We first noticed our little one was scared of animals when she was 4 months old and we were at my mother-in-law's. My sister-in-law had her dog over and the dog is rather large but very gentle and quiet. Every time the dog walked by, our little one burst into tears, and she wouldn't take her eyes off of this unfamiliar creature. We didn't really think anything of it.

When she was 5 months old I started taking her over to my mom's to visit occasionally. My mom has my old dog, a small Chihuahua, about 2 lbs. My little one is/was terrified of this little Chihuahua, even though the Chihuahua doesn't bark or try to even come near her. The entire time we visit, my LO stares this dog down and screams if she even walks by. So we figured, okay maybe she's just a little afraid of dogs.

Well yesterday I took her to the zoo for the first time. She was scared of all of the animals! She was especially scared of the kangaroos, the tiger, and the fish. We walked up to the large aquarium with the fish and manatees, and I was holding her and bent down on the floor so she could see inside, and even when the fish would swim up near her she started whimpering and crying and gripping me tightly. I didn't try to make her look at any animals after that, and just pushed her in the stroller.

I was wondering if anyone else's little ones are this afraid of animals? The only animal she seems to be okay with so far are birds.