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Millie is not a fearful or an aggressive dog. True, she’s wary of riding in the car, but that’s because I got into an accident with her when she was still a puppy and she has never forgotten the Jeep flipping over and landing in a swamp (thank God we weren’t hurt).
Loud metallic crashing sounds make her skittish but again that can be traced to her puppyhood: She flew alone to New York when she was 10 weeks old and all the airport clatter scared her. Otherwise she is kind, patient, curious and extremely friendly. She’s never growled at anyone and has never been in a fight with another dog. Nothing seems to trouble her. Except horses.
For reasons I can’t fathom and God refuses to explain to me, Millie goes berserk at the sight of a horse. I mean she totally loses it. This normally happy, placid animal will practically pull me off my feet if she sees a horse-drawn carriage or mounted policeman, roaring like a lion, lunging furiously and snapping her jaws.
The actual presence of a horse is not even required to elicit this hysterical response. The mere scent of one or the sound of equine hooves clacking on the pavement will drive her into a frenzy from which she cannot not be restrained. I just have to wait until it passes, which can take a while. Even after a horse is no longer on the scene she will have outbursts of barking, like some kind of canine maniac.
“I can’t explain this craziness,” I told a fellow dog-owner. “She just goes nuts.”
“Well,” my friend said, “she clearly has an irrational fear of horses.”
Can dogs have irrational fears? Are dogs even rational, at least in the human sense? I thought about that. Anyone who’s had a dog knows they can figure stuff out, especially when it involves food. Therefore a dog can be rational and can thus have irrational fears. Of course, I could explain to Millie there’s no reason for her fear until I was blue in the face and it wouldn’t do any good.
But it made me think about my own fears, some of which are irrational. Maybe most of them. Like Millie, I can overreact to situations, become defensive and unreasonable and apprehensive. I shout occasionally when I should speak softly, snap at people I should be kind to and go on the offensive before I am attacked. In short, I let my fear take over and act irrationally.
One of these days I’m going to figure out Millie’s equinophobia. In the meantime I will learn a lesson from it and a prayer: God, protect me from my fears.
Do you or your pet have an irrational fear? Please post below.
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Edward Grinnan is Editor-in-Chief and Vice President of Guideposts Publications. Edward lives in New York City with two blondes—his wife, Julee, and Golden Retriever, Millie, who has been featured in his blog and popular videos. Edward loves cycling, hiking with Millie at his house in the Berkshire Hills and Wolverines that hail from Michigan.
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I became so overly concerned that my dog would sdrown that he is now terrified to go in the water. I am trying to be conscious of relaxing and be calm when we are out hiking, for dogs pick up on our moods.
Many years ago when our daughters were small we had a small Chiawa.A boy would ride by on a bicyle Taking a stick & running it on the fence scaring her very much.Later when we moved to a city, she heard a person on a bicycle going down a drive way and she got away before we could fasten her leash.Running after it out into the street. An automobile stopped on her front leg,which had to be removed.
When my daughter in the first grade drew a picture of her pet her teacher said"You know a dog doesn't have 3 legs," She replied " Mine does."
When her class had a circus I made her a clown outfitand she carried her 3 legged dog in the parade.
I, sorry to say have a VERY irrational fear of driving on highways & allowing my daughter to drive. When I was little, I was in numerous car accidents as there were no drunk driving laws in the 70's & my parents drove drunk more times than I can count. We were in many accidents but none too serious [although as a 15 year old, my totally sober stepmother missed a curve in a road in heavy rain & the car flipped over, rolled 3 times & landed on the roof in a ditch] Consequently, I don't have a lot of confidence for long drives & NO confidence if my daughter drives AT ALL. I have not been able to help my 26 yr old daughter get her license & my family blames me COMPLETELY. I don't know why, to this day, my heart palpitates, my hands sweat & I white knuckle it on long drives or if my daughter is at the wheel. My sister's were in the same car & accidents never bothered them at all.My daughter is a good driver but I have never been able to help her get her license, consequently, she doesn't have one & needs one for her line of work as a therapist. [you have to be able to drive patients to another location in cases of emergency] So...my family is disgusted with me because they say I can control it but as God is my witness, I can't. Will someone pray?
I will pray for you, since I went through a similar period in my life when my parents visited me, to be there when I had my last of 7 months of chemo treatments. After the chemo, and lunch out, we were driving home when, after going thru a green light for me, a large truck lost its brakes while coming off the freeway - and broadsided us. My dear Mom was nearly killed, Daddy and I had injuries too, but not as bad as Mom. As we passed through the underpass I glanced to the right just as that truck was nearly on us.
For awhile I seemed okay with driving (we had to get a rental car), but as time passed it became so stressful for me that I felt every car on the road was aiming for me. I got to the point that I couldn't even drive to work. I saw a psychologist who helped me regain the ability to drive, partly with some prescribed pills that helped me stay calm, and mostly through mild hypnotism, during which he helped me draw on my faith in God to keep me safe.
I hope you can learn to close your eyes and pray while riding in a car, and I also sometimes, choose to read a book, and not look out the window.
I don't know about irrational fears, but my dog loves horses. Every horse he sees must be his new best friend and he barks and wags his tail. He begs for me to let him go play with them (even the horse statues).
I definitely have irrational fears. I suffer from anxiety and panic attacks. I have a golden retriever, who is afraid of lightening, vacuum cleaners, ironing boards, anything big really. Anyway I find that when she is with me I am more concerned about her feeling safe than worrying about my own fears. As a result I don't get the anxiety or panic very much when I'm with her. She is truly a blessing for me!!!
Mr Grinnan, I am searching for a former writer who appeared in Guideposts. she was the woman who always wanted to work in Africa but health problems changed that. she did finally achieve her dream of holding a baby lion. more interesting to me, however, is her adoption of Chinese children. I am also an adoptive mother and am so sorry I did not keep this woman's email address or even her name! also since her article was printed her daughter Joy-Joy also had an article printed in a teen magazine. Is their email address in the archives any where? This is so frustrating. Bertille Mayberry Cybergrandma2010@yahoo.com
My dog, Jake is terrified of thunder. There is no calming him down. He runs through the house barking and yelping until he is exhausted and then he finally resorts to crawling under the bed. He is no small dog, so it is a very tight squeeze, but apparently he feels that is the safest place for him. I do my best to calm and console him between thunder claps and it does help...until the next boom sounds. Like you, it makes me think of how many irrational fears I have and how I try to hide from them instead of facing them head on and letting God be in control. He would love me and protect me the same way I would Jake if I would only give him the opportunity. So many times in my life I have turned my fears over to Him only to take them back again. I am every bit as irrational as Jake when it comes to my fears.
Thanks so much for this post. In the last few weeks God has been speaking to me about making changes in my life. Some of which I am absolutely terrified of. The more I try to look at the positives of the situation the calmer I get at least until I go to bed. Sometimes I wake up in the wee hours freaking out because of the fears I battled in the daytime. In my heart I KNOW God is in charge but my brain doesn't listen to the Truth it just reacts. I would appreciate your prayers as I work through this adventure. Thank you again.
I'm afraid of power and responsibility. I'm like Paul; the good that I wish to do, I don't. That which I wish not to do, I do. If I can't even keep myself running properly, I don't want to be in a position to mess up someone else. I like helping people, but I don't really want to be in charge of anything.
(SO of course God sent me a child to raise, and I've had 3 websites surprise me by making me a moderator because I can be trusted to be helpful and not to abuse my power... It still terrifies me, though.)
I once saw a quote, don't know the author:
Fear knocked at the door, faith answered, no one was there.
To help an animal move past the fear, pick a safe place to expose the sounds, scents, stage of event and offer treats, fun times, and pleasant motions to help reduce the impact of the fear's result.
Often, a few separate exercises of this type are enough to help get the fear back within normal range.
My MinPin has always been afraid of storms, which is a typical fear in dogs. I don't medicate her but have learned to turn on the fan in the laundry room & keep her in her crate. She has almost crawled up my shoulder in fear. When tornados are predicted, I'm in the closet.
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