Can't visit friend as her dog is racist

My cousin's dog hates black dogs. She's a rescue so we're not sure of her history but guessing she was attacked by a black dog at some point in her life. Loves people of all colour however.

No, only when someone tells me there is a different sense to racism than the human one.

I'm a wheelchair user and dogs go mental at me all the time - it's really intimidating and there's recently one started who lives on my road and it is left in the front yard unattended it really goes for me and I don't know what to do. Only a wooden fence protects me.

She doesn't care so I wouldn't bother.

It's true though and there's a good reason why people find it embarrassing.

Bet there’ll be a course run somewhere 😂

Because historically some nasty people have taught dogs to do this.

@Spudthespanner I think it's fairly normal to be a bit embarrassed when your dog barks at someone who's just going about their business.

I'm not really surprised you're not interested in the science though, going by your other responses.

No I'm not interested.

Dogs take the spooks to all sorts of stupid shit. Like I say, my dog shat itself at the Brookside theme tune. I used to have a cat who was petrified of coat hangers.

Worrying about your dog barking at people who look different in some way and being "mortified" is ridiculous. A PP has a dog who barks at old white men. Another who barks at hats. Who cares? Either sort the barking or pull the dog away and get on with life.

Anyone thinking a dog is barking at them because of their ethnicity- maybe you're wearing a stupid hat, or glasses, or shoes that the dog hates. Don't worry about such ridiculous things.

The dog isn’t racist, he is prejudiced.
dogs that have experienced trauma will freak out if they see a human that is superficially similar to the human that hurt them
my friend has a dog that is terrified of men and anyone wearing a hood up on their head. If you’re a man wearing a hood…she will go for you. This dog isn’t a misandrist.
they just are very simple minded and think someone vaguely similar is also a threat.

Our lab was hatist.
Barked at anyone in a hat with a brim.

You'd think, wouldn't you?

We have a neighbours dog who does this. They've put up more fencing so he can't see us through the fence. Otherwise everytime we were out in the garden the dog would go crazy and my kids would get scared. We didn't need to broach it with them they took him in every time and came up with the fence solution.

So... do dogs not like his blackness or his hi-vizness?

I doubt you're actually interested, but it's probably both.

There's research out there that dogs see hi-vis differently to us, which is why they often find it quite scary.

Basic reading comprehension would suggest the black person and the general people in high viz are not the same.

My collie was SO racist. Our family home was in an entirely white area and she was an anxious little thing after a husky attacked her as a puppy, so we couldn’t take her to places where she would have been exposed to non white people and get her used to them. An Indian family temporarily lived across the road and she’d go bananas.

I wanted my difficult boy to have a good run around on Christmas Eve so took him to quiet woods to let him have off lead time.

The local running club came through dressed as elves, Santa, Christmas fairies and with jingly bells.

He did not like it so maybe he’s the grinch or hates people celebrating Christmas.

Are you always so literal?

Everyone knows dogs can't actually be racist, but it was OP who used the terminology and it was pretty bloody obvious what she meant.

@BewaretheIckabog

believes it has to do with her race and heritage.

She "believes" this. Dogs don't like her race and her heritage. That's some truly prejudiced dogs there.

I know a black person working in security also says dogs bark at him because he is black. It also happens to people in high-viz clothing.

So... do dogs not like his blackness or his hi-vizness? 🙄

There is no other sense other than the human sense to racism.

My cousins dog didn't like black people. We are brown so there's not much colour difference!

my own dog likes white young females but for some reason really doesn't like old white men.

dogs are funny things

My parents many years ago had a rescue cat that hated women. She was owned by two gay men who emigrated and didn't want to subject the cat to going in a plane and she loved my dad but would glare at my mother and my sisters and I when we visited.

She would 'flirt' with any men that came to the house though!

Well, in the sense that if a dog has never been around black people before, it's understandable that they're going to be scared. It's a bit like how dogs often get really scared of horses or cows.

Of course they're not racist but they are reacting to something they've never seen before and don't really comprehend.

It's pretty much impossible to expose a dog to absolutely everything by 16 weeks (when the socialisation window closes) so it's normal (if not ideal) for them to find some normal things scary and unnerving.

Our friend had a lab that would bare his teeth if anyone spoke in Spanish. Could be the tv or even the owner himself. He didn’t growl or bark, just showed his teeth.

You are wrong, one of the ladies I see regularly realises the dog barks at her and not at other women and believes it has to do with her race and heritage.

I know a black person working in security also says dogs bark at him because he is black. It also happens to people in high-viz clothing.

But I will agree that it is not racism and had the OP not used that term I wouldn’t have but I’m not here to police the terminology.

One of our old dogs, sadly no longer with us became aggressive/fearful of a Muslim woman walked past with a hair and face covering. I don't know if it was the billowing fabric or that he couldn't see their faces.

Never behaved like that with anyone else in the street.

We now live in the countryside/beach and it wouldn't be a problem now as there isn't anyone here that dresses like that.