One of my darling girlfriends has a 3 year old DD who is really terrified of dogs including mine and I am looking for any advice on how we can help her. They are over in our house quite a bit and I have to tie my dog up each time she comes over. I am not that keen on doing that as he hasn't done anything wrong and once he has said his hello will basically leave everyone alone and lie down but have been doing so as it is so stressful for her. My girlfriend is due her 3rd baby in July so she will have a 3.5 year old, a 1 year and a new baby so I want (and so does my girlfriend) to be able to help her out as much as possible by having her DD over when the baby arrives. But if she continues to be so frightened its going to be really hard.

She apppears to be frightened of dogs in general and will cry out if one is nearby when we are out. My dog has never done anything to her and will admit that he has never done anything to her but she is just frightened. We (my girlfriend and I) don't believe any dog has ever done anything to her.

We've spoken to her about whether Jonah (my dog) has ever done anything to her, her Mummy, her Daddy, me my DS etc etc and she acknowledges each time that he hasn't. we've got her to be brave and holding my hand walk nearby him but haven't been able to break through the actual fear.

Does anyone have any strategies for how we deal with this?