My guy and me, we had a talk about my problem. I finally found the courage to tell him about my fear. Luckily he was very understanding and supportive, he asked why didn't I tell him about it the first time I came to his place, he would have put it away. He said that his dog is a very nice and friendly dog and has never bitten anyone. While we were talking it seemed fine, but when I faced the dog again, all my fear came back in a second.
I'm not sure that dogs will bite only when they have reason to do so. I didn't provoke the dog that bit me either. It happened in the playground, the dog was lying in the grass and I was just passing it. I didn't run, I didn't step on it, I think I didn't even really look at it. Suddenly out of nowhere it just grabbed my calf. I remember my mum was having a very big argument with the dog's owner and I was taken to a hospital for rabies shots.
Thanks for the backstory. Yeah, it is pretty intimidating when attacked by an animal when you are young.
Since your mother was arguing with the dogs owner, the dog was probably upset and only bit you to show his animosity towards your mother, not really at you. Or the dog might have thought you were coming to harm it, since your mother was arguing with its owner. Dogs can be very protective and territorial.
I am very happy to hear this is a decent guy and he understands! Hooray!!!
German Shepards are one breed that is very, very loyal to its owners. A lot of German Shepard owners will actually use their dogs as "filters" for people the owners have an interest in. These dogs have a very good sense of "reading" people. If they have issues with you, they WILL let you know about it. If they do not like you, or think you are a "bad" person, they will let you know it.
And, if they think you are a nice person, or that you are worthy of being in their home, they will also let you know this.
German Shepards are VERY loyal to those who they allow access to their territories. This dog means you no harm.
Unbeknownst to the owner apparently, this dog has already given you the "ok" to come onto his territory. The dog would NOT have been comfortable with you, unless the owner was comfortable with you. And believe me, you have nothing to fear from this dog.
IF he does bark at you, do not be afraid, he is only trying to tell you something. To my knowledge, trained German Shepards only bark when they think a prowler is on their territory, something is not right somewhere on their territory, they are protecting their loved ones, or they are extremely happy that you are there.
You have personally received the "OK" from the REAL master of the house, to be on his territory, be with his owner, and be his friend.
You have nothing to worry about.
I would suggest you take a training course or watch some videos on how to live with dogs. How to understand their moods, what they need, what they want, how they act, etc.... The more you know, the less freaked out you will be when the dog does something strange or unusual. And I think that would mean an awful lot to your boyfriend too.
I will say this, now that the dog has given its "ok" for you to be there, it might be confused if he puts the dog away when you come over again. He might feel rejected. No, he wont lash out or anything, he might get mopey or sulky though. To avert this feeling, next time you and your BF go out and plan to come back to his place, ask your BF if you can buy his dog a treat. Pick out a treat for the dog together. And when you are at his house, before he shuts the dog up, you have the treat in your hand, then hand it to your BF to give to the dog.
This lets the dog know that you are ok with him. The treat will have your smell on it, so it will tell the dog that you are friendly towards him. So when he is shut away when you come over, he wont feel so rejected.
I may be a "cat person", but I have had dogs before. I have tried to be somewhat of a Doctor Doolittle in my life, as I have always loved animals and wanted to understand them.
And as a benefit to you, Im sure your BF will only appreciate you more, if you take time to get to know and understand his dog. Especially if you take a dog course or watch videos.
As jimcrackcorn said, there's already plenty of good advice in this thread and I don't think I could contribute any more. That being said, to help you fell better about your fear of dogs, I'll offer this:
At least you're not afraid of cats. Now THAT would be embarrassing.
Yesterday I stayed overnight with my boyfriend and for that time my fear of his dog stopped for a bit. I even managed to pet it and take it to a walk, together with my boyfriend. He offered to put the dog in some other room but then I kind of started to feel pity that it'll be there all alone and I said that it can stay with us.
However this morning it scared me again. When I woke up, the dog suddenly jumped on me in the bed. My boyfriend was laughing and said that it was only playing with me. Well, it didn't look like a playing to me-with all four paws on me, mouth wide open with those horrible teeth and licking my whole face. I thought it'll eat me alive. The bed was also full of dog's toys, probably it brought them when I slept.
Why is it so that I'm less afraid if the dog is sleeping or sitting, even next to me, but I'm very scared when it starts walking and jumping?
Wade Wrote:As jimcrackcorn said, there's already plenty of good advice in this thread and I don't think I could contribute any more. That being said, to help you fell better about your fear of dogs, I'll offer this:
At least you're not afraid of cats. Now THAT would be embarrassing.
Anonymous Wrote:Yesterday I stayed overnight with my boyfriend and for that time my fear of his dog stopped for a bit. I even managed to pet it and take it to a walk, together with my boyfriend. He offered to put the dog in some other room but then I kind of started to feel pity that it'll be there all alone and I said that it can stay with us.
However this morning it scared me again. When I woke up, the dog suddenly jumped on me in the bed. My boyfriend was laughing and said that it was only playing with me. Well, it didn't look like a playing to me-with all four paws on me, mouth wide open with those horrible teeth and licking my whole face. I thought it'll eat me alive. The bed was also full of dog's toys, probably it brought them when I slept.
Why is it so that I'm less afraid if the dog is sleeping or sitting, even next to me, but I'm very scared when it starts walking and jumping?
Well, a stationary dog seems to be ok with you now. A dog in motion still freaks you out, since you dont know what he is going to do.
But as I said, the dog already likes you. The dog is going to want to play with you and be around you as much as it can be. The dog has to get to know you, as you have to get to know the dog.
The dog can be trained to not jump on the bed or you, just talk to your boyfriend about having the dog jump on you.
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