Dog Repellent?

patwa_2

Ok sorry for the duplicate post in Discussion Time but I didn't see this forum before.

Hi, I promise I'm being totally serious here and not just having a laugh. I also promise I'm not trying to offend anyone, this is a major problem! I couldn't find a pets forum so hope this is OK.

I have a phobia of dogs. If I see one approaching me in the street, even when it's with its owner, I'll make as big a detour as necessary to avoid it. I've almost been run over before trying to run away from dogs, I've found myself on top of bus stops and even begged shelter in some random person's house because there were some dogs playing nearby. my notetaker's friend has a dog but fortunately she keeps well away from me and I try not to offend her or it.

Anyway I'm going on holiday soon and my grandparents have six of the damned things. These are not just playful pets either but guard dogs which are needed because of the security situation. I wouldn't mind if they just ignored the fact that I was there but they keep coming up to me and I'm honestly terrified. Last time I went over I think I only went out about three times in nearly a month and each time the dogs had to be tied up as otherwise I refused to come out of the house.

Anyway I know there are mosquito repellents and so on, but is there anything that can deter dogs? Nothing harmful to them but just something that says, 'ignore me, pretend I don't exist'. I'd be perfectly happy if all the dogs in the world just dropped me off their radar, either that or have a several metre exclusion zone around me.

I was bitten by a dog last year on a bus. I couldn't see that the dog was lying across the aisle, so I stood on it, and the damned thing bit me, the owner than had the gaul to tell me it was my fault. Honestly I was that close to creating a scene and calling the police to have the stupid thing shot, and never mind what anyone thought. I didn't, but I did complain bitterly to the bus company who have now banned dogs of their buses, and about time too. Anyway this incident has only made my dislike and fear of the things worse.

Thanks

H.

Kimitatsu

Hiya Patwa

Sorry to hear of your bad experience with dogs - it must be really frightening, and personally I would be terrified of 6 guard dogs who didnt know me!

I dont know of anything that will repel dogs, most of the time they are more interested if you have something that smells unusual.

Have you thought about tackling the problem from the other end, by dealing with your phobia with something such as hypnotherapy. If you felt more comfortable around the dogs then that would ease your fears and you could at least enjoy your holiday.

smudger1964

you could try this http://www.maplin.co.uk/searchtemplate.asp?criteria=DOG%20REPELLENT

Its called an ultrasonic dog chaser

patwa_2

Hmm, interesting suggestion and I'll certainly consider it. probably a bit late now to go professional before I go away but I might try some of those self-help ones, I actually have a number of self-help sessions in MP3 format on one of my external hard drives, might listen to them in the plane. If I can get there relaxed, maybe we can get the whole "Here's me, I'm one of the family, no I'm not about to kill everyone in the middle of the night and make off with the bounty" moment out of the way and they'll ignore me for the rest of the trip.

H.

Penny_Watcher

patwa wrote: »

so I stood on it, and the damned thing bit me, the owner than had the gaul to tell me it was my fault.

Blimey, who'd have guessed that standing on a dog would make it bite you? :cool:

patwa_2

So it was fine for the owner to let the dog block the aisle, just waiting to be stood on, but it's a major no no for me to stand on it, totally by accident, because I didn't see it and who in their right mind leaves the dog blocking the aisle for other passengers anyway? And people wonder why I hate the things with a passion, phobias aside.

H.

Raksha

Patwa, am I right in saying you are visually impaired in some way?

I teach school age children to keep safe around dogs, and one of the most important things we tell them to do is to stand still - you then become boring to the dog - tuck your hands up under the opposite armpit if necessary to keep fingers away from sniffing noses. I know it's hard to stay in control around something that scares you, but it really is the best way to defuse a situation with dogs, as you are 'talking' to them in their own language. Moving away and especially running, simply makes you more interesting to them.

patwa_2

Ah, ok I'll try that. Last thing I want to do is stand there giving it an open invitation to do whatever but if it works...

Thanks.

H.

pboae

Don't use any sort of deterrent spray or sonic repeller without checking with the dogs' owner first. If they are properly trained guard dogs, they may have been trained to react aggressively to such things. (They wouldn't be much use as guard dogs if an off-the-shelf sonic repeller made them turn tail).

patwa_2

Ah, I can see how that might make things just that little bit worse

Daleswalker

I can understand exactly how you feel. I hate the damned things myself for several reasons:

They can be aggresive, barking is one of the most annoying sounds I know, they smell, what comes out of the back end is one of the most revolting substances known to man (would you want to have a dog's backside on your carpet or furniture?), they are always 'on your case' jumping, sniffing or geting under your feet, they can carry parasites that can make you go blind.

I can never understand why people love them so much and the owners can be more annoying than the dogs because their think their little darlings can do no harm (eg your bus incident). The standard response I believe is "well he/she has never done anything like that before/it was only playing/being friendly" etc.

When I go working outside I always carry a can of wasps nest destroyer. This can shoot up to 20ft and foams up. It states you must not get it in your eyes. However if faced with being bitten or causing the dog a lot of pain my choice is simple.

Don't take a chance - look how many small kids have been killed by vicious dogs and one woman recently lost an arm after an attack by a rotweiller she was walking (she was a dog sanctuary helper)