People will fear your dog so deal with it
How Musophobia made me respond differently to Cynophobia
Somebody is scared of your dog, and there’s nothing you should do about it besides keep the two separate. That’s a hard lesson I had to learn when it came to small dogs. When I walked my German Shepherd, whose head could touch my waist, I was ready for people to dart to the other side of the street. When I walked my wildly energetic Labrador Retriever, I knew people were going to tumble over themselves in confusion. But I just could not understand the fright over small dogs. I called them “bark bark dogs” for years and considered them pretty much toys.
But not everyone else considers these small dogs an unreasonable threat. Last week, I was walking a Maltese — a dog that usually weighs no more than 7 pounds and is around 9 inches tall. Of course I laughed when I walked in the owner’s entrance and saw the dog hoodie he was wearing: “I solemnly swear that I am up to no good.” For this dog, that message is 100 percent fitting. But it’s still on the back of a Maltese.
In humans, an unwarranted, persistent fear of a certain situation or object, known as specific phobia, can cause overwhelming distress and interfere with daily life. Common subtypes include fear of small animals, insects, flying, enclosed spaces, blood and needles.
— Scientific American
I usually walk near wherever there’s grass or dirt, especially with dogs who feel the need to mark their territory every 20 steps — and this Maltese (who I’ve walked so many times I lost count) is one of those dogs. A lady who had to at least be half a block down started darting back and forth to her left and then her right. I didn’t pay much attention to her until she darted to her left (my right) again and screamed, “Will you control your dog?” Initially I was confused and thought she was talking to someone else. He was no more than three feet away from me and sniffing grass — not barking, not jumping, not running, just sniffing and looking at trees.
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I calmly asked her, “Are you going into the building right here?” and pointed directly to an entrance on my right side. She nodded. I made a motion with my arm for her to go. And she zigzagged again, complaining about tightening the leash on this Maltese— who still wasn’t paying attention to her nor even looking in her direction.
Finally I had enough and told her, “Why don’t you calm down? I always keep a tight leash when my dog walks past anyone. You were halfway down the street. Why would I hold the dog tight to me? Just go in the damn door. It’s not that serious.”
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She huffed and blurted out, “Yes it is!” I rolled my eyes. Finally the Maltese looked up at us and chose to use this opportunity to maneuver his head through a gate in the opposite direction. After moving Mr. Nosy Head out of the gate, we walked on while she still stood outside of the door just gawking at us. By that time, I was pissed at this lady for making a scene. She’d temporarily ruined my peaceful walk around the park.