Is your dog racist?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Research has shown pretty clearly that dogs that get leash reactive in response only to people of a certain race are reacting to their owners body language and tension coming down the leash. In other words -- dogs aren't racist, but people are. Even people who think they aren't.

Dogs don't even have sight as a primary sense, they mostly smell things to assess them, including people. Absent something like a big backpack or hat or reflective sunglasses that make the person look like they don't have eyes or something, or extreme body language (for instance with toddlers -- lots of dogs are afraid of toddlers because they work hard to learn to read body language and toddlers are falling all over the place), dogs aren't focused on what people look like. They don't notice skin color. Or the color of other dogs for that matter. It's not a thing for them.

Not true at all. It's mostly dogs who have a predisposition to fear/anxiety responses, AND who react to an appearance that is not present in their home and/or their usual environment. It happens with kids too.

My dog has a dominant personality, and loves all humans (but he hates male dogs that are larger than he is!). I foster dogs for a shelter. Some of them have those reactions, because they're fearful by nature, and perhaps lived in places with all-white people. Others don't, even though they might come from the same region: I don't know who they've seen, but generally those dogs are more outgoing in general. Even more interesting: I've fostered pregnant dogs whose litters were diversely reactive to skin color. Even though they were born in my house, I trained them in the same way, and they were exposed to the same neighborhood!

So you can take your pseudo-research elsewhere

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:My dog got into a tiff with a neighbor dog and henceforth considered that dog (who was very nice) his mortal enemy. The owner was a very pleasant Asian man. My dog then was extremely alert and prone to barking any time he saw anyone that looked vaguely Asian bc he thought the other dog was around.

Dogs don't think someone "looks vaguely asian." They just don't. The things humans see and identify as "vaguely asian" are not something a dog will register.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Research has shown pretty clearly that dogs that get leash reactive in response only to people of a certain race are reacting to their owners body language and tension coming down the leash. In other words -- dogs aren't racist, but people are. Even people who think they aren't.

Dogs don't even have sight as a primary sense, they mostly smell things to assess them, including people. Absent something like a big backpack or hat or reflective sunglasses that make the person look like they don't have eyes or something, or extreme body language (for instance with toddlers -- lots of dogs are afraid of toddlers because they work hard to learn to read body language and toddlers are falling all over the place), dogs aren't focused on what people look like. They don't notice skin color. Or the color of other dogs for that matter. It's not a thing for them.

Not true at all. It's mostly dogs who have a predisposition to fear/anxiety responses, AND who react to an appearance that is not present in their home and/or their usual environment. It happens with kids too.

My dog has a dominant personality, and loves all humans (but he hates male dogs that are larger than he is!). I foster dogs for a shelter. Some of them have those reactions, because they're fearful by nature, and perhaps lived in places with all-white people. Others don't, even though they might come from the same region: I don't know who they've seen, but generally those dogs are more outgoing in general. Even more interesting: I've fostered pregnant dogs whose litters were diversely reactive to skin color. Even though they were born in my house, I trained them in the same way, and they were exposed to the same neighborhood!

So you can take your pseudo-research elsewhere

Dogs pickup racism from their handlers. Here's an article. I'm going to guess you have zero citations for your pov? Yep, that's what I thought. https://www.psychologytoday.com/us/blog/canine-corner/201909/can-dogs-be-racist

[Anonymous]

I'm a dog-sitter and have absolutely worried about this. "My" dog barked at two different Asian men in a row. She loves me dearly and may have perceived them as a threat even though I didn't? They may have had a scent of a dog she'd met in the past and didn't get along with. I don't know. But then we ran into a boy who was HAPA who she knows and likes and then she was fine with all Asian people again. Weird. If it had continued I would have carried some small treats with me to give people she had a reaction to, so they could give her a treat and she could associate them with good things.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:My dog can be bribed by anyone.

Food is his love language

Though he does seem to dislike teen boys a little

The last one. Once while in the car waiting at a red light, saw what looked like HS boys get off the city bus and a lady with her dog were sitting on the grass nearby when the dog just started barking at that group of boys and kept barking until they were further away. Don't know if woman was afraid of that group of boys or dog smelled something or something all together. Don't remember if any of them wore a hat or poncho or something out of the ordinary. Not sure if it matters - the boys were white and so was the woman.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:My dog can be bribed by anyone.

Food is his love language

Though he does seem to dislike teen boys a little

The last one. Once while in the car waiting at a red light, saw what looked like HS boys get off the city bus and a lady with her dog were sitting on the grass nearby when the dog just started barking at that group of boys and kept barking until they were further away. Don't know if woman was afraid of that group of boys or dog smelled something or something all together. Don't remember if any of them wore a hat or poncho or something out of the ordinary. Not sure if it matters - the boys were white and so was the woman.

Maybe someone in the group has a dog at home and the barking dog was barking at the smell? sounds so ridiculous though. but could it have been the smell?

[Anonymous]

Neighbors' dog barks every time he is let out to backyard. During the day, if dog barks it seems it's a "let's go on a walk" trying to get his owner to leave for the walk. But at midnight? It's soo annoying.

[Anonymous]

Yes yes

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:My dog can be bribed by anyone.

Food is his love language

Though he does seem to dislike teen boys a little

The last one. Once while in the car waiting at a red light, saw what looked like HS boys get off the city bus and a lady with her dog were sitting on the grass nearby when the dog just started barking at that group of boys and kept barking until they were further away. Don't know if woman was afraid of that group of boys or dog smelled something or something all together. Don't remember if any of them wore a hat or poncho or something out of the ordinary. Not sure if it matters - the boys were white and so was the woman.

We can all agree teen boy groups give off an energy that can be disconcerting, like older puppies. They are growing into their bodies and occasionally less conscious of their environment and who/what they bump into but have spurts of high energy.

[Anonymous]

Mine is...ableist? Has a big problem with the mentally ill or those on drugs. In our neighborhood this is 99% black men, so I do worry he looks racist, but it's really a reaction to behavior he deems aberrant like screaming, lunging, stumbling, etc. He can sense someone in this category before I even see them, does not react well when they approach us on patios asking for money. He is totally fine with people of all races who don't fit this specific profile.

[Anonymous]

What kind of training is given to a dog to make them an "-ist"?

[Anonymous]

Instead of wondering if your dog is racist, ableist, etc. maybe just address the problem: train your dog to STFU.

Just because it has an opinion doesn't mean anyone wants or needs to hear about it.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:What kind of training is given to a dog to make them an "-ist"?

Human personificiation/projection onto the animal used as an excuse for poor behavior the owner is "trying to understand" rather than correcting. It's something garbage owners say to justify their dog's barking, pulling/lunging, growling, etc. They want understanding from other humans so they don't have to teach their dog how to understand and abide by proper handling standards.

See also: "my dog is reactive" and "s/he's a rescue".

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Mine is...ableist? Has a big problem with the mentally ill or those on drugs. In our neighborhood this is 99% black men, so I do worry he looks racist, but it's really a reaction to behavior he deems aberrant like screaming, lunging, stumbling, etc. He can sense someone in this category before I even see them, does not react well when they approach us on patios asking for money. He is totally fine with people of all races who don't fit this specific profile.

So is mine. She doesn’t like people in wheelchairs. I feel bad about it and tried to slip her treats when a neighbor in a wheelchair passes in front of our house, but it was too hard to be consistent because it only happens every few weeks. She also hates people with umbrellas and weedwackers. I wouldn’t say I’m predisposed against any of those.

[Anonymous]

My lab is terrified of people in wheelchairs or those using walkers. I’m not sure what he sees as a threat but his hackles go up and he will bark and then hide behind me 🤷🏻‍♀️