For some people, the sound of a dog barking is enough to trigger an immediate reaction. They may tense up, speed up their walking or instinctively start running before they have even assessed whether the dog is actually dangerous.
Psychology suggests that this behavior can be understood through several mechanisms involving threat perception, classical conditioning, avoidance learning and the fight-or-flight response. But running away from a barking dog does not automatically mean someone has a phobia. If a dog is loose, approaching rapidly or behaving aggressively, creating distance can be a perfectly sensible safety response.
