Our dogs are racist

[kenny]

I'm not joking.
When black people come on the TV our two dogs bark like crazy.
It is so weird.
I'd be so embarrassed if they did this when guests were over. (as if it was some taught behavior)

I have no explanation.
It freaks us out.

At first I didn't believe it when my SO told me, but I've seen it with my own eyes several times now.

Have you ever heard of such a thing?

 

[Amethyste]

I have to say, Kenny... Sometimes your posts leaves me speechless...

 

[kenny]

I was considering not posting this because everyone is so sensitive about racism in America.
I'm not racist so I'm more comfortable talking about the subject.
To me silence is death when it comes to subjects like racism.
Unwillingness to discuss the subject mater of factly perpetuates the problem.

It is just what is happening. (our dogs barking that is)
It doesn't mean anything.

I'm really curious if anyone has heard of such an odd thing.

I've heard of dogs barking at people with hats or in uniforms so I guess skin color could just be another physical characteristic that irrationally sets some dogs off.
Some dogs are hatist.
Some dogs are uniformist.
Ours are racist.

Of course dogs do not know anything about the enormous sociological implications of their behavior.
Dogs are innocent, which makes their behavior so freaky.

 

[missjaxon]

One of my puppies does the same thing with the television as well as in person. I find though that she doesn't single any particular person or object even on television if it is a dark coated dog or an ape or horse etc. she will bark. In person she has barked at friends and family members who have dark complexions as well as people wearing dark colours and people with hats. Once she can smell them though she is always happy to see them (even pizza delivery people, heck ESPECIALLY them! haha)

 

[pennquaker09]

Umm, I don't think dogs can be racist. LMAO!!! It's kind of cute, I dunno. Do you have African American friends over?

Can I say that I know I notice kids that give dark skinned people what I call the look of terror, and I think it's probably because they never see dark people. I don't know if that translates to dogs however.

This is the most random thread ever. I just can't help but chuckle to myself.

 

[ForteKitty]

Is your mailman black? I ask because my bf's dog will go straight up to the only black person at a dog park and bark at him. It's not a mean bark, since he's wagging his tail and trying to lick whoever it is.... but still barking loudly, and he's a big dog. My bf was horrified when it happened the first time at a dog park, and when the dog did it again to one of our friends, we sorta figured it out. He has two black mailman in the area, and they come, he barks... then the mailman gives him a treat. Now he thinks that barking will get him treats!

 

[yssie]

Haha I think this is one of your strangest threads to date Kenny!

Can't say I've ever noticed this behaviour in ours, but I'll be on the lookout now

 

[pinkstars]

Do you watch Curb Your Enthusiasm? There's an episode when Larry has to deal with this exact situation, I find it entertaining.

My BF's SIL's pug does the weirdest bark/yelp only with me and it's always been when I've just been petting her in such a way that I thought she liked. She also does a super odd bark to greet me(and kind of BF) when we see her. They say she doesn't do that for anybody else either. I'm pretty sure she still loves me though, so maybe she just loves me a little more? j/j

 

[swingirl]

Yes, I grew up in a very racial diverse neighborhood and we also noticed that dogs had preferences and dislikes based on race and sex. Politically correctism isn't something dogs can learn.

 

[kenny]

Is your mailman black? I ask because my bf's dog will go straight up to the only black person at a dog park and bark at him. It's not a mean bark, since he's wagging his tail and trying to lick whoever it is.... but still barking loudly, and he's a big dog. My bf was horrified when it happened the first time at a dog park, and when the dog did it again to one of our friends, we sorta figured it out. He has two black mailman in the area, and they come, he barks... then the mailman gives him a treat. Now he thinks that barking will get him treats!

OMG, actually yes.
Our mailperson IS a black woman.
The dogs also bark like crazy when the mail is delivered.

Thank you; I had never made the connection!

Mystery solved.
Wait till I tell my SO tomorrow.

 

[kenny]

Haha I think this is one of your strangest threads to date Kenny!

You know, I completely understand.
I really have two minds about this topic.
I can understand this subject being uber-taboo, especially in an uber-PC place like Pricescope.
On the other hand it is (or rather, it should be) not significant at all.

That's why it is so wonderful.
Dogs are just so pure and naive.
Humans are the ones with all the hang ups and there is a lesson we can learn from dogs here . . . In life we should bark at people who look like the mailperson - and race itself is no big deal at all.

 

[Nomsdeplume]

My friends have two Pekes who bark at and bite white and black people. Their owners are Indian, and they seem fine with other Indian people. It is pretty strange.

 

[April20]

Kenny, my dog totally does the same thing, only he does when the people are actually at the house. I can't explain it. I don't know if it's how they look to him or what. He will warm up eventually, but he does not like it when they first show up.

 

[elrohwen]

That's actually pretty funny, though I agree it would be so embarrassing if friends were over!

I know a guy, his family is black, and they have a parrot who makes fun of white visitors. He and his wife were pretty embarrassed by it, so when the kids went off to college they had to take the bird with them. I'm sure the college kids think a racist, swearing bird is hilarious.

 

[NewEnglandLady]

Every trainer I've ever had has told me that socializing dogs between 8 and 12 weeks with ALL races is important. D and I would take our dogs to parks all over the city in order for them to socialize them. We would also try to socialize them with people in wheelchairs, on crutches, etc. so they woudln't be alarmed. You could spend the most critical socializing period driving all over the place trying to expose them to as many things as necessary, haha.

It's just a matter of exposure. If a dog hasn't seen a black person before it's unfamiliar to them, that's all.

 

[NewEnglandLady]

That's actually pretty funny, though I agree it would be so embarrassing if friends were over!

I know a guy, his family is black, and they have a parrot who makes fun of white visitors. He and his wife were pretty embarrassed by it, so when the kids went off to college they had to take the bird with them. I'm sure the college kids think a racist, swearing bird is hilarious.

I hope I don't get flamed for this because I'm completely joking, but this gives the phrase "Polly wants a cracker" a whole new meaning

 

[elrohwen]

Hahaha, NEL. That's more or less what the parrot said, too. The things teenagers will teach a talking bird! I'm pretty sure that bird knows more swear words than I do.

 

[Callisto]

Haha. My friends dog is sexist. He has never been abused or anything like that as they've had him since he was a puppy, but he doesn't like men. The dog lives with her parents (a male and female) so it's not like he's never exposed to men, but if any of our male friends come over he either barks at them or hides behind the women in the group. I hadn't heard of a racist dog before though...

 

[Miss Sparkly]

My mom had a dog like that. She was scared out of her mind of black people and only black people. I know that dogs consider a direct stare or look to be a challenge of rank. Could it be, because the dog is color blind, that the eyes of black people are more prominent to them and therefore they feel challenged more?

 

[kenny]

That's actually pretty funny, though I agree it would be so embarrassing if friends were over!

I know a guy, his family is black, and they have a parrot who makes fun of white visitors. He and his wife were pretty embarrassed by it, so when the kids went off to college they had to take the bird with them. I'm sure the college kids think a racist, swearing bird is hilarious.

I hope I don't get flamed for this because I'm completely joking, but this gives the phrase "Polly wants a cracker" a whole new meaning

Hahaha.
Good one.

Here in Los Angeles there is a radio station called KROQ.
Kevin and Bean are morning announcers who tell jokes about ALL groups of people.
I love it.
Sure, there is a fine line to not cross to avoid cruel stereotypes.

They say there is something funny about all of us so why not just relax and go with it.
I totally agree.
I think the people who get their panties in a wad are harboring groupist feelings they may not even be fully conscious of.
Those feelings bubble up when they hear the joke, so they get uncomfortable.

 

[stepcutgirl]

If you don't have many black people around the dogs they will do this as to them it's different and different often seems to mean lets bark and point out the odd to us person. My dogs now don't do this but I had a dog in my early 20's who barked with all the might her 5lbs could conjure up at any and every black person she saw. I was mortified. I called my vet one day and asked and he told me when a dog isn't socialized as a puppy with all colors, shapes, sized and sexes of people they grow up only knowing you and those close to you. They think you are the norm and all others are the bad guys. So in all likely hood there are black owned dogs out there who think white people are the enemy.

 

[MissMina]

Some animals are racist
Others are sexist
I think it's fairly common.

 

[KimberlyH]

Kevin and Bean are still around? WOW!

I had a dog that was rescued off the side of the road, starving when found. She was terrified of dark skinned men, especially those who wore hats. I had boyfriend who is Mexican and Sadie wouldn't let him anywhere near her, she would flip out when he came to the house. We assume she was abused by a man/men with dark skin and she never got over it.

 

[ChinaCat]

My dog is not racist but he does NOT like crackheads. Not kidding.

We used to live in a transitional neighborhood. Our immediate area was relatively normal (meaning non-drug users) people and safe, but directly across the major street was a sketchier area that definitely was a place where you could buy crack and meth. Occasionally people that "visited" that area would cross into our neighborhood.

Our dog would go crazy barking at them. I couldn't figure it out. At first, I thought he might be a color thing (the first few times it happened, it was black men). But the next few times it was white men and women.

And then I realized they all had this weird shuffle thing going on and he could SMELL the drugs on them and he did not like it at all. He is the absolute sweetest dog and is almost too friendly, but the fur on his back would stand straight up and he would bark very menacingly at them. I didn't mind.

Though I did think perhaps it was time to move if my DOG had become an expert at sniffing out crackheads.

This thread is funny and dogs are funny. I MISS Kevin & Bean and KROQ!!! Oh the amount of time I spent stuck in traffic listening to them. And this was back when Jimmy Kimmel was the sports guy. He was hysterical.

 

[oranges]

one of my two dogs is extremely "racist". we have one golden retriever who just adores EVERYONE and one yellow lab who loves mostly everyone...we live in a very, very white area and if my lab sees a black person she flips out---it's very strange. a locksmith came once, who happened to be black, and the hair on her neck was raised and she was drooling like mad and barking and i had to hold her back the entire time. it was a bit alarming. i've discussed this with people and it is definitely a rather common phenomenon.

 

[kenny]

This has turned out to be a very enlightening thread.

Thanks all.

 

[brazen_irish_hussy]

I had a teacher from the south whose jack russell was racist. It really bother him because he worked so hard to convince people that him being from the south had nothing to do with it, and it didn't. The best was a bronze statue of an old white guy. Because of the dark color, the dog would not let it go and they finally had to put him in the car. I suspect it has more to do with neurotic small breeds than anything.

 

[risingsun]

Years ago I had a racist German Shephard. I couldn't believe it! I lived in Boston at the time. The pup was given to me by an interracial couple who had bred their dog. Shortly afterward, they went through a messy divorce. She was white and he was black. My GSD developed a "thing" about black men, which I discovered when a black man come over to do some work on my apartment and the dog started barking and getting his fur up. I never saw this dog become aggressive before. I was mortified

 

[Beacon]

I have heard of this happening and it even happened with my friend's cat! The cat reacted with total fear when an african american friend came over to the house. It was embarrassing for him.

Parrots are very well known for having strong male or female preferences, depending on how they were raised. Some will dislike beards or glasses too. Many idiocyncratic things.

Which only shows that it is hardwired in all us animals to be afraid of or reject things which are unfamiliar to us. We can unlearn this behavior too.

 

[partgypsy]

It is not your imagination. Does can stereotype. It most probably has to do with the dog's bad experiences (or even lack of experiences) when young. It can be all kinds of things. When we got Betty she was super freaked out by bikes and skateboards.

This could be totally un pc, but here goes. Another thing is that a dog senses fear and rightly or wrongly, responds to that. Because of the history in the south of dogs being used on black people, there is a certain percentage of black people who are wary and shie away from strange dogs. I know this because when we first moved here, one time we were walking our dog in downtown, and this older lady literally jumped up 3 feet in the air climbing on a park bench when we approached with our dog. Someone explained it to us later.

Our dog didn't notice, but some dogs respond to that fear by acting more aggressive. Unfortunately becoming a self-reinforciing pattern, for both the person and the dog.
If we are walking around and notice someone responding to our dog like that (especially a kid) we try to take the time to have our dog sit and allow that person to pet the dog.