Can't visit friend as her dog is racist

[CaliforniaCookie]

I was making plans to visit one of my best friends.
She is white and I'm mixed race.

She told me she was concerned as her new dog who i haven't met, is racist.

Anytime he sees a person who is not white he goes mental.

This is honestly not a fake post.

Not sure how to respond. Advice welcome.

As someone who wears a hat all the time this is pretty common. And taking your hat off works.

My sister's dog barks every time at my OH who is brown and he ignores pretty much everyone else. He comes round to her very quickly though. He's obviously not racist and is just a bit spun by the difference I guess

They are! My sister’s dog throws the vacuum & the lawnmower by the wheels so has to be popped into a different room/her house.

Our dog has been in a sulk because the one of the 2 6 month old kittens we’ve just rescued looked at him!

🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣
omg !

😂😂😂😂. A racist dog? Come on.

Our first collie dog was ‘racist’, he used to spend his holidays with my grandparents, they walked him in the nearby park and he would bark at black people. My grandfather was mortified, he loved people.

Our second collie had a thing about people in dark suits, mostly navy and dark brown. He would go mad at the milkman in his navy overalls, but the milkman wasn’t having any of it and they became reluctant friends. On another occasion, our car broke down and an officious policeman came to tell us “you can’t park there”. We tried to explain, all the while the dog was going mad in the back of the car. He threatened consequences if we couldn’t control our dog.

It's literally impossible for dogs to be racist, wgst a ridiculous thing to say. Her dog obviously doesn't see many people who are not white, and it probably just scares them because they don't understand what they are seeing!

Yea, I had a dog who was similar, hated strangers with beards, tho didn't have a problem once he got to know them.

Yep, in an ideal world that's what everyone would do. But in reality, it's not always possible - for a whole variety of reasons.

And even if you do manage it, you can't always prevent negative experiences from causing problems into adulthood.

lol…my late husband had an op which damaged his vocal cords. He was left talking very husky, bit like Lee Marvin.

Dogs used to go absolutely berserk at his voice for some reason.🙄

I don’t think that made them disablist dogs.😉

When I got my pup I went to a puppy training course and the instructor warned us about this. Some breeds can't recognise features on darker skin and it makes them immediately scared and hostile. I thought it was good to have a heads up as it can of course be embarrassing. What did make me laugh (privately) was when my dog recently saw a white man with a long dark beard and a shiny bald head and she went absolutely mental. She didn't know what he was.

This won’t be a wind up. Dogs are not good with novelty so if they’re not used to seeing people of colour that will be a novelty. The same with people in hats or hoods or whatever. It can easily be counter conditioned- my dog was racist but now he’s not.
Just give the dog space and your friend could treat him for being in the same room as you (just not too close)

This isn't a wind up. Dogs can be naturally cautious when they see something that sticks out, as in not normally around them. We had a freak out with a guy who had his baby on his shoulders, a guy with a camera and on crutches. She got used to it fast once she realised it's not a threat, though.

Actually I would disagree! We had a dog from a puppy as a children - a Jack Russell and that was a racist dog. It was just horrible to have to contend with! We lived in a very multicultural area and its reaction to persons of colour was nasty and embarrassing. I cannot imagine that anything happened to it in the twelve weeks before it became our family pet…

My parent’s dog was like this. But she eventually overcame it, fell in love with my husband and he became her favourite person ever.

OMG. What was your dog like with old, fat lesbians?

Proving that Cats are superior to dogs! 😸

There is a whole episode of Curb Your Enthusiasm dedicated to this issue. Essential homework.

@CaliforniaCookie My old dog did not see any dark people nor disabled people until quite old. It had a terror of people in wheelchairs and a dislike of dark people, even friends of mine.

I wouldn't describe the dog as racist, many dogs react to people they are unfamiliar with, or associate with a bad experience. My dog hated men in woolly hats. Parent's dog hated people wearing face masks (bad vet experience). Gradual exposure can help. Watch 'Sitting With Dogs' on YouTube. He demonstrates great techniques for building a relationship with anxious dogs.

We live in an area that is very diverse, and my own family has dark skin. But both our dogs have sometimes - though not always - responded badly to black people (barking, getting agitated, etc), especially if they are wearing dark clothes. I don't understand why this is happening and it is very embarrassing. I don't know whether this post is a wind-up, but my experience is genuine.

I'm not sure, I think most cats hate everyone equally

Our dog, who is the soppiest, friendliest boy, was bred by a Muslim family and adores Asian men. As a puppy he would always go to them above everyone else.

He loves everybody, but we have noticed over the years that he will bark at black people if it's not outdoors (with plenty of neutral space around him, he's fine, but indoors on "his" territory he reacts like this). He settles as soon as they get close (he's a CKCS and is about as threatening as a wet sponge), but it's mortifying. Friends, workmen, visitors... 🤦🏻‍♀️

My dog was also racist to my DH’s friend for about a month. DDog (who is also black) now loves him. It just made us all laugh at the time.

My dog is a guard breed. Hates anyone with glasses and especially if wear a hat. Not actually racism obviously it’s when they can’t see eyes properly. Other dogs hate mine because she’s black and her eyes are dark. Your friend could train it. Muzzle it too.

My friend's parrot hated people with long hair.