Racist WGSD

[chelle]

My 21 year old son recently moved back in with me with his 3 yr old WGSD female. He lived with me with this dog once before when she was younger, so I've spent a lot of time around her, done a lot of her caretaking, playing, etc... but not much of her training and wasn't a part of socializing her, as I had two other dogs of my own I needed to attend to.

Anyway. I came home at lunch from work to let the dogs out and she was running around the yard when she went on stance and barked her warning bark. I looked thru the bushes and there was a black man standing right at my property line. Just standing there. I am on 3/4 of an acre and we have let a good 1/4 acre grow wild and it has made a sort of natural barrier. He was just on the other side of that.

My immediate thought was to get her called off, so I did... she barked a couple more warnings and obeyed. My next thought was what the heck is this guy doing on my property. I told my son about it and he said she doesn't like black people because she has never been around any and he doesn't know what to do about it. Well, neither do I.... She's over three years old now, it's not like she's like my puppy that I can easily control and who isn't scared of certain things yet.

???????? This is not cool. I have black friends. How to deal with this with an adult dog with an ingrained problem like this... and please don't attack me - this is not my dog - my son has been irresponsible -- I know all that. but thanks for your help.

[Jax08]

You bring in your friends and explain the situation. Let them interact with her. Toss treats to her. If she doesn't calm down and accept them, back up (mentally) with her. You can do LAT (just like with your puppy!).

I'm not sure your son has been irresponsible. He didn't TEACH her to dislike black people, he just didn't socialize her and work on it once he realized there was a problem.

[Lucy Dog]

So if the person was white, but the situation was exactly the same, you don't think she would have barked? This scenario sounds like it had nothing to do with the persons race, but that's just my take on what you described.

Has there been any other situations like this where you think it's race related?

[Jax08]

Originally Posted by chelle

I told my son about it and he said she doesn't like black people because she has never been around any and he doesn't know what to do about it. Well, neither do I....

It seems so, Paul.

[Lucy Dog]

Originally Posted by Jax08

It seems so, Paul.

Well... from the OP's original post... it doesn't seem like this was race related at all to me. A strange guy was just standing at the property line looking in who happened to be black. Did the dog bark because the man was black or because a random stranger happened to be acting suspicious or out of place?

Has this dog ever attacked a black person? How about a white person? How does it act around children or old people? What has this dog specifically done to make the OP and her son think this dog was "racist"?

[Jax08]

I read it as the dog was barking because of a person (irregardless of race). When the son was told about it, HE said the dog doesn't like black people. I think the mention of race in this story was to explain the main point of the situation.

[MaggieRoseLee]

People DO look different so our unsocialized dog will over react.

I've have dogs bark at people wearing hats.... or a helmet.... or with a cane..... or that just suddenly appear....

NONE of these reactions were 'racial'. They were just people that looked DIFFERENT or acted DIFFERENT and I hadn't done MY part to socialize and get my dogs used to that 'different'.

But then I learned and did

[Jax08]

I think everyone is getting to caught up in the word "racist". The OP has a problem that is just learning has been ongoing...the dog reacts to people that are black...so what is the solution?

IMO, socialization. Find a friend who can be a test subject without being scared. Ignore, toss treats, ignore. Possibly the LAT game. I don't feel this is anything that can't be overcome.

The book "The Other End of the Leash" has a very good chapter on situations where a dog reacts to people. It would definitely be worth getting for you because of your puppy and this dog.

[Lucy Dog]

What happens if someone is just really tan? Does that set the dog off too?

I really can't see this as being a racial thing. Like MRL said... it's just things that are "different". Do white people usually stand outside your fence like that? I think it was just out of the norm that someone was standing outside of the fence like that and it caught the dogs attention.

Yes... it probably is a training and socialization thing, but I'd be willing to bet anything it's not a racial thing.

So what do you do now? Start training and socializing. Get caught up on what was missed out on.

[Scarlettsmom]

I agree that it doesn't have anything to do with race, but merely someone in proximity to you/your home/the dog that doesn't belong. Our dog will let anyone near her, unless she senses something from us or they have something in their hands. The poor UPS guys coming to our house always have to endure "the bark". I am sure if they didn't have stuff in their hands, she'd be much more open to meeting them.

We've worked with her by taking her to places where we know she will encounter people with stuff in their hands. The market, Home Depot, 7-11, etc. She is SO much better than she was when she came to us. Now, it's just the UPS guys that get the bark. I think that really has more to do with being at home and protecting the den.

I know folks here will be able to assist you in overcoming your concerns.