Fear of Dogs, Cynophobia My Extreme Animal Phobia

Bite or Flight

If you were walking down the street and saw a large, snarling, aggressive-looking dog heading toward you, you'd probably be afraid. You might start breathing heavily, feel your heart begin to race and begin to shake. That's the fight-or-flight response, caused by a rush of hormones like adrenaline. It's how your body reacts to a perceived threat, and it's totally normal. Suppose you were once bitten by a dog that looked just like the one in front of you — you'd probably be even more fearful and have an even stronger reaction. Nothing unusual about that, either.

Man's Worst Enemy?

Some people, however, have a completely abnormal reaction to dogs that aren't doing anything scary or threatening. They feel anxious and scared just passing by a dog who's minding his own business and behaving nicely for his buddy at the end of a leash. At the extreme end of the spectrum, some people with cynophobia — an irrational fear of dogs — can't even talk about dogs without experiencing the same kind of reaction that most people would only experience when directly threatened by one.

"It's very much brain chemistry, says Dr. Robin Zasio, host of My Extreme Animal Phobia. The fear system is basically generating chemicals that alert their nerve system that there's danger. Because it feels so real, they treat it as if it's real. The perceived threat is not congruent with the actual threat."

It's also possible to be afraid of a specific dog breed but have no problems with other types of dogs.

Wisdom From Dr. Zasio: Traumas, Teaching and Genetics

Fright from bites: "Some people will have traumas, like being bitten by a dog or a spider, and they get so scared that it's going to happen again so they avoid getting over it. People then build their lives around the fear."

I learned it from Mom: "I have seen people who have been taught to be afraid, because their mother or father was afraid and they were raised in that environment."

Inherited fears: "It's not uncommon to see people who have anxiety disorders and have a genetic disposition, because they have a parent who has an anxiety disorder (not necessarily a phobia) and that anxiety gene got passed on."

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