Hi
We've just spent the most stressful couple of hours out on a walk with my daughter who's 5 and my son. Daughter has always been fearful of dogs and it has been getting noticeably worse over the last year but this afternoon was really the worst. Even if she sees a dog in the distance she becomes really distressed, starts screaming and shaking and at one point made herself sick. She also almost disappeared over a precipice rather than face a little scotty dog on a lead. It seems she can't hear me at all - we've tried breathing it away, we've tried rationalising it - nothing gets through to her.
She's never had a 'bad' experience with dogs but is generally wary of all animals but can tolerate the existence around her of anything other than dogs. Someone we met out today suggested therapy dogs which I'm looking at but I'm not really sure that at the moment we would even get her into a room with a dog regardless of its temperament and my feeling is that we need some more heavy duty help with this.
What would be the right course of action? GP, health visitor, therapy of some sort. I'm completely destroyed by this afternoon and sitting in tears at the horror we (including her!) have experienced and I feel so sorry for my son who had his afternoon outing cut short. It quite obviously can't continue.
Does anyone have any advise of any other organisations or routes to try?
many thanks
