Trouble with Dogs

My family got together yesterday afternoon for the kids to dye eggs. It was fun, but my daughter was afraid of the two dogs that were there. She liked them as long as they didn't come up to her or bark, but of course that didn't last. I tried to pet the dogs to show her that she didn't have to be scared of them. She tried petting them too, but still wanted me to hold her so the dogs couldn't come up to her.



When we went to bed that night, I think she had a few bad dreams about the dogs. She cried during her sleep while shouting "doggy!" and she also called for me. When I held her and told her "Mommy's here" she sadly replied "ok". It was a rough night.



I was also afraid of dogs when I was a little girl. I was the same as her in that I didn't mind the dogs until they came up to me. One time, I literally climbed up my dad's leg as a dog was coming toward me. I was petrified. I don't know how my parents handled my fear of dogs or how I got over the fear but somehow I did.





I researched children's fears and found a website on "Fighting children's fears, fast" by Sadie F. Dingfelder. Dingfelder included information from "Thompson Davis, PhD, formerly a therapist at the Virginia Tech children's phobia project". Davis stated "Many children who are afraid of dogs think that if they stand near a dog, the animal will knock them over and bite them". This made sense to me when I thought about how I climbed up my dad's leg when I was little to get to a height where the dog could not reach me and how my daughter panicked and wanted to be held away from the dogs also.



Davis also stated "Children who try facing their fears, rather than avoiding them, probably do better in the long run than those who don't". I was glad when I came across this statement because I tried to have my daughter face her fear of the dogs by petting them. She also faced the dogs again when we went to my cousin's house (where the dogs are) on Easter night. My daughter did a little better that night with the dogs. She still was a little upset when the dogs barked, but she called them by their names and wasn't as afraid of them as she was the first day. She did not cry or shout "doggy!" while sleeping that night.

We will be going to my cousin's house again in a couple of days so it will be interesting to see how she reacts to the dogs for a third time of being exposed to them.

Sources

Border Collie Dog. (n.d.). 7 Days To Puppy Training. See Fido.com. Retrieved 03/26/08 from www.seefido.com/html/the_border_collie_dog_.htm.



Dingfelder, Sadie F. (2005 August). Fighting children's fears, fast. American Psychological Association. Retrieved 03/26/08 from http://www.apa.org/monitor/julaug05/fighting.html.



West Highland White Terrier Dog Picture. (n.d.). West Highland White Terrior Dog Picture. Copyright-free-pictures.org.uk. Retrieved 03/26/08 from http://www.dog-names.org.uk/146-west-highland-white-terrier-picture-image.htm.