If your kid is scared of cats and/or dogs,

[ginger]

M has been exposed, but she likes dogs better than cats. She HATES when outdoor cats sneak up on her And will scream like she's being tortured.


She doesn't like hyper dogs.

[abs]

DD was knocked down by a dog when she was 18 months. I don't think she will ever grow out of her fear. It's bad.

[Deleted]

Dd is terrified of dogs. She was nipped by a yappy Pomeranian (broke skin) when she was about a year old. Been terrified ever since.

[1confused1]

My daughter is deathly afraid of dogs and is not very fond of cats. She hasn't had a bad experience with either.

[eb777888]

My niece and nephews were terrified of our dog when we first got her four years ago. I think they just weren't exposed to dogs, now they love our dog. She's super gentle. SIL said that after spending time with our dog, they're no longer scared of dogs. I think they just had to get used to being around a dog.

[lime]

I didn't have a lot of exposure as a kid and we had one really terrible experience at a family get together, which resulted in a cousin requiring a large number of stitches to her face and the dog being shot and killed by an uncle (not her dad).

I was pretty terrified of dogs until about college or so.

Now, I want a dog more than anything.

[EmilieMadison]

My kids both used to be really afraid of dogs. When they were little, my MIL had a Great Pyrenees that was not well trained or socialized and was bigger than both kids and would charge them, knock them over, etc (dont get me started) so they were both scared of all dogs. And then we got a puppy. DD was fine immediately (she's almost 10) but it took DS (7) 2 months just to be able to walk through the same room comfortably. Now he is in love, but is still wary around other dogs. And really, who can blame him?