Embarrassed myself - massive faux pas

[RollercoasterCoaster]

I don’t think I can face going back to the park again

My dog has a thing against black dogs. Spoken to a trainer when we’ve been to classes and apparently some dogs don’t like black dogs because they can’t make out their facial features as well to assess the dogs reactions.

Anyway we were in the park today and a woman with a black dog was coming towards us, I could see my dog was getting anxious so I put her on the lead to walk past.

As the woman walked past me she said is your dog not good with other dogs? I replied oh she just doesn’t like black dogs she looked at me like I was a weirdo raising a racist dog, she walked quickly past so I didn’t have chance to explain either.

My dog gets anxious around other dogs, especially if they’re jumping round her, so why couldn’t I have just said that instead!?

Please tell me the owner wasn't black

I feel your pain. My ddog used to turn into a snarling mess only with black dogs!! Solved it by getting a black dog and now he’s fine.
Probably not what you want to hear

Sorry but that's made me lol....that's the sort of thing I'd bloody say so I'm glad it's not just me!

I have a black dog and have heard this before and just think "poor dog,I wonder what happened".
If this dog owner was miffed due to your comment they've obviously not got much else to worry about, lucky them.

I really wouldn't worry about it, I'm sure the dog owner isn't giving it a second thought.

I’ve got a horse that is frightened of black horses. Makes for an interesting ride in the warm up arena when a black horse canters towards you 🙈

You told the truth @RollercoasterCoaster so that's all that matters.

She probably went home and looked it up anyway, so don’t worry.

This is a thing for dogs. My dog does it.
As long as the owner/walker wasn’t black I wouldn’t worry about it.

My dog has a dislike of black dogs too. I tend to say "He's scared of /been attacked by a black dog so doesn't like them" which tends to stop the owners from getting shirty

Sorry that made me

This is so funny, I have never heard this before. But there are lots of people who are afraid of moths but are OK with butterflies and I hate black spiders but not so much the lighter coloured ones.
I'm seeing an unfortunate pattern here.

It’s quite common and I doubt she thought anything of it.

Is your dog called Sheriff?

it's factual, why on earth should you feel embarrassed?

I guess racism against cats or dogs makes as much sense as racism against men, so it shouldn't be so hard to believe but just move on, and go back to the park. You have done nothing wrong.

I have a black dog and yes this is totally a thing. He's got a furry face too his fur is pitch black so almost impossible to even get a good photo of him so yes I can imagine most dogs will struggle to assess him. I clip his face to make it easier for all concerned as he's a sociable little fellow and likes to say hello.

I don't even have a dog & I know this (that some dogs esp. don't like black dogs).

My Border Collie dislikes Highland Terriers, fine with all other dogs.
OP, you've done nothing wrong.

My black dog hates fluffy white dogs - I reckon she sees herself as a tough northerner and them as southern softy lapdogs

I’ve got a black dog and I’m used to other dogs not liking mine. I know it’s because she’s black. It’s not racist, it just sounds racist. With black dogs it’s hard to make out their facial features and dogs can’t tell if they are angry/playful. Ours has black eyes, a black nose and lots of fur, we rarely see her face, let alone other dogs.

I’m surprised the owner wasn’t aware. After quite a few dogs attacked ours and were scared to walk past her when she was a puppy, we did some research about it. It’s a shame for ours because she doesn’t realise and really just wants to play. Other black dogs seem to find other black dogs though. Ours can always be found if there’s a group of black labs (she is not a lab, just thinks she is).

My dog is actually racist. She's better now she's older and has more experience, but as a younger dog she just hadn't seen many black people and would bark. She doesn't like people in wheelchairs either. Or people with a pronounced stoop. It's normally ok because if she barks in public she might be barking at anything, but on a bus or something it's clearer she's aiming it right at a specific person.

She is the most adorable little bigot, though.

OP I wouldn't worry. If the woman has an issue, it's not because of you. It's not your fault if she doesn't get it.

I had a dog that hated black labs, was totally fine with all others. Don't worry op I think it's quite common. We lived in Scotland at the time and he really hated men in kilts too. You've done nothing wrong at all.

We had a dog that didn't like jehovah's witnesses turned into an aggressive snarling mess

I met a horse that hated red buggies he used to dance in circles and go nuts while I walked fast past without running because runners startled him too 😂

It's not just dogs who are weird

Our dog doesn’t generally like black dogs - interesting about their facial expression being harder to read.

I didn't know this was a thing until we got a black lab and it turns out to be quite common. It's because the other dogs can't see their facial expressions. He's the softest thing but that doesn't make a difference.

That is actually quite funny, Rollercoaster.

I had two tortoiseshell cats (the mottled kind, not calico), and crows would descend sitting on the garden fence, cawing, staring and menacing them. They would cower for a while and then shoot in quickly through the cat flap. They didn't bother with other cats! So obviously the crows were racist :-).