Is it normal to want to hurt my friend's dogs?
fyi: i love animals (own two cats whom i love), but i don't understand what the problem in this case:
My friend, a previous girlfriend of mine, has two small dogs that I absolutely despise. Even when we were dating (started about 3 years ago and ended last year), I hated her dogs. From an objective standpoint, they aren't particularly annoying or obnoxious. They are relatively normal (bark when someone comes to the door, etc.) However, there is one trait that they have that I, for some reason, detest: they are scared or wary of everything. They always hide behind her and whatnot. In doing so, they are constantly in the way and bothersome to seemingly only me. Again, I do not know why this bothers me and I don't know whether or not this trait is what triggers my anger toward them. I have always had to act as if I like them all the while I don't understand why I have such a strong feeling to hurt them...a feeling that I, regrettably, did act upon by kicking and hitting them on one occasion. I really hurt them. I do understand that this was wrong, but in that moment, I was overwhelmed with my feeling of...just hate. I do regret this act, but moving on - my question is whether or not this is normal (doubt it) and if anyone has ever had an experience like this before.
(also, I no longer allow myself to be alone with her dogs to avoid acting on those persistent feelings)