Dog has (unprovoked) hatred of certain breeds

[Lau123lau]

My one year old whippet has a completely random fear/hatred of pugs and french bull dogs. He loves most dogs and loves to greet them and have a good sniff but when we see aboveboard mentioned breeds, he tried desperately to get off the lead and barks in an aggressive manor which is really unusual for him as he rarely barks normally, let alone in that tone. Anyone experienced a similar situation and how did you resolve it? I hate it when owners think he’s some aggressive monster but it’s genuinely only those two breeds!

[AvocadosBeforeMortgages]

Mine is like that with two breeds - albeit one is a rare breed and I haven't seen one since moving house.

We came around the corner the other day (DDog off lead) and found a dog of a hated breed right in front of us (oh bollocks I thought) and he stood there barking at the dog. Rather to my surprise, after dodging my attempts to grab him, 20 seconds of barking later he decided to have an exploratory sniff, realised she wasn't so bad, and then ignored her while the owner and I chatted (she was lovely, and the dog bemused). For context, DDog is little, and only barks at two breeds which are not far bigger than him - and I accept that if the other dog reacted they're still in the right and I'm in the wrong. I'm not, however, suggesting you do this with your dog as the outcome could be very different!

Fundamentally this is a fear based thing - it isn't a massive issue in our lives, so my usual management is to put him on a lead and walk away if we see one. If, however, it's having a big impact on your walks, you'd be well advised to get some help from an APBC or CCAB accredited behaviourist.

[Witchonastick]

A lot of dogs seem to have a thing about those type of breeds. I wonder if it’s got something to do with the way the look or sound? Perhaps noisy breathing sounds a bit growly? Who knows?

Could you get to know someone that has a laid back dog of the breed and see if you can try carefully introducing them?

[Lau123lau]

Fortunately we rarely see them as popular as they are as we walk him in the back of beyond usually and often don’t see anyone at all. We do have friends who have frenchies so maybe we could try introducing them (carefully) and see what he does. Might be ok once he realises they’re not actually that scary!

[Hoppinggreen]

Ddog is very friendly with most dogs but he is very scared of GSD bad Huskies ( which I suppose look a bit similar) . He’s never had a bad experience with one and the only time he was attacked was by the same breed as himself
No idea why

[Hoppinggreen]

AND Huskies, not bad Huskies !!

[Huffthemagicdragon]

I knew a dog that couldn't even be in the same postcode as Frenchies, English bulldogs etc. It's really common.

There's a brilliant book, In Defence of Dogs, by John Bradshaw that explains why these specific breeds are so commonly disliked/feared. They've been breed to look like humans (ugly ones) and that is why people find them so appealing. But by breeding-out their snout, they no longer look unequivocally canine to other dogs. Dogs communicate using snouts and tails. Frenchies etc have neither.

It's quite stressful, especially with so many around, but actually your dog is behaving logically. It's the breeders who've created this non-hound hound that have been illogical.

[mrsjoyfulprizeforraffiawork]

A neighbour with a lovely lurcher told me that his dog (who always looks noble and laid back) has a complete character change when spotting a boxer (he doesn't like their squashy faces). My dog did not used to like GSDs but is mellowing as has met several very nice ones recently.

[CMOTDibbler]

One of my lurchers (and hes a whippet dobermanish mix) is absolutely terrified of french bulldogs which is unfortunate as one of our fave weekend walks is somewhere a whole load of them meet up. He's not keen on pugs either, but we don't meet many of them

[lumpy76]

My first Pug HATED any white dogs - really hated them! She wasn't keen on fluffy either..,Bichons were her ultimate hated breed...I kid you not! Mind you she did have a bit of an attitude problem in general!

[Lau123lau]

It’s quite common then which is reassuring. Maybe if he does get the opportunity to have a sniff and realises they’re not that scary after all he might improve. Thinking back there was a pug at puppy classes which just yapped and lunged at every other dog during the entire session so maybe that’s why he doesn’t like them. Who knows!

[Witchonastick]

Interesting Huffthemagicdragon.
The communication thing makes sense. A friend used to have an old English sheep dog that every dog seemed to hate on sight.
Apparently that’s the same issue, no tail (docked in those days) and loads of hair covering the eyes, nose and ears. It made her impossible for dogs to read.

[fivedogstofeed]

Flat faced dogs are very hard to read - for dogs ( and IMO humans as well) . There's no wagging tail, their body language can look stiff if you compare to meeting a spaniel or collie for example where it's very obvious what their intentions are.
If your dog isn't not used to seeing this kind of breed my guess is he was taken by surprise.

[DetMcnulty]

My boy hates huskies also, and is a (very) big dog himself so very awkward hanging on to him when he sees them and unfortunately he looks super aggressive. Not sure what it is, he did have a run in with 2 that live up the road when he was a pup and who now stare at him across the park so might be that.

[Yokohamajojo]

Huskies and GSDs here too but he has had a bad experience with a neighbours Husky who attacked him. It's getting much better though and off lead he can now have a polite sniff. I don't hang around though and would not trust him to play happily with either breed. He finds flat nosed dogs ok as long as they are not hard of breathing then he thinks it's growling.

[MattMagnolia]

My dog hates black labradors (that’s why someone kicked him today) He rushes at them barking and snarling. I’ve heard dogs can’t read the expression on black dogs’ faces.

[GameofPhones]

My dog (medium-sized) fears GSD's and Huskies - I put this down to the fact that they are bigger than him. He also barks at Pugs, Frenchies, Bulldogs, Staffies - and I have always thought it was due to their looking muscular - so fear of being threatened again. So he gets his threat in first.

[Paddingtonthebear]

This is interesting. My (small) dog doesn’t really like black or brown labradors, wiry and hairy looking lurcher type dogs, or huskies. Not sure what the Labrador thing is about. She got really barked at by a big wiry haired dog that lived in our road and was aggressive to everyone, I think that was the start of it. A husky barked and jumped on her once so that could explain the husky thing.

Generally she is fine but if she barks at none it’s always on the lead and not off. She’s very dominant about the house and will bark at dogs near the house if we are out the front.

Absolutely fine if there’s a dog living next door though and likes to make friendly noises through the fence

[BetterEatCheese]

My whippet doesn't like collies. He was nipped by one when he was little and his dispike and

[BetterEatCheese]

Posted too soon!
His dislike and body language makes them in turn aggressive to him

[Chesneyhawkes1]

One of mine hates black Labradors. Which is annoying as they are everywhere

[CherryPavlova]

Ours hates most black Labradors but has one Black lab that is one of few doga he’ll settle alongside.
He really dislikes Jack Russells or other little yapping things.

[TheRLodger]

My small breed dog isn’t keen on dachshunds. As a puppy we went on a walk and the local owners group were also there. And I think they sort of ganged up on her. And she was like can something so small look so big when there’s lots of them. Also isn’t great on black fluffy dogs despite being one herself

[stucknoue]

Mine dislikes boxers, Rottweilers, staffies, and various similar dogs. He likes spaniels, collies, golden retrievers ... those with waggy tails really. He's had run ins with a relatives staffies and had been attacked by a boxer, he doesn't forget

[stucknoue]

Should mention he's particularly smitten with a guide dog whose walked off lead when i walk, to the extent he protects her, for some reason other dogs have a go at her (I'm sure there's a reason, too passive perhaps) and he's her self appointed guardian, the first time I was shocked but now it's quite obvious that his herding/guarding instinct kicks in

[justilou1]

Dogs are racist too! Mine hates Stafford and pitbulls after being attacked and also dachshunds. (I’m looking at you, Schnitzel & Strudel, you sneaky little land sharks 🤣) My dog is a big, stupid, giant breed that is afraid of everything, but especially them.