Fear of animals is common and can be treated, psychologist says

Chloe Tse never forgot when she was five years old and got chased by a dog. Living in Sha Tin at the time, the 24-year old says there were always dogs running around. 'My natural reaction was to run, but looking back now, I think it was probably just trying to be friendly by chasing me,' Tse says. 'I just didn't want the dog to touch me. I find them dirty.'

Gradually, her fear of man's best friend has subsided. At 12, Tse was forced to stay with a family friend who had a Golden Retriever. 'It was really well trained, so it wasn't scary,' she says. Two years later, she started regularly visiting a friend who had a Shih Tzu. 'It was old and wouldn't pounce, so I started feeling better around them. I don't like it when a dog is hyper or barks a lot - that freaks me out.'

According to Edward Kwong, senior clinical psychologist at the Hong Kong Psychological Counselling Centre, dog phobias frequently occur. 'It's quite a common fear,' Kwong says. While countless people are scared of insects, frogs and snakes, Kwong explains that many phobias are not logical as a fear isn't necessarily linked to dangerous or poisonous animals.

He says some phobias are affected by location and environment. He gives the example that Malaysians are not, in general, scared of snakes. 'In Malaysia, people grow up with snakes, you see them everywhere. There's a huge temple with hundreds of live snakes and the local kids play with them and they are not afraid at all. It really depends on the country,' says Kwong, who specialises in anxiety, panic, phobias and obsessive-compulsive disorder.

All phobias, according to the theory of classical conditioning, are learned by association. Objects or animals that originally produced neutral emotions can be altered when connected to negativity. 'If you are feeling uptight and are in a mental state of anxiety or nervousness, and then you see a dog, you'll automatically link the dog with fear,' Kwong says.

Another phobia-stricken patient of Kwong's was terrified of snakes. For 20 years, he couldn't sleep since he dreamt of snakes in his bed. 'He was a soldier and, one night, a friend of his put a snake in his bed. Then he got this phobia. He had problems with sleeping, flashbacks, and he couldn't go to the beach or jungle.'