Quote:
Originally Posted by Harrysmum  Ok, this is what I did with my niece, who was a similar age at the time... 
It was with our mini Schnauzer (Sam), so slightly larger. Firstly, I didn't keep him away from us all - but I DID keep him on his lead. Then I was in control of who did what, and when.
I made Sam sit next to me, and gave my niece some doggy treats. I told her she didn't have to give them, it was up to her.
We all then carried on with our day as if there was nothing different and nothing 'in the air', but kept Sam, on the lead, next to me at all times.
It didn't happen quickly, but I realised she was rolling some of the treats gently towards him. She jumped and ran away a few times, as Sam reached for them. I think it was the speed, and the little sticky-out tongue....but each time she visited it got gradually better and better. Softly, softly...
May I add, it ended up that they were THE best friends, and used to curl up in Sam's bed together.... Good luck! Sally + Harry x |
Quote:
Originally Posted by julietravels Change the situation. You are going to someone's house who happens to have a very large snake, spider, or whatever you are deathly afraid of. You don't have a choice, you have to go to this house. This person insists that their large snake, spider, or whatever you are deathly afraid of, won't hurt you and this large snake, spider, or whatever you are deathly of, comes up to you and jumps on you, and everyone insists that it's ok and you need to touch it. How would you feel? Just because we love our dogs, doesn't mean that other people don't have very real fears and fobias. Something to consider. |
Both excellent points. I was scared of dogs for a long time as a kid. Some of my relatives had dogs, which I loved, and I was generally fine until I was taken to a "grown up" party, and the hosts had a dog who hated children. The hostess had me feed the dog a few treats, but after a while, the dog actively sought me out in the middle of a crowd of adults, and bit me on the ankle (ooooooooh, those ankle biters!). That kicked off the fear, and then it was easy to be scared of big dogs too, because obviously they could bite me so much harder.
I agree it's often the parents who encourage this, and I think it's a real detriment to their children, like teaching your children to fear water. I don't quite understand it because my mother grew up with dogs, but she was perfectly happy for me to be scared of them, and always described them as gross and filthy.
I think it's good to respect someone else's fear, because they can't control it. Their brain is saying, "you are in danger!!" Just as you would desensitize a dog fearful of children, let your nephew go at his own pace, and make sure the interactions are controlled. Generally when Thor meets kids, I give them a treat, and 99.9% of the time, both Thor and the kids love it. I want to help the kids learn good dog manners (asking before petting, putting their hand out palm up, etc), and I want Thor to like kids.