Overcoming a Dog Phobia

Danny is 10 years old. His phobia makes his walk to school a daily horror.

[DOG BARKING]

Danny believes his fear of dogs stems from a single moment when he was a toddler.

[DOG BARKING]

When I was 18 months, I was in a buggy, and this dog jumped up at me. It didn't bite me, but I think that it scared me. When it jumps up, I think it's going to bite me and hurt me and attack me. People say, oh, no, you'll be all right. But I try to think to myself it's not going to hurt me, but I just can't help thinking it is.

Much to his embarrassment, Danny often asks his mom to take him to school.

[DOG BARKING]

Oh my god. Mom.

It's all right. It's OK. OK. It's OK.

[DOG BARKING]

Mom, look!

It's all right.

It's coming up out of the cage.

It's all right, it's all right, OK? Just keep walking. It's all right.

Oh, I don't like it.

[DOG BARKING]

She's taken him in. Good, OK. OK?

Yeah.

It's all right. All right, we can drop hands now. OK?

I want to be able to cope with dogs, because I want to go to school on my own. I want to go round my mate's house. I want to go round my granddad's house. That seems to stop me wanting to go round my mate's house and round my granddad's house, and things like that.

Danny's father has been hoping his phobia is just a phase.

I hoped really, that he'd grow out of it. And as he got a bit older, I thought he'd learn that all dogs are not bad dogs. But he's got worse over the years. He has got worse.

Phobias provoke intense physical responses. Danny agreed to have his heart rate monitored by behavioral therapist Colin Blowers before and after seeing a dog.

OK.

First, the dog was hidden behind a screen, and at this point, Danny's heart rate was 86 beats per minute.

Look in that direction.

It's on a lead.

It is on a lead.

But when he saw the dog, Danny's heart rate almost doubled as blood pumped to his muscles and his body prepared to either run or attack-- the fight or flight response.

[HEART BEATING RAPIDLY]

Once the screen went back down--

[EXHALES]

That was very brave of you. Well done.

Danny's heart rate was back to normal in moments.

[HEART BEATING STEADILY]

Danny's mother worries that his fear may in part have come from her.

I didn't know whether I made him anxious about dogs. Big dogs worry me, to a degree, because of their size. Being a mother and guilt-trip syndrome, really. But I think it must be something that I've done to make him so scared and so petrified.

Danny is also having behavioral therapy, and today is his first session. Danny will be gradually exposed to dogs, but any exposure is frightening.

Don't be nervous, will you? We'll take everything at your own pace, all right?

OK. Yep.

It's none about the car park at all.

Do you want to wait out, or do you want to get back in?

I want to get back in.

We'll sit back in till everybody gets here, yeah?

Yeah.

OK.

For Danny, today is the equivalent of looking down the barrel of a gun and not knowing whether it's going to fire or not. He could feel that terrified.

Hi, Ruth.

Hello, nice to see you again.

Hi. And you. Hi, Danny. How are you feeling?

A bit worried.

A bit worried, yeah. How do you feel about standing outside of the car? Not too happy?

I'll be all right.

Colin has arranged for a colleague to bring a dog on a leash to a nearby clearing.

Just through the trees there.

Is it-- is it on a lead?

Oh, definitely on a lead.

This is about as close as I can come, I think.

Take a couple of deep breaths.

Think I can stay here for a bit longer.

Yeah, sure. That's no problem at all. How long as it been since you've been this close to a dog? So--

I need to go this side of you.

You can go this side of me. What, just in case one comes down the path? How do you feel about maybe walking a bit closer? That's great.

This is as close as I can come.

[DOG BARKING]

Oh no! Look! Look, there! There!

All right, that's great.

Over here.

Because there are so many other dogs around and that's worrying you, what we'll do, we'll end the session here, all right? We've done really well to get this close to Daisy. And we'll arrange to get together next week, and we'll find somewhere where there won't be other dogs to worry about.

It's Danny's second treatment session. Today, there's a lively Labrador at the end of the garden.

All right? How's that.

OK.

How anxious?

About five.

About five on that scale. So it's gone up a bit. You still want to keep moving forward? Well done. That's brilliant.

Danny has never touched a dog. His goal is to stroke the Labrador.

All right--

This is close as I think I can come.

That's fine. So that's about as close as we got with the dog last time, wasn't it? He looks quite lively, doesn't he? Can you give me a score as to how anxious you are?

Four.

OK, so even just in the few minutes we've been standing here, your anxiety's come down a little. We'll move a bit closer? That's good. Well done. Can you tell me what level of anxiety you've got now, Danny, on that scale?

About three.

About three. Want to try and move in a bit closer?

I'm going to touch him.

You're going to touch him?

I think I am. I think I am.

Brilliant. That's good. Don't forget to breathe while you're doing it.

[DOG GROWLING PLAYFULLY]

He's too playful, isn't he?

I reckon I could do it on my own.

You do? Off you go, then. All yours.

Oscar, come on, Oscar. That's a good boy. No, not this way, this way.

I thought it would take a lot, lot, lot longer.

It can do sometimes, and what we've had working in our favor is that Danny's just dead keen to play with dogs.

Yeah.

You know what the next question he's going to ask you is, don't you?

I think I might.

Yes, quite. Can I have one as a pet?

[LAUGHTER]

Yeah, come on, run. Running. You like running? So do I?

After four sessions of behavioral therapy, Danny is no longer afraid of dogs and is even able to enjoy them.

Naughty boy.