Welcome to YT...I agree, you have already received some great advice. I was terrified of dogs when I was younger. I had a traumatic experience with a large dog, but I associated all dogs with this experience. To this day, I have to do a lot of "self talk" in certain situations. My 8 year old daughter is also terrified of dogs. I have worked really hard at not passing along my past experience and feelings to her...and she hasn't had a bad experience, but when she was really small - one of our dear friends' large dog came up to her and began to lick her and it scared her. That is the ONLY thing we can come up as to why she would be scared. She trembles, cries, and climbs the nearest thing (or person) when she sees a dog. On the other hand, my 12-year-old LOVES dogs...and has wanted a yorkie for years. So about a month ago, we got a yorktese for my son. We are hoping that this will help our daughter to see dogs in a different light. We keep Ozzie restricted to certain rooms, and our daughter is never forced to be in the room with him if she doesn't want to. Lauren can always "retreat" to her room or living room upstairs, but we've found that she really wants to like Ozzie and many times chooses to be in our family room with all of us. She may be perched on the top of the couch
...but she is trying...and we are taking it slow. I always remind my daughter that "this was her house first, and we will not do anything to upset her...but that Ozzie is part of the family now...and she needs to get used to him and he get used to her." She seems to be cool with that. We are on the go ALL THE TIME...so Ozzie travels a lot with us. Our daughter has started letting Ozzie sit between her and my son (in his crate) and will pet him from time to time if his head isn't turned in her direction. So we are seeing progress.
