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Our dogs are racist

One of my colleagues has a racist dog too! He is a very fearful dog in general and was a rescue so there was little hope for socialization once he was brought home. They did their best but the dog barks like MAD if my colleague walks by any people with darker skin tones -- black and East Indian are both quite hated by this mutt. He does not bark at whites or asians. Go figure.
 
Our fuzzy-butt has issues. BTW, he's a 14 lb Chi-Papillon-who knows what mix. We adopted him from a shelter when he was one, so we don't know what he experienced during his formative puppy years. But, shortly after we adopted we learned a couple of things:

1) He hates hats. Men or women, with big hats, cause him to bark.
2) He barks at moving bikes, tricycles, skateboards, you name it, that get "too close" to him. Strollers however, are okay. We have to use a code word to signal him and get his attention for a treat to recondition him.
3) He seemed to have issues with Hispanics, sometimes, African-Americans, but usually, Hispanics. I have no idea why. We figure something happened to associate a negative experience before we got him. I was so mortified when I was walking through the park, and he started barking at a group of guys. They laughed at my little dog who was throwing a fit. He's also growled at a guy who put his hood up and kinda hid behind a tree. Like he immediately thought, uber suspicious...
4) He HATES, HATES, HATES crows and seagulls. Crows rile him up so much. They could be cawing at him from a tree and he just barks and barks. It's kinda hilarious, actually. I think some crow picked on him when he was a little puppy.

We had to do a lot of redirection and reconditioning around the triggers. Luckily, he's a big fan of food and will do a lot to get a tasty treat. He is much better around people than before, although he is still not a fan of hats, crows, and little kids on a wheeled vehicle barreling straight at him. Note to parents, teach your kids not to do this to any dog - while I will try to get out of the way, if the kid comes toward my side and I don't see them in time to get away, my dog (as well as other dogs) will flip.
 
Slightly OT but as a child in Texas I had a kindergarten teacher who was African American. My family moved up north and we were asked to draw a picture of our kindergarten teacher and I drew a black lady, much to my new, white teacher's surprise! When asked about it, I told my mom that I thought all teachers were black (because the majority of my old school had been). I think young children and animals should sometimes be taken with a grain of salt as most don't understand what racism is! :)
 
I knew someone who's dog was like this, but it was against people wearing hats. Perhaps when he was little someone wearing a hat spooked him, but if someone walked into the house wearing a hat, he would growl and freak out. (Which is pretty scary when you're looking at a 90 pound Pit Bull!) He never bit anyone, and was otherwise a nice dog.
 
I'd add that we are our dogs second home.

We adopted them from an agency when they were 8 months old IIRC.
They told us the previous owner abused them but of course said nothing of the race of the previous owner, which is entirely appropriate.

But, perhaps there is an explanation in there.
 
We had a German Shepard-Collie mixed dog that did not like black people, I never knew why, but after reading all these replies I think I understand now...our mailman was black and she hated the mailman...so maybe she associated black people with the mailman...I have always puzzled over why she did that. Our 2nd dog a Lab mix never had this kind of reaction....
 
kenny said:
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?
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Kenny, you are not being racist or offensive, you are just telling it like it is. My two labs are the same, they bark like crazy when they see a dark skinned person. I don't know why. Maybe it's the scent they give from the different cuisine they eat? I know my male labs barks up a storm when we have thai green curry, runs around with his fur up, tail under and growls and barks at the kitchen. It's hilarious!

Also, maybe they don't see them as often and are just a bit freaked out by the darker skin KWIM? When you think about it they are probably used to seeing lighter faces and don't understand what's going on.
 
I remember that Curb Your Enthusiasm episode! I think I knew that dogs can be racist and sexist IRL. I'm sorry yours is, kenny. I hope it doesn't embarrass you too much!
 
I thought of the Curb episode when I read this, too!

My dad had a racist cat growing up. The stories are very funny, but with my dad you never can tell if they're true or not. If they are, that cat did not like black people, and had no qualms about showing his racism.

Sorry your dogs are racist, Kenny. They sure are cute, though.
 
My dogs do the same thing! But they do it to live people verses the TV. They mainly bark when someone is coming near me and the person appears timid. I had a black cable repairman come to fix my cable and my dogs went crazy, but he acted afraid and I think my dogs smelled fear and they reacted. I have had black friends come over and they only did it the very first time they meet, but never again afterwards. My boys favorite 'aunt' is a black woman and they love her to bits! After the initial visit, most of my friends are comfortable with my boys and it's not an issue after that.
 
I saw that Curb your Enthusiasm episode. Larry David had a dog that was nice, but when Wanda Sykes came the dog had a fit and she noticed. She yelled at him that his dog was racist. Larry David didnt know what to do. It wasnt his fault.

I find that people that are willing to talk about race issues usually arent racist at all, but the people that are more uncomfortable with it tend to be more PC about race.
 
My dogs love every person and every type of animal they've ever seen. They are way too friendly, lol.
 
It is instinctual for us as people to be tribal and I believe the dogs have the same thing going on - that they just see the difference and go oh this is definitely not a part of our clan until the clan leader says they're okay - where as other people of the same race as the owner the dog may be confused about the wider circle of the tribe.

Just a theory :)
 
My cavalier, Charlie, went crazy when we received a cement garden cat from Plow & Hearth. It was so heavy, it never made it into the garden. He took one look at a thing a barked and growled as if he were possessed. We had two cats at that time and they all got on very well. I finally decided to cover the [cement] cats head with a hat. The growling and barking stopped immediately! That cat had to wear a hat for quite some time. It's no longer necessary, but you had to wonder what was going on in Charlie's doggy brain :?
 
Many people in this country are bi, tri- or multiracial. So how peculiar is your dog about the shade of skin? I watched Queen Latifah's interview with Larry King two days ago... She identifies with African Americans, but she is very light-skinned...would your dog bark at her or not?

I think dogs may be barking at a many people. (They used to bark at me because I never had a dog when growing up and was afraid of them for a long time.) We just register them barking at certain people. Or maybe you get tense because you are waiting for the dog to start barking (to prove or disprove your theory) - and the dogs, especially traumatized ones (they are more sensitive), feel it and bark!

This being said...I remember when my son was a toddler, he was afraid of black faces but absolutely LOVED black women wearing eyeglasses. Literally would start making eyes at them. Go guess...
 
I've had several sexist cats- my Rat is typically terrified of strange guys- he just disappears if a strange man is in the house, though women are just fine with him and usually get molested to boot- he gives them the boobie-squishing-and-drooling routine usually; he'll drape himself across you and drool and knead blissfully until you're damp and throughly cat-spitted, and when he decides he's done he'll just suddenly leap off and leave you feeling slightly used, lol. He was taken from his mommy at too young an age and has a bit of a kneading and drooling fixation, and, well, I guess boobs are fun to knead on, nice and squishy :roll: . So far all of my friends have been fine with a bit of cat molestation, lucky for him.

He was teased a bit too much by a roommate's boyfriend as a kitten, hence the man-fear I think. (The guy dyed him red with food coloring once just to p!ss me off- believe me it worked.)

I had one other cat when I was growing up that also preferred women quite a bit- he wasn't afraid of men like Rat, but he really adored women especially if they had perfume on.

That's funny about the dogs, kenny. It's so weird the things pets fixate on! My O.P. cat is terrified of black boots- he was an abused cat and boots are just NOT alright with him. They get a sideways hop and a few hisses usually, so my boots live in the closet and come off promptly when I'm home.
 
My dog goes crazy when he sees the UPS driver, but that is only because the UPS driver carries dog biscuits. Now whenever my dog sees someone dressed in the same ugly drab brown/khaki colors he goes ballistic thinking he will get a biscuit.
 
NewEnglandLady said:
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.
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I've heard the same thing. Dogs just get used to who's around them, and may not be as friendly to people who don't look like what they're used to seeing. A lot of times this is also a problem with dogs that have only been raised around adults - they can be aggressive towards children.
 
Kenny, you're not alone. Mine is racist as well... :nono:
 
both of mine are racist, and the boy is sexist..... I think.... anything with a gruff voice I guess.
 
kenny said:
I'd add that we are our dogs second home.

We adopted them from an agency when they were 8 months old IIRC.
They told us the previous owner abused them but of course said nothing of the race of the previous owner, which is entirely appropriate.

But, perhaps there is an explanation in there.
Click to expand...

Our dog also engages in the same behavior as your dog and happens to be from an animal shelter. Not to mention she is a pit bull that was left behind after a dog fighting ring was broken up, so draw your own conclusions from there. Fortunately she was only 4 months old when she was discovered so thankfully too young to fight and she is friendly to everyone, even people of color. She just seems to bark at African Americans, ironic, since she is a dark dog herself (I know she is not aware of this, but it is kinda funny). She is all bark though with them, all she wants to do is say hi and play, whatever.
 
I wonder if it could not just be a past experience, but also unfamiliarity? Sasha is not adopted, we got her as a puppy. She only has this reaction with darker skinned people. We don't commonly have as many darker skinned people around us just due to proximity and the groups of people we hang out with. Could she react because she is not as used to seeing them? She has gotten better since we have lived in the town house as there is a large cultural mix in our neighborhood.

Scout I truly believe is related to having been abused. I think someone male used to throw him. He is terrified of being picked up, and terrified of men, especially dark skinned men. ;(
 
I buy it 100%. If it makes you feel better, my baby is racist. Really, when she was little (under 1), she'd howl whenever we saw a black person. It embarrased the heck out of me. The only thing I could think of is that we don't have any good friends who are black (one of my best friends, who happened to be black, died of breast cancer a couple of years ago) so it was something she wasn't used to seeing.

Thankfully, she's grown out of it...hopefully, your dogs will as well.

My other thought...were they rescued from a shelter or something? Maybe they had been mistreated by a black person? A friend of ours has a dog who's terrified of men b/c he'd been abused by a man before he was rescued.

Oops Kenny, just read your post about your mail carrier...I guess that explains it!
 
yennyfire - not sure if you were talking to me or to kenny about the shelter part? If you were talking to me, the one who would be unfamiliar (as your sweety is) is not. Our male is a rescue and was almost definitely abused.
 
I was talking to Kenny, but then I saw that he is the dogs 2nd owner, so it's possible they were abused prior to coming to live with Kenny, though the mail carrier explanation seems likely too.

I'm sorry that your puppy was abused. Thank goodness you found him (or he found you) and that he's in a loving home now.
 
My cockatiel is racist. We had a Comcast employee come over to fix our cable, and he happened to be black, and the bird FLIPPED OUT. He was screaming and flapping all over his cage, and once the guy stepped out of view, he stopped. He's never done that with any one else who came over!

We were embarrassed!
 
I have a friend whose dog loses his mind every time she runs her ultrasonic jewelry cleaner. No matter how far away it is - even if it's behind 3 closed doors on the opposite side of the house. I guess he's a blingist.

We have a dog who loves EVERYONE she meets, with no regard to sex or race. Except for my dad. She is terrified of him. He's Indian and the sweetest and kindest man you'd ever meet. Yet she runs and hides every time he comes over. She's not this way with any other of my Indian relatives, just dad. Go figure.

We used to have a dog (may he rest in peace) who was racist - when he was a puppy he was sweet with everyone, even in our very diverse office - he was a lovebug. Then one day we ran into a neighbor - very nice African American gentleman who even had dog biscuits in his pockets. The puppy freaked out, hid behind me and peed himself from fear. Poor neighbor :( He tried everything to win Joey over - cookies, getting down on one knee to play, etc. Joey wouldn't have any of it. I thought perhaps it was the cologne the man was wearing, or something about his clothing, etc. But after that Joey was aggressive towards all black people - even seeing someone cross the street while we were driving around in our car freaked him out. He never forgot that experience and it stayed with him forever. He was a shelter dog and perhaps there was some sort of traumatic association with that man specifically? I don't know, but he even barked when Oprah was on TV. It was awful.

Fortunately for us, our other dog hates everyone. He doesn't discriminate - all new people and strangers are bad and he wants to eat them. So that makes things easier to explain.
 
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