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Hey everybody! I'm 14/f. Well, I have a fear of dogs. It's just that when they get close to me I'm so afraid and start to take off. Once when I was a young kid, my next-door neighbor's dog Kiki was chasing after me and I literally thought that it was going to kill me. I don't want to be afraid of dogs because I think they are the cutest things ever, especially puppies. Does anyone have any advice on how I can overcome my fear of dogs...I would really appreciate it! Thanks.

Well, I think that you should start out by getting to 'know' younger dogs before you start interacting with bigger ones. I'm not afraid of dogs, its just that I have a medium sized schnauzer, and I'm more used to her size compared to bigger dogs. Start out with smaller dogs, gently approach them and stroke the top of their heads. Let them sniff you and get to know you, to make sure that you're not trying to harm them. Don't start squealing and running up to dogs and be like 'OMG!! YOUR DOG IS SOOO CUTE!!' really loud. This can scare the dog.

If the dog doesn't like you or starts to turn away, don't keep trying to pet it. It might not want you to be around it at the moment. If you don't want the dog to jump on you, if it scares you, then gently nudge it away with your knee. Don't like, push the dog away. It might bite you, because, again, it might think that you want to harm it.

Good luck !!

Hope I helped!

♥ SiMA

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