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Fear of dogs

Dadamen

Well-Known Member
I have trouble misinterpreting dog body language and that's why I'm afraid of them. When a playful dog comes to me I feel really scared and think it attacked me. Is this common in aspies or is it just me? My dad (also afraid of dogs) has anti-dog spray at home and I want to have it, but I don't know would he let me have it. I just can't stand an animal coming to me. I'm also afraid of cats and other animals when they come near me (I still like watching them from a safe distance). On the other hand, I like touching more primitive animals such as fish or snails (I let snail move on my hand).
 
I don't think there is any one way concerning animals with people on the spectrum. Some like, some don't, some are in the middle, pretty much just like the general NT population. But there may be a tendency to lean hard in one direction or the other. That is if a fear develops, it can be very powerful or conversely if you develop a liking for animals it can be very strong.

It may also be possible (this is speculation) that a person on the spectrum can develop an unusually good understanding and communication ability with animals. If you have heard of Horse or dog whisperers, I can easily imagine an autistic person becoming one. I only actually met one Whisperer (Horse) and they were definately on the spectrum.

We recently discussed many aspects of overcoming or handling dog fear in this thread. You might look it over.

Dogs?
 
I have trouble misinterpreting dog body language and that's why I'm afraid of them. When a playful dog comes to me I feel really scared and think it attacked me. Is this common in aspies or is it just me? My dad (also afraid of dogs) has anti-dog spray at home and I want to have it, but I don't know would he let me have it. I just can't stand an animal coming to me. I'm also afraid of cats and other animals when they come near me (I still like watching them from a safe distance). On the other hand, I like touching more primitive animals such as fish or snails (I let snail move on my hand).
I was EXACTLY where you are, dographobia I called it, boisterous playful dogs, "Will they bite"
I could not stand near a dog.

I got over my fear of dogs because I used to go to the house of a friend, who had two jack Russells, snappy little things that barked when the friend's door was opened.

They sensed my nervousness and fear and this is what set off the barking.
The friend and her family encouraged me just to come in, and once I was in, I was ok.
One of the Jack Russells was my friend's own dog and she slept in her bed.
We had a sleepover, "Yikes, a dog in my bed!" but, it was ok.

I used to drink, not anymore, I found I could be ok with dogs when drunk.

I love dogs now, they can lick my face, they can jump all over me, they can do what they like because their message to me is "We just want to say hello in our own doggy way"

I get depression and I noticed that when sat in the park with friends, dogs come over to me and sit by me.

Just the other day, as I am going through a particularly challenging time, a stranger was sat at the table outside of the coffee shop with my friends, she had a sausage dog.
The sausage dog kept onto my lap and licked me, which was ok, she sat on my lap, the owner noticed that she particularly liked me.
The dog did not greet anyone else who came after me this way.

As for cats, I did not know I was a cat fanatic until after 30 years of age.
I thought they were furry but I was scared as they are fierce and scratch, according to me.
Cats are different to dogs, they may be "too busy" to engage with you, or they may come to you and tell you that they want to "lead the way" cats taught me this.

I was never scared of spiders, but I am scared of webs.

I love animals now, but for most of my life I thought they were unpredictable dirty scary things that I could not relate to.
 
I got over my fear of dogs because I used to go to the house of a friend, who had two jack Russells, snappy little things that barked when the friend's door was opened.
My friend has a friendly labrador retriever and I got a bit better with my fear after being at his party, but then my father got attacked by a rottweiler. It didn't bite him, but it caused him to crash because he was riding the bike.
 
I used to be too but same as others all it took was a good experience with a few to bring me out of my fear. Making note that those particular dogs were really calm and patient ones. Now I love dogs and any animals. I still get uneasy with the small loud ones as well as the hyper big ones since they're a bit more unpredictable though.
 
My friend has a friendly labrador retriever and I got a bit better with my fear after being at his party, but then my father got attacked by a rottweiler. It didn't bite him, but it caused him to crash because he was riding the bike.
Sorry to hear that.
I think parents can pass fears to their kids.
I remember 2 years after I got over my fear of dogs, an Alsatian badly trained, pulled me down and bit me, not severe, my friend had to throw a brick at the dog to get it away, I think badly trained dogs are that way because of the owner.
Most of them love people.
 
As long as they've got their head pointed towards you, not looking back and forth nervously, and they have their ears forward and tail wagging, you know they're friendly.

An anecdote:

I am a major dog lover. When going down the street, I often stop to pet everyone's dog.

When I was in radiation therapy, I went out to the park several times. All the dogs I would try to pet would take one sniff and back away from me with their ears back. I didn't have a noticeable smell at all, but I think the dogs could smell something really horrible.

After a few months, dogs started coming up to me, being best buds again.
 
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I have trouble misinterpreting dog body language and that's why I'm afraid of them. When a playful dog comes to me I feel really scared and think it attacked me. Is this common in aspies or is it just me? My dad (also afraid of dogs) has anti-dog spray at home and I want to have it, but I don't know would he let me have it. I just can't stand an animal coming to me. I'm also afraid of cats and other animals when they come near me (I still like watching them from a safe distance). On the other hand, I like touching more primitive animals such as fish or snails (I let snail move on my hand).

I understand this. I had some very frightening experiences as a child and have a lot if anxiety when meeting dogs. Still, I love dogs!

What I do is this: I tell the owner that I have a fear of dogs and I can't control my reaction. I let them know that some dogs may act more agressively to my fear. Most dog owners are happy to leash their dog. This puts me at ease that their dog is really under their control.
If I have a friend with a dog, and they know the dog to be sweet, I ask them to just let the dog approach me while I ignore the dog. After awhile I calm down and feel more at ease and the dog usually wants to be my best friend from that point forward.

This might not be what trainers advise but it works for me.
 
I was bit by the neighbor's Pomeranian when I was very young. I still have big scars on my shoulderblade from it. It was really bad because we lived very far out in the country. I think the closest hospital was an hour away. It was such an emergency that they just used an old shirt they grabbed to stop the bleeding. I passed out from the pain and woke up when they were doing the stitches.

To this day, I don't like small breed dogs, unless they've proven themselves to be sweet.

I think it happened because of my autism. I'm really bad at reading faces and intentions sometimes. So it could have been that this dog was backing away and growling, but I thought if I could pet him, I could make him happy.
 
I was bit by the neighbor's Pomeranian when I was very young. I still have big scars on my shoulderblade from it. It was really bad because we lived very far out in the country. I think the closest hospital was an hour away. It was such an emergency that they just used an old shirt they grabbed to stop the bleeding. I passed out from the pain and woke up when they were doing the stitches.

To this day, I don't like small breed dogs, unless they've proven themselves to be sweet.

I think it happened because of my autism. I'm really bad at reading faces and intentions sometimes. So it could have been that this dog was backing away and growling, but I thought if I could pet him, I could make him happy.

My husband calls Pomeranians "devil dogs". He thinks that some are so inbred they have psychotic minds.
 
My husband calls Pomeranians "devil dogs". He thinks that some are so inbred they have psychotic minds.

When I once lived in the Seattle area, we had some very nice neighbors with a Pomeranian. Who I could only describe as being "vicious" to anyone at their front door. I also had a friend whose own Pomeranian bit her right on the nose too.

Though you can find a broad spectrum of dog behaviors among toy breeds. Some friendly and others not so friendly. Best to avoid the "puppy mills" if considering a purebred toy breed. Something my mother learned the hard way in acquiring yet another Yorkie. Contrasting other very friendly Yorkies, this one was not friendly to any person not normally in the household.

Where we had to condition her by taking her off the premises where she could get physically and comfortably acquainted with strangers (like my girlfriends). It was nice to see one of my girlfriends pick up and carry this dog back to my mother's house. Once the two of them were acquainted like this, the dog treated my girlfriend with affection when she greeted her without any sense of territoriality.

Sadly this Yorkie developed progressively worsening seizures and had to be put down around the age of five. Classic "puppy mill" story...:( Her next Yorkie was more carefully selected and was one of the friendliest ones I had ever seen. :)
 
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I like dogs and dogs seem to like me. I am not afraid of dogs and that seems to help. We had a very protective Boxer when I was a small child. Growing up with a dog like that gives you a positive feeling about dogs. Me, my younger brother & sister always felt safe when she was close by.

I have almost always had a dog (dogs). My wife feels the same way, so we have always had dogs. In the last 30 years or so, we have had Chihuahuas. This is about when our kids started to move out and have families of their own. These little dogs are our babies now. I sure wish they lived longer.
 
Yes, that's true.

Pomeranians look so fluffy and sweet, can't believe it bit you.

Oh yes it did bite me! The neighbors kept it on a tie out chain 24/7 and everyone always told me to stay away from it. At our property we had three big happy dogs that never were on leashes. I truly felt sorry for the dog and just wanted to make it happy. When I reached out, It grabbed me by the shoulder and just ripped into me.

And after I got bit, an important fact was that the neighbors were several acres away from us, so in order for me to even get home, I had to stumble, bleeding back to the house which was far away and up a hill.

Man it sucked.

But the experience didn't make me afraid of dogs. I've always related with them so much. I like running with dogs and playing with dogs.

At first after I got bit, I was a little scared, but my father gently showed me how sweet dogs are, and it really reflected into a lifelong love of dogs.
 
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I have trouble misinterpreting dog body language and that's why I'm afraid of them.

Dadamen, I do believe it is all about communication. The earlier one learns to speak xhosa the more fluent one will be. Animals generally have minimal to no access to verbal expression, but they are good communicators if one knows their language.

I had a rottie. My 2nd-grade son invited a classmate over. He had recently been bitten and totally freaked at the big dog. Harley recognized his fear, and gave him space. Every time the child entered a room where Harley was, Harley immediately hit the ground (lay down fast).

The little boy began to realize that Harley was trying to make him feel safe and fell in love with him. He eventually got his own dog.
 
At first after I got bit, I was a little scared, but my father gently showed me how sweet dogs are, and it really reflected into a lifelong love of dogs.
If I grew up with dogs, I wouldn't be afraid of it, but my parents also dislike them, so my first exposures do dogs were dogs jumping at me in parks in preschool years and then the fear developed.

Harley recognized his fear, and gave him space. Every time the child entered a room where Harley was, Harley immediately hit the ground (lay down fast).
I can't believe a rottweiler (known as protective and aggressive) can be such a gentle dog and a cute pomeranian can be aggressive. Looks like it is up to socialization, not breed.

And yes, I believe it is up to communication too. Whenever I walk around a park with my friend and dog comes to me my friend says it is just playful and it would look different if it attacked me. Luckilly I was never truly attacked by a dog. I was just chased multiple times (both on foot and bike) by playful dogs.
 
I can't believe a rottweiler (known as protective and aggressive) can be such a gentle dog and a cute pomeranian can be aggressive. Looks like it is up to socialization, not breed.

It's likely a bit of both...
I also used to think I was the world's greatest dog trainer (my rottie actually did beat a sheltie in a run off). But alas, a rottie always becomes exactly the dog one wants regardless of handler skill. If I wanted to win obedience trials, he did. If I wanted a good nanny, he was. Rotties also look down their nose at alpha games. They respond best within partnerships.

On the other hand, if I was under 15-lbs, I might be quick to snap - esp if my life experience primed me to bite.
 

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