When Your Child’s Fear of Dogs Is More Than Just a Phase
Childhood is a time of learning. In the early years, children learn to walk and talk. As children get older, they learn more complex skills, like tying their shoes and the sounds that each letter makes. People learn for their whole lives, but childhood and adolescence are when people learn most quickly. This is helpful when learning lifelong skills or in academics. But not everything children learn is helpful. For example, if they have a scary experience in a flood, they may learn to be scared of the rain. If they observe their parents avoiding social interactions, they may learn to avoid social interactions too. When a fear starts getting in the way of someone’s life, it may be a phobia.
What is a phobia?
A phobia is a marked fear or anxiety about a specific object or situation. To be considered a phobia, that feared situation or object must almost always lead to fear or anxiety, and that fear must be out of proportion than the actual threat present and compared to others from the person’s age and cultural background. The person also must avoid the feared object or situation or experience intense anxiety when they do not or cannot avoid it. The fear must be present for at least 6 months and must cause clinically significant distress or impairment in important areas of functioning, such as school, socializing with peers, or in the home environment. Phobias are classified as anxiety disorders, and the specific categories of phobias are animals, natural environments. (e.g., drowning or the dark), blood-injection-injury (e.g., fear of shots or fear of blood), situational (e.g., airplanes or enclosed spaces), or other (e.g., loud sounds or clowns). If someone experiences many of these types of fears, it may not be a phobia. However, if someone experiences only one specific fear, and it causes significant impairment or distress, a phobia may be present and may need treatment.
Cynophobia: Fear of dogs
One common phobia is a fear of dogs, which falls in the animal category of phobias. Someone may be afraid of all dogs, they may only be afraid of breeds they believe are aggressive, they may only be afraid of loud dogs, or any other variation of this fear. Some people may develop this fear after a scary incident with a dog, such as being bitten or seeing someone get bitten by a dog, but this is not always the case. There is a genetic component for animal phobia, which has about a 32% heritability. Other risk factors include a tendency toward negative affect, parental overprotectiveness, and certain traumatic life experiences (e.g., abuse).
When to seek treatment for cynophobia
If children have some wariness of dogs, this is not necessarily a sign that they are experiencing a phobia or need treatment, though treatment can be sought if this wariness is bothersome. On the other hand, if a child is experiencing a level of distress that is difficult to manage, or if the fear is negatively affecting their life, this suggests that treatment may be warranted. The following are examples of situations in which a dog phobia would likely benefit from treatment, though this is not an exhaustive list:
A child is not able to go to friends’ homes in case they have a dog
A child begins crying at the thought of seeing a dog, even from a distance
A child screams when seeing a dog, which could also scare the dog and lead to erratic behavior from the dog, which could in turn exacerbate the child’s fear
A child spends much of their time outdoors scanning the environment for possible dogs
A child avoids attending events that they would normally enjoy because of the possibility of a dog being present
A child runs away when seeing a dog, which could in turn put them in danger if they are not monitoring their surroundings for safety risks
Discussion of dogs in general leads to a child showing signs of anxiety
Effective Treatment for Dog Phobia
Once you identify that your child may benefit from therapy for their dog phobia, you will want to find a provider who can use cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT). Broadly, CBT involves changing the thoughts and behaviors that are maintaining the phobia. Psychoeducation about the way anxiety affects the body can be valuable so that the child can understand the physical sensations that come with fear; recognition of why the body reacts in this way can demystify these sensations and reduce the intensity of the experience of worry for the child. It can also show children how anxiety can be beneficial for keeping them safe when that anxiety is experienced at a helpful level.
The specific fears around dogs will need to be identified. What does the child worry about in particular? Do they worry about being bitten? If so, what specifically would be scary about a dog bite? Is it the possibility of pain and not being able to handle it? Is it the possibility of death that is scary? Is it the possibility of an injury that affects functioning? Your child and his or her therapist will work together to figure out the feared outcome, often with the help of parents. This work will shape the behavioral component of treatment. It will also be important for the child to start to notice their specific worries when they are exposed to dogs so they can start to realize the way that their thoughts, emotions, physical sensations, and behaviors are all connected.
Once they develop an understanding of their fears, the behaviors that are maintaining their worries will need to be addressed. Safety behaviors are one type of behavior that can maintain phobias. These are the behaviors we do to help us feel safe or less anxious related to our fears. Children with dog phobias may ask friends if they have a dog before going to a friend’s house. When they encounter a dog in the park, they may ask the dog owner or an attachment figure many questions about safety before going anywhere near the dog. They may insist on wearing sneakers any time they leave the home in case they have to run away from a dog. Reduction of safety behaviors will be an important part of treatment, though the pace of this work should be based on the child’s readiness for each step. Avoidance behaviors will also need to be addressed in treatment in a similar fashion. For example, if a child avoids going anywhere or engaging in any activities solely because of their fear, a plan will be needed to work toward engaging in these behaviors and reducing avoidance. Additionally, finding opportunities for children to face their fears will be critical. Maybe this starts as simply as doing a word search for dog-related terms that cause anxiety, or they could look at images or watch videos of dogs. When the child is ready, this would ideally lead up to being able to be near a dog or pet a dog, especially a dog that the child has not met before. The goals are to be able tolerate distress and uncertainty, and to make choices based on their desires instead of based on avoiding feeling anxious.
A great sign that a child may benefit from treatment is if they express a desire to manage their fear of dogs. Children who are motivated to make change tend to show the fastest progress because they are more likely to follow through with practice between sessions. However, any child can benefit from treatment with support from family to practice behavioral exposures and skills outside of session. Reward systems can be put in place to help all children with motivation, but they can be especially helpful for more reticent children.
About the Author
Rebecca Suffness, PhD, is a licensed psychologist who specializes in the assessment and treatment of anxiety disorders and phobias in children, adolescents, and young adults. Her clinical work focuses anxiety, OCD, and on helping children overcome specific fears, such as fear of dogs (cynophobia), medical fears, and situational phobias, using evidence-based approaches grounded in cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT) and exposure-based treatment.
Dr. Suffness has extensive experience working with children and families to reduce avoidance, build coping skills, and restore age-appropriate functioning at home, at school, and in social settings. She places a strong emphasis on parent involvement and psychoeducation, helping caregivers understand how anxiety functions and how to support their child’s progress outside of therapy sessions.
Her approach is collaborative, developmentally informed, and tailored to each child’s individual needs, with the goal of helping children regain confidence and engage more fully in their lives.
Therapy Options for Fear of Dogs at Austin Anxiety and OCD Specialists
Families seeking support for a child with a fear of dogs may benefit from individualized, evidence-based treatment at Austin Anxiety and OCD Specialists. Therapy is tailored to the child’s age, developmental level, and specific fears, with the goal of reducing avoidance and helping children regain confidence in everyday situations.
Individual Therapy for Dog Phobia
Individual therapy for dog phobia typically involves cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT) with gradual, planned exposure to dogs. Treatment focuses on helping children understand how anxiety works, identify the thoughts and behaviors that maintain fear, and practice approaching feared situations in manageable steps.
Parent involvement is often an important part of treatment. Caregivers learn how to respond to anxiety in ways that support progress rather than reinforce avoidance. Over time, children work toward tolerating uncertainty and distress while engaging more fully in activities that previously felt overwhelming.
Intensive Outpatient Program (IOP) for Dog Phobia
For children whose fear of dogs is severe, longstanding, or significantly interfering with daily functioning, a higher level of care may be appropriate. Intensive Outpatient Program (IOP) treatment for dog phobia provides more frequent and structured therapy sessions each week, allowing for repeated exposure practice and skill building in a supportive setting.
IOP can be especially helpful when a child is unable to attend school, participate in social activities, or engage in community settings due to their fear. This level of care allows for greater treatment momentum while still enabling children to return home each day.
Supportive Parenting for Anxious Childhood Emotions
For some children, direct participation in therapy or exposure-based work may feel overwhelming, particularly when fear of dogs is intense or longstanding. In these cases, SPACE (Supportive Parenting for Anxious Childhood Emotions) can be an effective treatment option.
SPACE is a parent-based intervention that helps caregivers strategically reduce the ways they may be unintentionally accommodating a child’s anxiety. Rather than requiring the child to actively engage in therapy at the outset, SPACE focuses on changing parental responses to anxiety in a supportive and structured way. This approach can be especially helpful for children who are unwilling or unable to participate in individual therapy, refuse exposure exercises, or become highly distressed when treatment is discussed.
In the context of dog phobia, SPACE may involve helping parents gradually reduce accommodations such as avoiding parks, crossing the street to avoid dogs, or repeatedly providing reassurance about safety. Parents learn how to communicate confidence in their child’s ability to cope with fear while maintaining empathy and emotional support.
SPACE can be used as a standalone treatment or as a step toward more direct anxiety treatment when a child becomes ready. At Austin Anxiety and OCD Specialists, SPACE is often integrated thoughtfully with other evidence-based approaches to help families move forward when traditional child-focused therapy is not initially possible.
Scheduling an Appointment for Dog Phobia Treatment at Austin Anxiety and OCD Specialists
Scheduling an initial therapy appointment allows families to explore which level of care, individual therapy, SPACE, or IOP, may be the best fit based on the child’s needs, the severity of the phobia, and how much the fear is impacting daily life. Early, targeted treatment can help prevent fears from becoming more entrenched and support long-term recovery.