Would you be okay with being asked for a favour because of your skin colour?

I wouldn’t say it. I think it’s fine if you think it’s good training. I know nothing about training dogs, and had no idea they might perceive a color of skin as significant.

I personally would not mind at all if asked to do something associated with my nationality, but I wouldn’t want to feed your dog or pet it unless I already had a plan ahead of time to do it. I’m not much of a dog person.

No, I think it’s fine. I think what you are doing will teach the dog that humans can’t be judge by their skin colors. If there are really dogs which don’t like particular colors like you said, then the training will ensure your dog won’t fall into the same category.

I think your motivation shows you’re trying to be inclusive. I’d be fine with it. However, I’m white. I can’t speak for anyone else and I don’t know if dogs do get spooked by people of different racial backgrounds than they’re used to interacting with.

@Earthbound_Misfit White people might be asked the same thing if the dogs were owned by black people who live in a mostly black neighborhood. I don’t think the skin color matters, it’s just a matter of which color is the minority in the situation. Unless dogs innately are more fearful of dark skin? Now that would be something to dissect. I don’t think for a second that’s the case though.

No, @JLeslie, I don’t think so either. Dogs tend to get spooked by anything they haven’t encountered in their formative…well, weeks. Because I live in a “white” neighbourhood, they tend to be fearful of darker skin around here. I’m sure a dog raised with only dark-skinned people would be wary of a white person.

Nationality and skin color are two different characteristics.

My only experience with dogs comes from growing up with at least one in the house at all times, plus neighbors’ and friends’ dogs. We also bred one of our dogs who had five pups that I took care of until they were sold. None have displayed any aggression towards someone just because they have a different skin color. Two occasionally showed aggression, and both were adopted after they were a year old. It is more likely due to body language of a human and the dog’s personality.

Having a young dog interact with other humans, if the people are willing, sounds like a good idea. Singling out people of a different color seems extreme. Other than personal perspective, are there any studies on this?

What I mean is as a white person, I’m not usually on the receiving end of discrimination or being singled out because of my skin colour. So I’m unlikely to be offended by the suggestion. If I wasn’t white, and my lived experience because of my skin colour was different, I might find it offensive. I can’t say whether that’s true or not.

@Earthbound_Misfit I see your point.

@Pied_Pfeffer I thought the same thing also about nationality and skin color. I think in Europe they associate the two together possibly more than Americans. We tend to think more black people and white people, but Europeans I assume (the OP can correct me) is thinking about people from India, the Arab world, etc. Not that I don’t know Arabs and Indians who are very fair skinned, I do.

It seems to me that it’s much more important to just acclimate the puppy to lots of people than to systematically run through the register of colors or ethnicities. The odds are that your puppy’s reaction to things unfamiliar will be pretty much a reflection of your own. If you think about it, how likely is it that a puppy given to a gregarious person will mature into a vicious dog?

@Pied_Pfeffer I’m not sure whether there are any studies on this, it’s an interesting question. However, my personal experience has been very different from yours. I personally know numerous dogs who react fearfully on encountering what they perceive as unusual. Strollers. Lawn mowers. Cars. Large dogs. Small dogs. Children. And, yes – skin colour.

I had phrased the title differently at first – you’re right, it is misleading now. I’ve flagged this thread.

@JLeslie It definitely is a common mistake, though you will usually get corrected quickly upon making it. By the way: I don’t walk up to strangers just by chance. I would feel bad about bothering anyone who is nervous around dogs. Instead, I wait for people to approach me…walking around with a puppy, I get stopped by about a dozen people, every day. While they’re petting him, they don’t mind handing out a couple of treats. Everybody wins!

@stanleybmanly “If you think about it, how likely is it that a puppy given to a gregarious person will mature into a vicious dog?”

Not too unlikely, if that puppy is not well socialized. My sister has a “racist” dog, for example, and she is definitely not a racist herself. Dogs do look to us for guidance, but they also make their own conclusions based on experience. My sister’s dog did not have the opportunity to interact with any non-white people when she was a pup. So, in her mind, any non-white humans are something unusual.

@Earthbound_Misfit Good point!

@Mimishu1995 Thanks, I hope so!

@longgone Did your sister receive the dog as a pup? Don’t get me wrong. Dogs and cats have personalities as varied as people.

^ Yes, she did. Amy was a difficult dog to socialize, because she had an inherent distrust of many things. Consequently, she is still very distrustful in all areas we didn’t actively work on. For example, we wanted her to be safe with children…so we worked on that a lot, and it paid off. Sudden movements and very loud children scare her, but she gets maniacally happy upon seeing a little person.
I agree, they definitely do.

I think you should just say that you want your dog to get used to being around strangers. I am not sure how I would feel if someone said they wanted me to feed their dog because of my skin color, but I it is probably a piece of information that I would prefer not to have.

Dogs in my experience are naturally non racist and would have to be trained to be racist rather than the reverse. If a coloured neighbour invited me to feed his dog so it would get used to white people I would politely decline. If your dog is going to be around black people it will soon get used to them.

I would guess that racist dogs were raised by racist owners, even if unintentionally.
It the owner tenses up around an identifiable type of person, the dog will sense that and seek to warn the owner, or even protect them, if that ‘type’ is present.

If you’re open minded, I think your dog will reflect that.

Socializing dogs is all about exposure to others, new situations, I don’t think you need to go out of your way to find ethnic individuals to socialize your puppy, dogs, like children, are not born racist.
I’d be more concerned about the dog being around kids to assure it is not going to be kid skittish. Cats and other animals too, being a cat lover ( and I love all animals ) but….if a dog attacked one of my cats I’d kill it with my bare hands. Dogs should always be taught to not chase/harm any other animal and another of my major dog pet peeves are people that allow their dogs to chase ducks and geese at parks and lakes.

So many birds end up with broken legs from dogs chasing them. They are not designed to run on land and terrible injuries occur from being harassed by dogs.
Exposing your puppy to horses if you plan on walking it on equestrian trails would be wise too. Being a horse person I can tell you how terrifying it is to horses and riders to be attacked by off leash dogs on trail. Another situation where I’d have no problem harming a dog.

If you’re only keeping the puppy as a pet it’s a reasonable to expose him to different types of people. If you’re expecting him to ever be any kind of guard dog it’s a bad idea. Guard dog puppies only need to see people on the other side of a fence.

Skin color is not a national thing.

We had a dog, long ago, that was always spooked by people with dark skins. If I had the chance now, I would therefore definitely introduce a pup to all kinds and varieties of people. Including those of a different skin color.

The thing is… when and where the pup and I grew up, we didn’t have so many dark people around. It was just not natural for the dog to meet one as a pup. I felt really ashamed when the dog would go crazy with some of my friends later in life, though. It almost seemed we trained the dog to be bigot.

As noted above, dogs have a relatively short critical phase – while being a pup – in which they learn what things they can accept and trust, such as cars, trains, escalators, lifts, horses, other animals and… other types of people.

Anyways… do expose the pup, but I think you neither need or should disclose your motivations unless someone asks and is truly interested. If you can explain your motivations fully, I feel most if not all people will be okay.

I agree with those of you who said to just keep doing what I’ve been doing. I was mostly curious as to why I feel weird fully disclosing my motivation. It seems I’m not alone there, though.

@whitenoise brought up a good point: I live in an area where black skin is scarce. I have a couple of friends who are dark-skinned, but they don’t live close by. Those of you who said that dogs are not racist unless their owners are may just be used to more mixed areas. It’s not that @whitenoise‘s or my sister’s dog have been raised to hate any non-white humans – they just are caught off guard. Much like children, if they are old enough to notice and “segregated” enough to not have been exposed when little.

When I noticed my first dark-skinned person, I was about three. Apparently, I was concerned and asked why the guy was, “all blue”.

There is an interesting theory put forth by Temple Grandin that claims that animals are in some ways like autistic people, focusing on very small details and getting upset by even the slightest deviations. If this is true then it is easy to understand why a dog not used to seeing dark skinned people when young could react negatively on coming across them when it is older.

^ Thanks for the reminder, I’ve been wanting to read up on that!

I’ve actually been asked for a favor due to my skin color (I acted as the point of a contact between an activist group and a racist because, being white, the latter was less likely to reject me out of hand). But like @Earthbound_Misfit noted, it’s pretty easy for me (as a white guy) to be less sensitive about this.

I would just ask them if they would mind feeding my puppy so he doesn’t fear strangers. No need to elaborate.

But honestly, I don’t think its always the color. But rather how they walk, the sound of their voice and I think the position of their hands. My previous dog always seemed most nervous in the winter when people walked in hunched position, a quicker pace, and or hat over their heads and hands in their pockets. As soon as they would take their hands out, I think he thought they were going to attack. He would go nuts.

The hoods and scarves hid their faces. Dogs pick up ques from our eyes and movement and facial expressions. So when they cannot read people, it can scare them. A mans tone of voice can be deep enough to sound threatening to a dog. Like a growl.

I ask people it their children can pet my puppy so that I can teach her to be gentle with children. She loves kids but gets a little too excited.

I also ask the adults with dogs if they mind passing their dogs near her so I can teach her to ignore the other dog. She is ok with dogs but I want her focus on the walk and my commands.

Cues, not ques ^

Thanks for your responses, @Pandora and @SavoirFaire!