Do British Asians really not like dogs?

THEY may well be a man’s best friend but many some parents are helping to instil a fear of dogs in their children.

There is a widely held view locally that Asians ‘hate dogs’. But how true is this and would coming into contact with a dog and its owner help to challenge this myth?

Shameela is 37 and says her fear of dogs comes from a bad experience when she was a child.

She said: "When I was a child I had a scary experience with a dog and it affected me a lot.

"I was chased by a dog and the owner was goading the dog to attack me.

"It was a horrible experience for me as I was only 10-years-old.

"I realise now the dog was not at fault but the owner.

"This made me fear dogs and ever since I have avoided them at any cost. I know that not all owners are like that but I have not really made an effort to come into contact with a dog since.

"On the rare occasion that I have had to stand next to a dog, I do try to make it seem that I am not scared so I don’t offend the owner. But deep down I am really scared."

Farhan is 29 and works in a call centre. He feels that his friends and family avoid dogs are all costs.

He said: "I will avoid dogs whenever I can. One of the good things about living in an area where there are more Asians is that there are less dog owners. We don’t have a problem with dog mess either. I think that is a big bonus.

"When I was younger our street used to have many dogs and they were always a nuisance. The owners used to allow them to urinate where we played and when they were not on a leash we could not play out.

"The majority of the owners were very good and the dogs never caused too many problems. But some owners knew that we were scared of dogs and would purposely come to where we were playing and let them off the leash. But you couldn’t say anything."

He added: “Most of the Muslims I know don’t want to be in contact with a dog because they think their clothes will get napaak (unclean).

"They say they can’t pray namaz (Islamic prayer) if a dog brushes against them.

"It is the same with me. If I come into contact with a dog then how will I pray namaz? It’s unclean.

"Some people are not scared at all, but they just don’t want to touch or go near a dog for that reason."

Mumtaz, 40, is an IT consultant and said he is not afraid of dogs but his wife is.

He said: “My wife who is from Pakistan reacts differently to dogs here in the UK than in her native country.

“Over there when a dog comes near her she doesn’t care but here she is really scared.

"She says that dogs over there are not as aggressive as the ones over here. She says they are weak over there. I don’t understand this.

“We don’t visit parks unless there is a sign up saying dogs must be kept on a leash.”

Irfan, a lecturer says the dogs in his neighbourhood are generally well behaved and describes them as 'docile'.

He says his wife still has an 'irrational fear' of them and even starts reciting a holy verse if a dog is walking towards her, even though it is on a leash.

Mumtaz, added that he was not scared of dogs but was concerned that his wife’s phobia was being transferred to his children.

He said: “I always have to tell my children not to be scared but it is hard when my wife is so animated when it comes to dogs.

“She will cross the road when she sees a dog and the kids have started to do this too.

“I try to do the opposite but it can be embarrassing. I think many owners I have come across realise this ‘Asians don’t like dogs’ thing and will either apologise or move their dog away from us. But I don’t feel they should have to.”

Waqar, 32, is a teacher and insists there is no need for anyone to be afraid of a dogs.

He said: “I am not afraid of dogs and I find them lovable animals. We used to live next door to a couple who had two large dogs. There were never any problems.

“The problem within our community is that some of the parents are spreading their own fears to their children and this has had a negative effect on them.

“If they encouraged them to be a little more open then there would not be any concerns.

“The other issue is that we rarely come into to contact with dogs as people are living in their own neighbourhoods. So they have become unfamiliar with them.”

These thoughts were echoed by dog owner Akash.

He said: “We have always owned a dog. Many of our cousins come round to our house and are fine about it but at other times we have to put the dog outside for other guests.

“I think that is same with most people. Some people are dog lovers and some people are not.”