Cynophobia is a name for a phobia of dogs. While some phobias are considered irrational, the fear of dogs has some basis of reality. Dogs are able to turn on their owners, for example. The person suffering cynophobia will experience panic and fear as soon as they see a dog, no matter the size or breed. While many people growing up with dogs and love having dogs as pets, they don't empathise with a person who has cynophobia. The dog owners in the street will blame the cynophobic person and even belittle them. An understanding is needed. It must be said that a person with cynophobia can become very ill when experiencing a panic attack, because their heart becomes affected by so much fear. Some people have fainted, shaking, breathing problems or even heart attacks. There are officials that believe those who suffer cynophobia are mentally ill and unnatural but this is very wrong. Those officials have lost touch with nature. Dogs have been bred by humans for thousands of years. The point is that having cynophobia is part of being human, just as much as being best friends with dogs. Most people with cynophobia are children or people not used to being around dogs. The dogs themselves come from the wolf and this may cause a primitive instinct that triggers off cynophobia in some people when seeing dogs, because it's the prehistoric genes that are responding to it. Cynophobia could be linked to lupophobia, a fear of wolves and werewolves.
Links about this subject:
Cynophobia article at Psych times
Why are some people afraid of dogs?