which could frighten her further

I’d find someone with a very calm / older / relaxed dog who will literally just sit there as your daughter pets and gets to know him/her.. once she happier a little then move on to playful dogs

Or find someone who’s dog is great at recall / playing fetch and let her throw the ball for the dog .. kids love when the dogs bring back balls etc .. She doesn’t actually have to pet the dog but will bond a little through play

Alun

I agree, introduce her to an older, more relaxed dog rather than an excitable young puppy that's going to jump at her and try and lick or nip her. As someone else suggested it might be useful to contact an organisation that has therapy dogs that visit hospitals / old people's homes etc. as they're usually uber-chilled and see if you can set something up.

scilover

Cyrus wrote: »

My eldest daughter is terrified of dogs, i believe it stems from a lab pup licking her hand when she was a toddler.

We live near killiney hill and any time we go up she is tense and jumps out of the way if a dog comes anywhere near her, or if we are on a footpath and someone is walking their dog she thinks jumping out on to the road is preferable to a dog thats paying her no attention walking past

we dont own a dog and are unlikely to for the foreseeable but a few neighbours have them and we have brought them over and she can be ok in that situation, but in the main she is terrified.

is there anyone running any sort of workshop or class to help kids like this?

the only resolution for your daughter in my opinion is to brought her back to dogs. i mean like slowly introduce her to dogs. the only way to treat trauma is to fight the trauma. how about that?