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.

chihuahuas are generally very aggressive /easily riled dogs in any situation

Would a first meeting other than at her house make a difference?

@ChardonnaysBeastlyCat it's fairly obvious that I didn't actually mean racism, though - I was just using the term in the OP 🙄

A dog can dislike a person based solely on skin colour - simply because they've never encountered it before, or because they've had a negative experience with a person of that colour.

The tiny ones are the worst. There’s a little racist dog lives up the road from me. It must be down to the owners, no?

My friends chihuahua can't cope with small children, he'd bite them if he could. I'd say it's fear.

They're not that complex but they do often generalise.

So if they've never met a person with black skin they may be naturally wary as it's new to them. It's a bit like when they have a bad experience with say, men with sticks, and they assume all men with sticks will be bad as well.

My cat despises everyone, regardless of race

It must be down to the owners, no?

Not necessarily. People have tried to explain it multiple times.

My cat despises everyone, regardless of race

I was just coming on here to say the same.

There's a thing about dogs not liking black dogs because they can't properly see their eyes and it throws them off. Trying to word this correctly to not cause offence but perhaps this happens when they see certain humans too. Maybe take lots of treats and a ball/toy, all dogs love treats and squeaky toys x

We had a dog that hated hats. Any hat, flat cap, baseball cap, bobble hat, Easter bonnet. Hated them.

My dog always went crazy when we crossed the road with the lollipop man. He said it was quite common as they were wary of the bright coat and lollipop.

My dog also hates men, which is handy because so do I 😅

😂

Our two are besotted by high vis people. Especially the bin men and the post lady. The bin men have to get out of the truck and come and say hello as they refuse to move

I don’t get it. 🤷‍♀️

Do you even have a dog?

My dog barks and barks at people that are not white. It’s absolutely awful. She doesn’t generally bark at all.

My dog barked at white blonde haired people allllll the time

😂

It’s probably to do with dogs perception of faces. Remember dogs don’t see all colours and they possibly see a dark skinned face as a face with no features.

I’ve met a few owners of black Labrador’s who’ve said the same thing — other dogs will bark loudly at them — they cannot distinguish any features and see a moving black mass.

Best thing to do is to meet outside the house and walk, alongside each other but not too close. That is less threatening to the dog. Dog should be on the lead. You and friend talk and walk, both ignoring the dog. After time owner passes the dog to her other side so the dog is between you. Keep walking, keep chatting and if all is ok you take the lead. Keep walking together.
Do this a few times and the dog will associate your voice with you and a calm, non threatening atmosphere.

My lab has had nothing bad happen to her! She just had never seen a black person before and went nuts!

I have seen this in one dog only she used to snarl and she was normally very gentle. Our girl goes crazy if she sees any man wearing a hat but passes no heed of children wearing them.

It’s not uncommon.

our Dd (dickhead dog) goes wild with my best friend who is Indian and our black next door neighbours…

my friend told me it’s to do with their vision (not sure how true this is but he is crazy smart… so maybe?)
we worked around it with him using conditioning. He gives our dog super nice treats now she still barks initially but tolerates him

I wouldn't have a dog who had those feelings against my best friend, how would my friend and I do anything with her dog around.

My dog has a thing about fake tan.

(I don’t have a dog)