Who let the dogs out!?!

Ugh, dogs continue to be such an issue for Thomas.  Even the tiniest, oldest, blind dog that can barely move
sends Thomas screaming in pure terror.  When he sees one coming, he has to cross to the other side of the street.

Dogs are such a part of people's lives and they are everywhere, including several of his friends' homes, so it is becoming quite an issue.  To make matters worse, Liam has developed a fear of dogs now as well (although to a lesser degree)  I think he sees his big brother scared to death and he feels that he should be afraid too, so therefore has adopted those same fears.  At their well check up I discussed this with their pediatrician and he felt that it was necessary to start addressing the issue before it blows up into an even bigger phobia that affects his daily life.  We were advised to do some exposure therapy, starting with a very small, calm dog for a few hours each week and work our way up.  Great, I'll just add that to the list of 1,000 other things I need to fit into each week!  And where am I going to find these dogs?

The most interesting thing is that even though the boys are terrified of dogs, they LOVE pretending they are dogs, watching tv shows related to dogs and reading about dogs.  I think it may be their way of working through the fear?  Liam's favorite song right now is "Who Let the Dogs Out."  Honestly.  I could not make this stuff up!