A word about dog phobias

"If someone is walking towards me and my GoodPooch, and they're clearly afraid of her, I'll move away and put my dog in a 'down' until they've passed by." 

- well-meaning, considerate dog owner

The above strategy might be fine if you were only approached by phobic people once in a while.  But as soon as you start encountering phobic people on a regular basis, you begin to understand why acquiescing to the irrational fears of others is not only impractical, but actually exacerbates the problem.

Each law-abiding citizen, with or without a pet, has the right to walk down a public street in peace, if s/he is not infringing on the rights of others.  That said, a little understanding of phobias may be in order.

Phobia:  (fb-) n.  An irrational fear, not based in reality; a fear not based on a real threat or danger; an imagined threat; psychosis. 

A phobia is sometimes caused by an instigating event, where the object of the fear becomes the trigger for future psychotic episodes.  The trigger can be anything at all; from humans, and animals; to noises, scents, textures, and situations.  The physical presence of the trigger causes a phobic person to recall the instigating event, sometimes resulting in paralyzing anxiety and psychosis.  Dog phobias are common, as a result of public ignorance.  But the fact that the feared "object" is a dog makes it no less ridiculous than fearing inanimate objects, certain races, or anything else that is not a real threat. 

In many cases, though, there was no instigating event.  The person developed the phobia for any number of reasons, from societal encouragement to mere ignorance.

A person with a "dog phobia" is not actually afraid of your dog.  S/he is afraid of all dogs that trigger his/her anxiety.  (this may be all dogs, or only dogs of a certain colour, size, or breed)  Because of this, nothing you do with your own dog will ease that fear.  Your actual dog is not the "problem".  In fact, by enabling the phobia, you'll actually be encouraging it.  "Either you're part of the solution or you're part of the problem." 

Most phobias are exacerbated by attention.  We only do things that have some sort of benefit.  Most psychiatrists agree that people maintain their phobias in order to gain attention.  Once a person's phobia no longer garners the desired kind of attention, the phobia often subsides.  Families and friends are most responsible for encouraging phobias.  Ignoring phobic people is the best method for dealing with them.

Attention is only part of the problem.  Whether the person is truly phobic or just generally fearful, a dog owner's well-meaning attempts at reducing concern often have the opposite result.  "That dog owner is pulling her dog off the sidewalk and making it lay down.  It MUST be vicious, or she wouldn't have to do all that."  This is yet another example of good intentions having unexpected consequences.

Phobic people in leash-free areas are another issue.  Over and over again, people who don't like dogs end up in areas where dogs have every right to run around free.  Now, this is not to say that "anything goes" in a leash-free area.  Dogs and humans are not permitted to behave in a manner that is threatening to other park users.  Only well-socialized dogs (and humans) are welcome in public parks.  This fact should diminish the general fears people might have.  But, usually, it doesn't. 

In one encounter, a woman, knowing the area was designated off-leash, would yell at the owners of any dogs who came near her where she was standing, presumably with the intent of having such confrontations.  She rambled on about how she'd been attacked by a dog before.  Clearly, this woman had issues.  She was hysterical because dogs would walk anywhere near her.  In human terms, what she was saying was that all people, whether they're walking towards her to ask the time or find out where she bought her glasses, are the same as a knife-wielding attacker who means to do her harm.  When compared with this analogy, it is apparent that people like this are not capable of rationally assessing risk in their normal, everyday lives.

It is up to each of us to learn the difference between those lawful citizens (yes, even canine citizens) who mean us no harm, and those who do.  As a quick reminder, humans commit more crimes and more physical attacks than dogs ever will.  It is the height of absurdity to fear the average dog more than the average human.  Humans are infinitely more dangerous than dogs.

Individuals must be dealt with individually, no matter how difficult or time consuming that may be.  It is simply unfair to operate in any other manner.

A similar scenario would be those who claim their fear of dogs is warranted, as a result of a previous dog attack.  While surely quite frightening, one would have to admit that, to use another analogy, it would be unreasonable to have a fear of all people of a certain race, simply because one member of that race was responsible for an assault.  It is closer to hypocrisy, than reason, for someone to be involved in a serious car accident, yet still drive around in cars, but choose to maintain a fear of dogs as a result of one bad incident.  The two scenarios are almost identical.  If an individual suffers a serious injury, it does not automatically follow that they'll develop a phobia of that situation.  Phobias develop for reasons totally unrelated to actual risk or threat. (see the definition of "phobia", above)

Using these analogies, one can see how the onus is not on the law-abiding individual to placate those with varying kinds of psychoses.  Rather, the onus is on the individual with the mental problems to seek help or restrict their own behaviour.  Lawful citizens are free to participate in society without restriction. 

Most of the best experts in this field say that phobias can be cured in a matter of hours, and can even be self-healed.  Obviously, with this knowledge, phobic people are choosing to maintain their phobias for reasons known only to them.

"But shouldn't we be sympathetic towards fearful people?"  While it is always a good idea to be empathetic, one's empathy should not extend to making the situation worse.  That means, as responsible dog owners, we should not alter our paths or the way we interact with our dogs, simply because a phobic person is nearby.  But it also means we shouldn't attempt to "cure" phobic people by intentionally thrusting our dogs upon them, either.  Truly phobic people can't be cured unless they seek psychological help. 

A phobia exists solely in the mind of the afflicted.  It is that person's problem.  Don't make it your own. 

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