I Have Greyhound Phobia
April 14th 2009 21:00
Photo by Chris Nelson. Courtesy of Wikimedia Commons.
This is a minor phobia of mine. By minor, I mean it is a phobia I can easily (and want to) overcome. So unlike my major phobias of things like caterpillars, snails, slugs, centipedes, millipedes and maggots, which reduce me to screaming fits, in comparison, Greyhounds bother me little. When I see them, I’m on my guard but I’m not compelled to scream or run away as I would if I encountered larvae.
My phobia (or maybe I should say mild fear) of Greyhounds stems from my childhood. When I was in my early teens there used to be a man who walked his Greyhounds in the neighbourhood. They always wore muzzles and looked aggressive. Whenever I bumped into them, the Greyhounds would move their heads towards me and the man would pull on their leashes and tell them not to do that, further fueling the suggestion that they were aggressive.
I have since read that Greyhounds are actually gentle dogs. Just as I have come across gentle Rottweilers, maybe it was just my bad luck to come across aggressive Greyhounds.
But memories stick to my mind. To this day, I still consider Rottweilers to be gentle and Greyhounds to be frightening. I am trying hard to overcome my prejudices just as when I see a Rottweiler I have to resist the urge to pat it and remind myself that I could be dealing with a potentially aggressive dog. Who knows? I could just be saving myself from being bitten.
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Comment by Norm
Consumption Malfunction
Equal and Opposite
Arses and Elbows
Footy Power
Not really. I'm a host of phobias. Parasites.
Comment by Chris Champion
LettersToNorm
Vyoos
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The Blog of Lists
It's positive that you can identify both the cause and effects of this fear.
I'm sure you are not the first person, especially as a child, to be frightened by the look of greyhounds wearing muzzles. It simply looks fearsome, a fact exaggerated by the fact that they are the only dogs you are likely to see wearing muzzles.
It's an irony, given the universally gentle nature of the breed, and it's widely argued that it's an unfair rule.
As you may know, greyhounds are required in many parts of the world to wear muzzles (and be on lead) at all times in public because they are trained to chase. Add their extraordinary speed, and legislators fear for their cats and anything else small and fluffy.
There is an implicit assumption that greyhounds will chase and kill. That's wrong. They are no more likely to kill a cat than any other dog. Some may; most will not.
Many people therefore claim that the muzzle is unfair - that keeping greyhounds on lead at all times in public is sufficient. In Australia, after much lobbying, the South Australian and Queensland governments finally agreed and removed the muzzle law. The other states have yet to be convinced.
They should be convinced. All the muzzle achieves is scaring innocent children.
Comment by Queenie
Quirky Folk
Quirky Queenie
LOL.
Hi Chris
Ah ha! I didn't know that is why greyhounds wear muzzles. I assumed the ones I saw could bite people.
Thanks for posting, guys.