Quote:
Originally Posted by burn_this_city
I hate it when people pass their irrational, baseless fears on to their children. I grew up with a kid who was deathly afraid of dogs because his mother told him they were all dangerous.
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It's not irrational and it's not baseless to be apprehensive around dogs. It's much easier to help children overcome anxieties around dogs if everybody follows the rules of engagement. Dogs should be on leashes, and when they're not, it can exacerbate what may be an already tense situation.
I love how some of you guys accept as fact that I've passed a fear of dogs onto my daughter. It's funny because I'm not scared of them. I just don't like them for many good reasons that we've been through before. My son loves dogs and he's been raised in the same environment as my daughter. Has it occurred to you that a barking, sharp-toothed, leashless animal might just be scary to some people? That's hardly even irrational.
For the record, we do work with my daughter on her fear. I know you have to tolerate dogs in our society so I make sure she knows how to be around them and I push her out of her comfort zone bit by bit. It's frustrating when an experience like this (a dog owner breaking the law) sets us back a peg, though.
Dogs can be a tough thing for some people. Our neighbours have four completely wild rotties and other various scary/ridiculous breeds. They refer to them as, and I quote, "vicious but snuggly." So on one hand I have to teach my girl to be appropriately cautious around these dogs that want to kill us whenever we walk by their house, but be all hugs and kisses when two strange-but-friendly dogs come up to her unrestrained? She'll learn this stuff, but you're expecting a lot out of her and me as a father if you think we can sort all this out for her overnight. She's just six FFS.