I was given a morsel of 'insider wisdom' today

[Josh]

I attended a training class where people from different backgrounds attended, it was interesting.

I always strive for courtesy and respect wherever I go, hence I must have made a favorable impression to this young african american female. Due to said impression I was offered a pearl of wisdom.

In a low voice, almost a whisper I was told that you can tell which people are racist by their dogs. If the dogs bark only at African Americans as they go by the house then you can be sure the people that live there are racist. That pearl was affirmed by another person in the group of African American descent. Now, based on the tone and seriousness it was conveyed I was 100% she really believed this to be an ultimate litmus test.

I just blinked, not sure how to proceed, Now; I have dogs and they do bark at African Americans mainly, but this group 90% of the time are young kids who taunt the dogs by kicking the fence, being loud, and generally being confrontational to the pets. 90% of the other race kids just ignore the pets and walk to their destination, many times not even acknowledging the pets. So, I know now for a fact that now the dogs equate certain behaviors confrontational; that in addition to dogs being colorblind; and will instinctively react to certain tones, voices, and body movements.

I knew, any reasoning will get me nowhere but in the racist category, which is not a place to be when the class is 1/2 African American and there were 3 more days to go.

[Mr Hero]

What about people that don't have dogs?

[TheHuckster]

For the record, dogs aren't as colorblind as you think. IIRC the only color they don't really see is red. And even if they were fully colorblind, that means they still see in black and white... hence dark objects will still appear dark and light objects will still appear light.

The biggest flaw in this woman's argument is, even if it were true, dogs can go through multiple owners, and they could have gotten their racist undertones from a prior owner that the present owner inherited.

But beyond that, that assertion is simply false. For the same reason if dogs feel intimidated by children, doesn't mean the owners hate children. And unless the dog is in your neighbor's yard, if she's so hell bent on identifying racists by standing around observing how some random dog is reacting to people who pass by her, she needs to get a life.

[LewisLegion]

And how do they know if the dogs only bark at african americans? How are they performing that test? Just because the dog barks when they walk by and THEY are african american? Unless they are camping out, watching to see if the dogs bark at anyone else that goes past of another race, then how do they know the dogs aren't just barking because SOMEONE is walking past, regardless of race?

My dogs are definitely not prejudice...they bark at everyone equally!

[wolfie]

Back when I was in high school, the community liason officer addressing an assembly told about how the dogs in the K-9 units start barking whenever they see someone in a mackinaw jacket. Why is this? They've learned to recognize this as a garment frequently worn by people who are up to no good.

If "group A" is frequently confrontational to a dog (kicking fence, etc.) and "group B" ignores the dog when they walk past, with the 2 groups being easily distinguishable (i.e. "grey scale" vision from complete colourblindness still being able to distinguish light skin from dark skin), the dogs are going to recognize someone from "group A" as "this SOB is probably going to get 'in my grill' - better tell him to stay off my turf".

[bex1218]

One of my dogs hates a lot of the male population. Does not mean I hate men. It just depends on how people walk around them.

[AmbrosiaWriter]

I'll just put this here for the whole "dogs are color blind" part: Yes dogs can see color, yes dogs are colorblind.

Seriously though, that statement is and is not true. If an owner often gets riled up by seeing a particular race, the dog will react to that and also start to get riled up by seeing a particular race. It's how dogs work, they read and react to body stance, the "energy" you project, mood, and vocal cues.

If it goes on long enough the dog will just start reacting when they see the race (or whatever the trigger is) they may bark, they may run and hide - not wanting to hear their owner start yelling - or may react differently.

So, if it is provably true that the dog barks only at particular races, then it could be an indicator, but is not 100% proof by itself.

[insertNameHere]

Well, I support that dogs can see when someone is darker, and my dog is "racist" mainly because the only people who ever menaced and taunted her were of a darker completion. To the point when we would board her on vacation she was great with everyone but the one woman who looked different to her and reminded her of the kids that would come next door and throw things at her.

[Eisa]

In that case, my dog was sexist, he barked the most at boys.

Then again, the boys were the ones who taunted the dog the most, tried to shove sticks through the fence, and on one occasion, our neighbor who was in and out of juvie actually threw broken CD's into our yard.

[Teysa]

Apparently I hate everyone. My dog thinks the entire block is her territory and will bark at anyone and everyone she sees. (Mind you, it's usually a 'hey, pay attention to me!' bark rather than a threatening one.)

[bainsidhe]

Growing up we had two dogs. Being of a friendly and excitable sort, they tended to get all hyper and barky at anyone walking by, yet they'd only go badshit crazy when the mail carrier walked by. Not too surprising, when we saw the guy hollaring and shaking the fence at them, taunting and getting them worked up. From then on, they singled out the uniform and would go into a frenzy anytime a mail carrier walked by. That and kids with sticks. Not regular kids, just the ones carrying sticks.