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Anyone here got a black dog and had another dog owner (generally with badly behaved dog) excuse their dogs behaviour because their dog ‘doesn’t like black dogs’?
It’s happened to me countless times and seems weird! And possibly BS?!
Anyone got a different coloured dog and had same excuse? E.g. ‘sorry my dog’s being aggressive he’s scared of yellow dogs…’
I had a hamster that had a similar thing about darker coloured gerbils
I just put it down to racism
I just put it down to racism
Callous
I'm told it is because other dogs can't see the facial expression of a black dog and default to a fear/threat response. No idea if that's true though.
Our current black dog play bows so much and has a really long whippy tail going mad at the other end that she seems to get the message across that she is friendly.
I've heard it, but our Henry loves black dogs, and big ones too. Pub we go to has a regular Doberman in too, some people look horrified to see that and our 12kg Cockerpoo rolling around the floor wrestling.
I'd say it's just bad socialisation.
I suppose if you're one of those people that anthropomorphizes Dogs and believes they experience the full gamut or emotional and psychological responses as Humans, then I guess you have to accept Dogs can be a bit Racist too.
I don't think my cat is Racist, but he is generally a bit of a bellend.
I’m told it is because other dogs can’t see the facial expression of a black dog and default to a fear/threat response. No idea if that’s true though.
I’d imagine that’s not true. Dogs are primarily driven by smell over sight to start with. Does sound like a crap excuse for a badly trained dog. We used to have a massive black Newfoundland and never had it happen to us.
Isn't it because they’re not very Instagrammable?
Both dogs I've had aren't altogether happy about boxer dogs. I don't think boxers speak dog. I've heard the black dogs thing too.
If you have a black dog and another dog doesn’t like black dogs of course you going to hear that. One of my mother’s dogs doesn’t like labradors as their neighbours are aggressive to him through the fence.
Yes as mentioned its actually the fact dogs read facial expressions differently to humans. And black dogs faces are harder for a dog to read hence the aggressive/scared/reaction !
Winston Churchill famously had a problem with black dogs.
My late spaniel was pretty chill and uninterested in / around most other dogs. Liver coloured spaniels however it was another matter. She didn’t seem to like them at all! We got her as a 9yr old rescue so guessing something happened in her past with one.
Someone said that to us the other day.
Did not like black dogs and especially not labs, it was a tiny thing on a lead growling at our dog as we walked past them.
Someone we know had a dog that did not like black people, that was awkward.
Uncles dog was scared of cows as it got zapped by an electric fence with cows right on the other side so blamed the cows. Its real easy for animals to get a fear of random things.
My sister's lab doesn't like other big dogs. Fine with small ones, but propper barky at big ones - has to be held tight when we spot one.
black dogs faces are harder for a dog to read
Dogs faces aren't very expressive, what are they expect "to read"..... a quizzical raised eyebrow? A subtle knowing smirk?
Surely bared teeth or folded ears is all they need to notice? I can't see what difference their colour would make.
Isn’t it because they’re not very Instagrammable?
How very dare you.....
From Mrs Bloke's Insta account. The butter wouldn't melt little s**t we call Barney
#Blacklabsmatter
Black dogs are generally regarded as sinister or malevolent, and an omen of death.
Someone we know had a dog that did not like black people, that was awkward.
Isn't that fairly common in areas where they don't often see black people? Dogs can also be funny about people with disabilities such as a bad limp, or people with large and usual hats.
Walking a paranoid German Shepherd who is highly suspicious of strangers, and insists on staring intensely, can be a rather embarrassing experience.
Black dogs are generally regarded as sinister or malevolent, and an omen of death.
'Generally' doing some heavy lifting there.
I have a (unreasonable?) worry about black labs in particular. I've just had loads of bad experiences with them as a person, and also them going for our dogs in passing in the past.
For me it applies to all dogs regardless of colour.
I had a black lab that barked at tall people or people wearing hats. He was also scared of people who had hiccups.
Friend of mine has a black Retriever bitch. She doesn't mind other black dogs - unless they are collies!
I've a black whippet/lab cross - never had another owner say their dog was scared of mine do to her colour. My dog however is very cautious, and can be aggressive with dogs that are larger than her (absolutely fine with smaller dogs).
May be the dog in question had a bad experience with a black dog and now associates black dogs with that fight.
We had a dog that didn't like black dogs, hated with a passion German shepherds but loved to a worrying extent lurchers
He got on fine with Dave who is concerned that folk might not like him
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Yes as mentioned its actually the fact dogs read facial expressions differently to humans. And black dogs faces are harder for a dog to read hence the aggressive/scared/reaction !
do you have anything to back that up? Genuine question and not a dig btw. Everything I read/have read about canine communications has sight as pretty much the third of their senses. Smell way out in front as their primary way of understanding the world, followed by smell and then sight in third place. They’d be more affected by the smell of another dog than the look of one.
My dog is small and black and she doesn’t like large or white dogs.
I put it down to jealously of their glorious, white, flowing locks.
Barney looks awesome and Dave looks well sound.
My lab has a thing for blokes in hats. He's adopted...
We have a light coloured 2 yr old cockapoo who gets on with most dogs, he likes big black dogs and plays away happily. He is off the lead for play often and well socialised.
There is a black labradoodle nearby that had a go at him as a pup. Every time he sees it he goes apeshit, total Rambo mode and needs strong restraint.. weird !
Winston Churchill famously had a problem with black dogs.
That was the subject I was half expecting to read about.
They’d be more affected by the smell of another dog than the look of one.
Oh so now we are getting proper racist...... it's not that black dogs look different, it's that they smell different.
Edit: Someone should organise diversity classes for dogs - more interaction between dogs that look and smell different. It seems as if there might be a need.
I have a (unreasonable?) worry about black labs in particular. I’ve just had loads of bad experiences with them as a person, and also them going for our dogs in passing in the past.
That’s funny @longdog , I was reading this thread thinking about what I had assumed was my unique but consistently bad experiences with black labs. Not all black labs, but if I get hassled by a dog out running off road , it’s very likely to be one. It’s been the same for years.
Hear it quite a lot when taking our black lab out. It's a bit self fulfilling sometimes. You get people frantically pulling their dogs back and virtually shouting that they don't like black dogs. No wonder their dog has an issue.
I'm reasonably confident the expression and body language thing might be a factor. Yes smell is important but it varies from dog to dog. Our dog is very visual. He is also a bit racist and has even barked at black people on TV.
I don't think it is anything about the colour of our lab/collie cross pup, as it seems that mainly little yappy dogs don't like him
Doug is also concerned that black dogs apparently aren't 'grammable...
On the other hand, Doug also might appear at times to be slightly malevolent and/or sinister...
We've also had the 'they don't like black dogs' thing said to us. It's nonsense.
Doug himself doesn't have issues with any particular genre of pooch. There are local dogs he loves, and some that he (to us) irrationally hates. In both cases the feelings are generally mutual and as we chat to the other owners they also really have no idea why as we spot each other in the distance, rein both our dogs in and pass each other as far apart as possible with a knowing nod and rolling eyes.
<img src="[img] 
[/img]" alt="Esther" /
Esther rarely has a problem with other dogs- she just ignores them!
do you have anything to back that up? Genuine question and not a dig btw. Everything I read/have read about canine communications has sight as pretty much the third of their senses. Smell way out in front as their primary way of understanding the world, followed by smell and then sight in third place. They’d be more affected by the smell of another dog than the look of one.
https://companyofanimals.com/uk/why-does-my-dog-dislike-black-dogs/
Lots of info on tinternet 🙂
BIL and SIL dog doesn't like black dogs. They've said it's because of difficulty reading their facial expressions.
When we take Rufus out some dogs take a general dislike to him, but normally smaller dogs who I guess feel threatened so kick off as they can't run away due to leads.
Look at the magnificent bastard 🤣
Heard it loads from loads of people, sister's dog hated them - labs in particular.
According to that link:
If you have a black puppy it is really important that you invest time in these early socialisation experiences. Sign up for puppy classes that include reward-linked introductions to dogs of every description
Why? Surely it's not the black puppy that will grow up to have a problem.
The headline of the article even asks, "Why does my dog dislike black dogs?". They are the ones that need to go to diversity classes!
Talk about victim blaming.
I've heard it a couple of times, doesn't help that Lulu is a fairly large Belgian shepherd:
FWIW she's very boisterous and always looking for a chance to play, but otherwise great with other dogs - but I can fully understand that smaller dogs see her as a threat and I generally try to cross the road if I see one coming.
My childhood Springer got in a scrap with the Samoyed from 2 doors down. After that he hated any Samoyed no matter the size, sex or age!
My black lab finds it difficult sometimes to get dogs to play with him. I put that down to the fact he is a very large bouncy goof ball but seeing him charging towards you could be construed as terrifying to a smaller or less boisterous dog. Main risk is being slobbered on
Black dogs singing in the dead of night.
We have a white cockerpoo that’s racist- she doesn’t like black dogs, but she does have 1 black lab as a friend!
She was ok with black dogs until a black lab knocked my wife over.
Since then she’s in protective mode and it’s taking ages to work it out of her
My black greyhound is one big (even for a grey), goofy, friendly hound.
He is super open and relaxed with any other dog, his whole body language is always the same, friend.
Unless they are spaniels he has never met. Too many of them ignore his open greeting and skirt around him to stick their nose right up his bum (usually off lead and ignoring their owner). He doesn’t like that, and spaniels do it more than most, so over time he has decided spaniels can do one and he’s no longer open and friendly with any.
I digress.
Despite his very visual demeanour, I still get many small to medium sized dogs, often held on tight leads, being utter nasty snarly little tw*ts towards him. I suspect this is not discrimination, instead I suspect those dogs are always snarly little tw*ts. But their owners often say ‘they don’t like big dogs’ which is fine, just keep your tw*t of an animal away from my well socialised (which took loads of effort) friendly hound.
Side note if you have a dog that is aggressive, why wouldn’t you get a behaviourist and save yourself all that anxiety on a walk?
Never heard it. Nor has Henry. Dogs run on smell not colour.
All I will say, is any dog's poor behaviour is down to the person that got it. I muck about with both my sister's dog (big lab, but he has known me) and our friend's two cockers (that have met me twice) and they are great.
I don't get people blaming the dog !
Here's my lab looking threatening
Black dogs are cool. Sisters got two labs, the tall type. One nice, one cheeky. I'll see if I can get some pics.
Yep. Absobloodylutely unreasonable to not like black Labradors.
The more time I spend with my black Labrador, the more time I understand many people in the world are total c@£ts.
Well, I’d be inclined to believe it was nonsense, except my mostly black lurcher collie cross is definitely scared of black labs. He was attacked by one with absolutely no visible warning (both the owner my dog and and I were taken completely by surprise) at a village fair when both were on leads, so at least we know why. No harm done but very noisy and spittle coating. The weird ‘sideways growl dance trying to make himself look big whilst actually just looking daft’ thing he does now when he meets one on a walk was comical at first, but it’s tiresome now. We are trying to socialise him out of it but it’s hard work. He doesn’t have any particular issue with other dogs.
Ours doesn't like Boxers (the dog type, not the sporting type)
coming back to this after posting yesterday. For ours it's definitely not a 'black dog thing', it's a 'that dog' thing, and that dog happens to be black.
Not long back from our morning walk and he spent ages chasing and rolling around in the frost with his mate, Axel, who is a big black flat coat retriever. They are both similar age, 2, and when they were pups we used to worry that Axel would suffocate him 🙂 . Ours is 12kg, Axel must be 30kg plus..
'that dog' though, the black labradoodle that he has bad history with.... different matter entirely !
That article doesn’t seem very scientific. I think it belongs in the ‘dogs are the same as wolves’ category that a lot of hard science also debunks. In Defence of Dogs is a fantastic book on the subject should anyone be interested.
Never had an issue with Bella snd she was massive, like a stunted bear!
Our spaniel isn't a fan of big black dogs. Aboslutely fine with anything her size or smaller. Stems from a puppy-hood trauma for her when, on a dark winter morning, a massive black lab came bounding out of the dark woods straight at her with owner nowhere in sight. She panicked and legged it. Found her a few minutes later cowering under a bush. Still never saw the lab's owner. Since then she's always been very wary of big, dark, bouncy dogs. Doesn't go for them, but tries to keep her distance and have her exits planned.
As someone mentioned before, she is more likely to start barking at them first if she's on the lead because she knows she can't run away so has to show her strength early.
Ours doesn’t like Boxers (the dog type, not the sporting type)
As someone who has grown up with Boxers (the dog type, not the sporting type) and been an owner for the bulk of my adult life I can confirm that a lot of dogs, grey hounds in particular, dislike the Boxer breed. Much like with the black dog other dogs find the Boxers flat face difficult to read.
Boxers also have no tails don't they? Think that's another important method of communication.
Another owner of a black dog here. I've not been told by other owners that their dog is scared of black dogs before, but do find that she behaves differently depending on the breed of the other dog. Although as she's gotten older she is less tolerant of any dog now!
Never had an issue with Bella snd she was massive, like a stunted bear!
I can believe it looking at the size of her dog egg! 😳😉
All I will say, is any dog’s poor behaviour is down to the person that got it
@fossy That's a bit of a sweeping generalisation isn't it? I think you'll find that a significant number of owners of reactive dogs are that way because another moron has let their dog run up to it and attack. My ridgeback through no fault of her own, she was actively ignoring the dogs and avoiding them, was badly bitten by a rather large german shepherd. What EXACTLY did you expect me as an owner to do to prevent an unleashed/out of control GSD from running up and attacking? That turned her into a dog that would avoid other dogs even more so but imagine if her personality was that of fight rather than flight. Now through no fault of my own I have a dog who is frightened of other dogs.
I've lost count of the amount of times that other owners don't consider what can happen when they allow their dogs to run up to other dogs without first checking it's ok. I was out walking with a friend and a lady in the distance stopped and put one of her two dogs on a lead so we of course reciprocated, she then proceeded to allow her other dog to run up from at least 30m away up to our now leashed and in control dogs. But hey it would be our fault if one of our two then snapped right?
Dogs generally struggle to understand pugs, boxers etc. Because body language is really important to them so the squashed face and bizarre breathing and tiny tails mean they dont know how to understand and judge whether the dog is happy about their presence. My dog goes to daycare and the owners have boxers and regularly board pugs so Jethro has plenty of practice with this anomaly but its not something that's easy to cover without being a breed stalker.
I'd imagine most people who say their dogs dont like black dogs is because their dog has had a negative experience with a black dog and it's very hard to erase a negative experience from any creature, even humans. You'd have to probably match 1 negative experience with 10 or 20 in order to try to override the waryness.
I get a lot the 'oh sorry he's got small dog syndrome' to which I generally reply 'that's okay mine's got well behaved dog syndrome.
A friends dog hates boxers.
He can spot them a fair distance away, 20 - 30m and goes absolutely mental.
He is not aggressive towards any other breed and is quite timid at times.
I had a black mongrel bitch from the age of 5 until 22. She was amazing. Fairly small, short hair, fast and anxious. For some reason Jack Russells absolutely hated her. And two of my best mates had them. She would run away from any other dog but I remember one of my mate’s JR had to have stitches after she clawed its back so badly.
She was timid but friendly to most people… except two girls I brought home when I was a teenager. Her hair stood on end and she showed her teeth and barked at them! One was a girlfriend, the other prospective, and in hindsight was best avoided.
This is a mate’s dog. How can you not like it?
Our old Barney was nothing to be scared of. He loved dressing up as cows 😊
Boxers also have no tails don’t they? Think that’s another important method of communication.
Boxers should have full tails as it's illegal to dock a dog's tail for cosmetic reasons and has been for a long while now.
Got a border collie, he's scared of black dogs, sounds like he's being aggressive because he barks and growls......but he bites at his lead to get away, not because he's aggressive towards the dog, but because he wants to run.
It has something to do with teh fact that when he was a puppy he was minding his own business at a park (on a lead) with us and a couple with a black akita were walking past and the akita decided to grab him by the head and pin him to the floor like he was trying to eat him head first.
Liver coloured spaniels however it was another matter.
Interesting thread, my first though was 'aren't dogs colour blind'??
Turns out they can see blues and yellows, so I guess they can discern colour but I have no idea what 'liver' looks like when you only see blues and yellows!
Our retriever is currently a bit wary of black labs as one hurt him a few weeks ago (they were doing fine until the lab jumped on his back). He’s getting over it though I think so no general worry with black dogs. Having said that he’s always wary of Jack Russells who mostly seem not to like him much and bark but again there are always exceptions.