Is my dog racist?

Now, you might not actively be racist. In fact, you're probably not.

That is the most likely scenario here, but the dog can pick up an an increased defense mechanism in situations. Pets respond largely off our personality queues.

Another thing worth mentioning, are your black visitors wearing sunglasses? Police dogs or other dogs trained/naturally inclined to protect with physical force HATE anything that hides the eyes. Including hats.

TL;DR: Dogs, cats, w/e are not born "racist". If you feel uncomfortable around a certain group of people, the dog can and will pick up on that and react accordingly.

No. You're the racist for thinking your dog is a racist. Scr00b

Dogs struggle to see facial features and expressions on people with darker skin, all dogs act this way because it confuses them, it's not racist, to stop this you must desensitise your dog to people who have a darker skin tone, they will learn there's nothing to be afraid of.

No. Dogs communicate via the energy given off. So the only reason your dog would possibly be barking and growling at another race is:

A) you haven't exposed him to all different people all ages, races and genders from an early age and he has a fear.

B) you are nervous around other races and give off a negative vibe which puts your dog into protection mode, especially if you have tension on the leash.

C) the people of other races you come across are giving off a negative energy which again, causes your dog to go into protection mode.

It is very likely it's a combination of all of the above.

Your dog probably got a bad vibe with that particular individuals presence.

My dog dislikes men, mostly white men. He actually comes around to black men faster than white men. I've just simply noticed that when he growls at white men they try to be friends with him. Opposed to black men who don't mess with him when he does that, and eventually he ends up befriending them.

They often do that, my friend's dog does too. I don't think it is racism, dogs aren't capable of that but have you ever noticed that black people do often smell different to how white people smell? Not bad, just different and I think if a dog is raised around just white people and never meets any black people then they never get used to it and can become fearful and aggressive at smelling someone different to what they are used to. It would likely work the other way around too. Just my theory anyway. Apparently dogs are also colour blind so maybe they look odd to them or something. Since we can't ask the dog I guess we will never know.

Dogs are Fearful and don't trust anything different. If you lived in Black neighborhood their dogs would probably bark at you.
Most dogs will bark at a hat, or scarf, my dog always barks at uniform, or sudden loud noises e.g. I have a black hover which he tries to bite and chases, the same happens with a brush. Dogs are protective over people they love and they don't always react very well to new things.

Yes. It's up to you to decide if that's a bad thing.

Troll Question!!! REPORTED!! Its not chat though, its trying to rid the Yahoo! Answers Community of troll filth like you :) Also, Dogs cant be racist

No but YOU are because you surely encourage it.

No he is smart cause if not for him, your bike would probably be stolen by now

No.
He just likes fried chicken and watermelon.

No, only a person can be racist. Your dog is barking at something unfamiliar - it could be as simple as the hat they all were coincidentally wearing - or they happened to have something he wants, or a combination of the two because my friend's dog barks at those knit hats with the ball on top because he wants you to throw it for him to fetch!

Maybe, I've met a dog who hated men before so I guess they cayn be racist too

Dogs are very conservative. If they grow up in an Asian family then they dont trust white people as adults.
they learn who belongs in their family before the age of 16 weeks, and thats why early socialisation is so important.

Some of my family are Deaf, and one of them had a JR Terrier who only liked Deaf people. He'd bark at the door if the person was hearing. He could tell from their body language before his owners could.

lol no, dogs just become frightened/defensive when they see something out of the ordinary for them. I socialize service dogs, and what we do when a dog sees a person they are nervous around, is we ask the person to give them a few treats. only do this if your dog is friendly of course, and If its someone you kind of know. with some socialization, the problem can possibly be remedied.

No, all dogs are in fact color blind, so no black or white color is unusual to them, black and white is all they see...

My parents dig was the same way. Anyone who had dark skin she would growl. I do believe it's because she never seen anyone with dark skin. My whole family is blonde hair blue eyes.

Yes. Some dogs are even known to use the N-word and F-word towards blacks. I have seen it. It used to happen to my grandparent's mailman every day. The vet said that dogs can't see black people's faces very well and that the teeth and eyes scare them. Only if you raise a dog with black people will it be unafraid.

My boyfriend's parents used to have a racist dog. She'd bark and growl at Hispanics but not blacks.

hahhahhahhahahahahaha sorry but this is just so funny

Mine does same every time

No, but he may be scared because I've been told that some black people steal stuff

Haha no, all dogs do that for some reason.

My dog doesn't like white dogs.

My dog is like that too. We got him from a shelter and it turned out he was abused by a previous owner who happened to be black. I think my dog is spooked by people who look like his old owner.

Have you had the dog since they were a puppy? If not, they may have had a bad experience with one or a family of black individuals. So now they are wary of anyone who looks similar. There are dogs who don't like one type of person based on their similarities to someone who hurt them. My dog doesn't like any children (or even small females) because her previous owner's grandkids threw rocks at her. My other dogs doesn't like large men, no matter what race, because he was abused by one before we got him.

I think my dog is, she barks at black dogs (any animal really but mostly black dogs!) black people and people with beards.
Somebody told us that it is because she can't see their faces as clearly as on white or lighter coloured dogs/people/people without beards due to her eyesight!!

your dog is not racist. My dog has never liked dark people/features such as hats, beards, dark sweaters etc. We later found out he has Cataracts. Just to keep on the safe side you should get its eyes checked out.

No. Just a good judge in character.

I have never heard of any such thing as a racist dog

Lol noooo

So does mine. So what?

That's a complex question. Dogs learn by association, and they can be leery of something they are not used to. To consider a dog racist is putting human values onto a dog. Dr Nicholas Dodman, a world famous animal behaviourist and veterinarian at Tufts University, has given expert testimony in the past, that dogs can have racial preferences, and behave differently for different races, either because of a negative association, or lack of exposure. Black people will have a different scent to a dog, because proportionally they have more sebaceous (oil) glands to "water" scent glands. Also, if you have anxiety around a particular race, for whatever reason, a dog will pick up on that. If you want to solve this, you may want to consider hiring a trainer that is black, or if you can find willing people who are black to help you, work on positive association with them, ideally with the help of a trainer so nobody gets hurt and you don't make things worse for your dog.

if was a sheltered dog in the past, or ever owned by someone else. I 'd wonder if she has maybe been mistreated by someone black maybe at some point and is just a little scared. If you want to get rid of the fear. You need to find a black person that is willing to act as a role model to show your dog they are not bad. get them to give her treats. talk to her calmly, give her a toy she likes. make her think positive things. Like above said. Only humans are stupid enough to be racist.

I think dogs are colour-blind, sooo.....

I do not think dogs are racist. Some dogs in general do not like certain people by their body language. Also dogs may or may not like all males or all females.

My guess is no. Hes probably just freaked out by something he isnt used to, either that or he had a negative experience which involved blacks. A black friend of mine took on a dog from a white family that used to attack blacks, He then switched tio only attacking whites lol

Lmao.

Yea he learnt from his owner who is racist.

no.

Lol my dog does this I was wondering about that too

i dont think so

Maybe he thinks they are made out of beef. Or is he in Dog KKK?

NO, your dog is NOT racist. Dogs know NOTHING about racism. It sounds like the dog's owner has trained the dog to go after blacks.

Dogs are taught hatred and racism,just like children.

Yes

Your probably just a moron

Yes

probably

No

I think your dog is afraid of the dark

yes, sounds like he is

Yes haven't you watched the key and peele episode where the dog is seen barking at black people.

Either you are and you act odd around them in perpouse or by accident, or your dog a bad experience of a person of that race. My dog barks at a men, because one best her, it may be like that

Is your dog black?. If so then he is not.

No, I think your dog would even bark at the postman, given half a chance.

Dog reflect the character of its owners.

If owner are racist towards the black, its dog would behave in such manners.

Dog have some kind of special relationship with his master.

No lol

Your dog isn't racist, he's just untrained. Your dog should have been taught the growling and lunging at any one is wrong.

My dog does the same thing!

My dog barks at blacks too because he is used to people with white skin so when he sees a black person he thinks that they are wearing a mask and is trying to steal something because he doesn't know any better.

My dog used to be like that. but he grew out of it when he got al ittle bit older.

No it is not good.

Probably no.. ahhaha

Nope

Probably just coincidental.

Lmaooo no. He just a dog.

Mine is the same way. I think dogs bark just cuz they wanna.

It is more likely your dog has had bad experiences with black people, and so he growls at them. It's no different than having a dog who hates men because of abuse by a man.

Possibly, it can happen

i know the feeling my dog is the same i think all dogs do it

Dogs are color blind

looks like

yes

Not racist maybe if he was rescued he could have been hurt and bullied by a black coloured man.

<h1>no<h1>

My dog liked everybody. I did notice a greater percentage of black people seemed to have a fear of dogs in general. I'm curious, what is his breed. It's been my experience Labs (not just mine) like everybody.

This is because dogs are colour blind and cannot read a black persons facial expressions

Dude, wtf

no *******!!!!!!!!!

what race is your dog?

Dogs can detect hidden intentions better than humans. I hate to say it, but your dog saved you from being raped.

Maybe he was raped by a black man who once owned him

Possibly

Sorry but this question is just hilarious. I lost my **** :')

yes, white dogs hate black and yellow dogs

Dogs in general are leery of people they're not familiar with. They think everyone is shady initially. If your dog hasn't been around black people then it's possible that is the reason.

With the vision a dog has they also have a harder time seeing features facial expressions on someone with darker skin.

who knows ?

i think so

u moron

No dogs are racist

i hope not. dogs can't read, can't understand racist rant from the like of Rush Limbaugh, so how could your dog have internalized racist values.

He was raised among whites, that is why he dosnt like blacks, anyway thank for your stupd question, it keep us entertained.

Actually it's uncommon but in certain dog breeds they have a gland in there brain called the Orefelia and if they had a bad dream or a bad incident with a black person that might be enough to trigger the gland releasing a lot of testosterone which can actually lead to a well I'm just gonna say it a racist dog.

Dogs are smarter than people, they don't blind themselves on purpose to avoid being called mean names by those trying to harm them

I dont know, but how do you know if hes black or white