Pet phobias!

[peter]

My big, strong, boucily exuberant, two year old hound is scared of the frying pan! Specifically the frying pan, no other pan and I hasten to add this is not a Tom & Jerry household where the dog gets walloped with a frying pan.

No my son when frying stuff to go in a chicken and mushroom pie managed an accidental and vigorous flambé. From watching every move with close, two foot, interest the dog was at the bottom of the garden before my son was out of the door. Dog had to be led back in later.

Now if anyone picks up a frying pan he won't go in the kitchen and if he was in there already then he leaves.

Anyone else's pet have a similarly narrowly focused phobia?

He's not too keen on the hose either but that does get used on him for summer baths.

[Elaine]

Yes! My seven year old cat! I always know when the window cleaners are in the area because as soon as Meg hears the clanking of the ladders...long before I do....she slinks, almost on her belly, wide eyed and scared to death, up the stairs and hides under the bed until she can no longer hear the ladders. I always know the window cleaners have been while I was at work, as when I get home, Meg doesn't come out of her hidey hole to greet me like she normally does.
Whatever it is about the noise that scares her, she has been the same since I first got her three years ago.

[old codger]

My chickens are scared stiff of hot air balloons, and when I go to the run with my big bright umberella they run under the hen house, as if they think it's a balloon.

[Primrose]

Our cat used to go totally phobic when the cat basket appeared out of the garage, knowing a trip to the vet or away to my parents for the weekend was in the offing. In the end we either had to get the basket out at least a week beforehand and leave it in the living room until it became just another part of the furniture, or put it in the car empty and put the cat in it in the car once we were securely inside.

[Geoff]

Ours doesn't have a phobia apart from not being keen on watering cans near the back door. That is because I am too kind and a bath is actually a lukewarm shower from a watering can.
She is however a petrol head. Goes mad when I mow or strim or even lean on the mower in the garage to tie my boots. I think it is learnt behaviour from the neighbours previous dog who was so addicted to petrol it would clear our gate while I was making up mixture for the strimmer. It would then follow close behind but always with something in its mouth like a lump of grass or most amusingly a dandelion flower. It did get strimmed a time or two by both me and the neighbour but it didn't deter it.

[Westi]

My Springer won't go out in the rain without a lead on - weird! It's fine if she's off lead & it starts to rain mid walk but won't venture out if already raining. Is perfectly fine once she gets going but won't cross the door step.

Westi

[Ricard with an H]

Our spaniel is scared of sheep which is a bit odd when you consider she lives in a sheep farming area though it is convenient for us.

She'll walk past a massive tractor or a combine but that took ten years, now it's paper bags or a bundle of something left by the farm boys that Molly figures doesn't quite fit into the country scene.

And vacuum cleaners, she hates the noise presumably but nothing quite as odd as being scared of a frying pan.