… we asked for reports of dogs who were hostile to certain categories of people, to see if there were any basis to the belief that dogs preferentially have it in for black people. Setting aside the usual kibitzing, we got about 80 reports. Two groups stood out as canine targets: African-Americans (~40 reports) and men (~12). The commonly accepted theory on why black people are singled out is that the hostile dogs are owned by white people and are either (a) unaccustomed to black people or (b) picking up on their owners’ anxiety or animosity in the presence of black people. If this theory were true, you’d expect to hear from some black dog owners that their pets didn’t like white people.
We received no such reports, and we’re wondering why. (We did get one report of a minority-owned dog that didn’t like white people, but the minority in question was Mexican.) The obvious explanation is that not many black people read this board. To test this, we’re making the following request:
If you’re an African-American who owns a dog, please (a) say so in this thread, and (b) tell us if your dog is hostile to certain types of people, and if so what kind. To emphasize, please post even if your dog exhibits NO preference, so we can get an idea what kind of sample size we’re dealing with. Yes, I know this approach is statistically suspect, but we’ve found little research on this subject and this is the only cheap way we can think to do this. Thanks.
my reply to the other thread
In case it wasn’t clear, I’m African American, and the dogs exhibit (or did exhibit) no preferences.
However, the dogs aren’t unfamiliar with or unaccustomed to white people - my family has always lived in majority white areas and most of the people the dogs see who aren’t family members are white.
Perhaps the answer is as simple as whites being considerably more likely to own dogs. Here’s a study done in LA that shows that to be the case: 33% of white households vs 17% of black households owned dogs.
Plus, with whites being in the majority, a dog in a black household is probably more likely to be familiar with whites than a dog in a white household would be with blacks.
Black. Have owned four dogs in my life. None of them have ever shown any aggression toward anyone of any race. The only time I’ve ever had a dog even growl at a person is if he thought the person was harming me. When I’d wrestle and play fight with my friends as a kid, my dog would flip the fuck out.
Well how possible or likely do you suppose it is that white people are much more likely to feel anxiety or animosity toward black people than the other way around?
As a starting assumption it seemed simplest to figure feelings of anxiety about the other race were equal in both groups. If it then turned out an appreciable number of black-owned dogs didn’t like whites, we’ve got a straightforward explanation - no need to look further. If on the other hand some white-owned dogs don’t like black people but not the other way around, a more complicated explanation is required. I figure we should start with the simplest hypothesis and go from there.
I am not AA but when I was a kid, my chow hated anyone that was taller than my father (he is 6’0’’), and anyone with darker skin than my mother (she is Native American). That might help.
(a) So
(b) Pit bull. He does not like people wearing hoodies or puffy coats. I have seen equal reactions regarding sex/race. He seems to be skittish around obese white women as well.
I’m black/mexican, and I own a dog right now and he doesn’t have any preference to any race. I’ve never had a dog that didn’t like anyone, but that may be because I don’t get anxious around other races.
Black, have had many dogs in racially mixed areas. I have seen no preference as to who the dogs like or dislike based on race as such, but I have noted a tendency for black or hispanic people to be more likely to be afraid of, wary of, or hostile towards dogs, and that does have a consistent effect on how the dogs respond. So there may be a self-reinforcing effect: if enough people think dogs are hostile towards black people that black people are actually less friendly towards dogs than white people are (on average), then that may cause the dogs to be more hostile to black people (on average).
Another possibility: dogs are very good at picking up their owner’s feelings towards people. If the owner isn’t comfortable around black people, the dog may interpret that as “danger to my human” and react accordingly.
I agree with JR Brown, in both respects, but particularly in the first part. I am white, have a large, very friendly golden retriever mix. Most people who know dogs well enough can see that she is very friendly and calm. I live in Brooklyn, in a mostly white neighborhood, across the large park from a mostly black neighborhood. My dog is friendly to everyone–except little dogs, who are often unsocialized and and act threatened by her (at 85 lbs, she’s a big dog for NYC). Sometimes African American people in the “black” side of the park react to her as if she was threatening, or something to be wary of. Others don’t react at all, and fellow dog owners react positively to her regardless of their skin color. If more black people acted afraid of her, or felt threatened by her, she would probably react to them negatively as she does with the small dogs. A friendly African American guy referred to my dog once as my “AK-47”–I found this hilarious, as this dog is about as threatening as a cartoon character–and not a tough one. Is this a cultural perception, that large dogs are ferocious? Just some observations from a white guy in Brooklyn.
I am going to answer this question directly and then ramble on a bit…
2 dogs - Both flipped out the first time seeing different races, but now don’t care.
I am black and I own 2 dogs currently. I have owned quite a few dogs over the course of my life and here’s how I’ve observed it and why.
Puppies go through a “socialization” period when they are young. They are very accepting during this period and quite submissive (generally). If a dog is raised and isn’t introduced to variety of different looking AND smelling people then later in life during their first encounter they will just see it as “something is wrong or different”. This is where dog’s personality and the role of the owner come into play.
If my dog knows I am the leader he/she will alert me that is something is wrong or different about this person. Usually with a “huff” or even just by perking back the ears and taking a stance. If I let this anxiety build and don’t address it the dog will usually bark as if to say “hey, look there’s a strange animal over there!”. If the I tell the dog to leave it and give a little tug on the collar as if to say “I see it, levae it alone” the dog will leave it alone. If I get anxious and react differently than I do with other people the dog picks up on it and everytime they see a person of that race they alert me louder and more earlier.
If I’m not the leader the dog will just flip out and react feeling that it needs to protect US from this stranger.
The reason I believe this…
I currently have a 1 year old black lab and a 5 month old mutt (rescue). The lab had never met an asian when she was young and a friend of mine stopped by and she growled and snarled and was all upset about this crazy looking and smelling person until I greeted the asian and I made her sit calmly. I had my asian friend give her a couple of treats and remained calm and she now doesn’t give a rats ass about ANY asians. A few weeks ago we were out for our DAILY run where she sees probably 100 people a week, but for the first time she saw an Indian guy jogging and she immediately flipped out. I had to stop her, stop the jogger and introduce them.
The dog is unsure during the first encounter and if you behave improperly or nurture the dogs anxiety in any way, you’ll have a dog that does this.
My 5 month old does with every single different type of person that he meets. Every different breed of dog, every race of person, everything. They make associations so be the leader and reassure the dog through your confidence.