A dog phobia is an excessive fear of certain stimuli such as noises, flashes of light, certain types of people, other animals or possibly just being left alone. Such an inappropriate and excessive response to a stimulus can lead to serious in injury to the animal and sometimes its owners or other people. Furthermore, considerable damage to property can result from the frantic attempts by a dog affected in this way to escape.

Dogs that have undergone careful and comprehensive habituation and socialization should not exhibit an excessive fear response to everyday stimuli. However, it is not always possible to cover all eventualities and it is not uncommon for some dogs especially those of an introvert nature to develop exaggerated signs of stress or anxiety in unusual situations, such as during thunderstorm or when fireworks are being left off. Indeed, it is now considered that excessive fearfulness is a trait that can be inherited. However, it is also true that such behavior can be the result of inappropriate actions by the owner. This is often the case with fireworks since the natural instinct of the owner is to pet and cuddle their dog when it is fearful. This will inevitably be read by the dog as a reward or praise and it will as a result, continue to shake and shiver to an even greater extent at the time and on future occasions.

Many phobias are probably best prevented by thinking ahead, by careful habituation and socialization and by a thoughtful response by the owner when signs of fear are shown. If that fails, as can so easily happen, especially with introverted pets, it will be necessary to think in terms of short term management and, importantly to use behavior modification techniques to prevent the problems in the future.