Is your dog racist, or is it really you?
What should a dog owner do when a dog expresses a racial preference?
Sometimes dog walks can get frustrating, but not in the way you might assume. On some dog walking platforms, you’re unable to see the dog walking notes until after you accept the request. The notes usually talk about the dog being afraid of certain noises, other dogs, dietary habits or physical ailments. But I was not prepared for the owner’s notes that I saw after this job was accepted: “Must be a Caucasian female in order to walk this dog.”
Months later, I still ponder over that last line from the owner: “It is not my fault that my dog reacts badly.” Because, in my opinion, it is indeed the fault of the owner. A casual browse through the American Kennel Club’s A-Z index consistently has advice about one task for owners — socialize your dog.
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As an Amazon affiliate, I earn a percentage from purchases with my referral links. I know some consumers are choosing to boycott Amazon for its DEI removal. However, after thinking about this thoroughly, I want to continue promoting cool products from small businesses, women-owned businesses and (specifically) Black-owned businesses who still feature their items on Amazon. As of the first date of Black History Month 2025, each new post will ALWAYS include a MINIMUM of one product sold by a Black-owned business. (I have visited the seller’s official site to verify that Amazon Black-owned logo.) I am (slowly) doing this with older, popular posts too. If you still choose to boycott, I 100% respect that decision.
Before I circle back to this particular owner, let’s explore legitimate dog biases and the hurdles I went through to train my own dog. For the record, none of these result in a pattern of racism against a particular type of person.
Training my own dog: The highs and lows
For dog owners who want guard dogs, it’s OK to make your dog only be around trusted individuals and skeptical of everyone else. That’s the intended goal of a guard dog. And for some dog owners, including myself, some dogs are just naturally that way.
My German Shepherd would bark at everything when it was on our property, and she once chewed up and swallowed the phone number of a guy who approached me. I guess she knew something I didn’t because she also growled and tried to lunge at him. Meanwhile her first introduction to another fellow I liked was to quietly drink water and just stare at him.
Recommended Read: “The bigot across the hall ~ The racist neighbor in my building, and the landlord who appeased him”
But when she was leashed and outside of our gates, she never growled nor barked at people I regularly spoke to along the way. She also never lunged or growled at any other human being when we walked, besides that one guy, in all nine years. Coincidentally, my mother was particularly annoyed when a neighborhood friend walked up behind me, and my German Shepherd barely glanced back. The reason? I talked to this same guy every single time I walked her, so she knew who he was. (My mother was never with me before when I walked this dog, so she had no idea the two knew each other.) Familiarity is key for any dog. The more the person/people you are around don’t seem like a threat to you, the more likely your dog will give this person a pass.
Recognizing a dog’s legitimate versus questionable biases
Of course, dog training is a much easier task if you’ve had the dog since his/her puppy years. It can become quite a challenge if your dog comes with a set of mental (or physical) issues before you were around. This is a common hesitancy for potential dog owners who shy away from kennels or puppy mills. You don’t know what that dog has gone through before it got to you.
I once met a Chihuahua who was brought in during Hurricane Katrina and rode a truck filled with dogs well into the 75–100 pound range. You can just imagine what it was like for a dog that small to be around that many ginormous, barking dogs. Needless to say, she was petrified of large dogs and clung to her owner. She also despised strangers and thought they were coming to take her away. What did I do when I first met her? I let her run around and get used to me. I sat next to her. I even let her put her nose on my nose, just to give her assurance that I trusted her. After that, she chilled out.
Of course, this is a much easier task if you’ve had the dog since his/her puppy years. It can become quite a challenge if your dog comes with a set of mental (or physical) issues before you were around.
Then there was the Shih Tzu/Maltese Mix who despised walking altogether. He would hide in the back of his crate. It often took me anywhere from 30 minutes to an hour to get the leash on him. He’d hide behind tables, chairs, treadmills and couches — anywhere that his back could be against a wall and he could see his surroundings. If you lunged at him to try to put the leash on him, he would indeed try to bite you. (He never bit me. Once I found out he bit both of his owners before, I chose to ignore him and watch TV. Eventually he grew bored and hopped on the couch to sit next to me. Then off we walked.)