Black Dog Syndrome

[Leelaa17]

I was watching Dog Whisperer last night and he was saying something about black dogs being the last to be adopted in shelters compared to other coloured dogs, or the first to be put down or something like that.

he was also saying in Thailand (or Tawian - not sure) that black dogs are actually seen as bad luck and black dogs with white paws were even worse because they symbolise death.

I just want to know what peoples opinions on this were... I think it is quite bizarre? I mean I respect people who have beliefs/superstitions - I used to be superstitious about full moons!!! (not anymore though).

I just don't know why people have what Cesar called 'Black Dog Syndrome'???

[shelby-001]

Lucky I'm not supersticious or I'd be screwed.....

Two Black n White Amstaffs reside with me, Boof n Lilly.

Both are black and both have 4 white feet, LMAO! That's a lot of black dog and white feet.

I've never heard of it before, will be interesting to read what other more learned people have to add!

[Dogsrawesome]

i watched that also, i think its horrible to judge a dog by colour ive always liked black dogs and i think its just a myth more than anything. It was tawain not thailand haha.

[aussielover]

I don't know what it is about black, but people seem to be more scared of black dogs.

It is harder to see their faces I guess, they are often not as photogenic as lighter coloured dogs because its hard to get any contrast, especially with a crappy camera!!!

Although my black lab is a sook, she can appear very intimidating when she goes into watchdog mode- hackles up, very aggressive sounding bark! I can see she would look quite vicious!

Also, apparently it is harder for guide dogs to get black puppies fostered as everyone wants yellow ones. Mindy was the last one left in her litter because no one wanted a black pup at that time. we had a preference for black luckily (less visible dirtiness lol) I have also heard that some lab breeders have more difficulty selling black labs.

I actually love the look of black WL GSDs

Edited April 29, 2011 by aussielover

[claireybell]

My Mum has always said she would never own a black do however she loves my JoJo and she's all balck with little bits of white.

[anniek]

Absolutely - the black males are the hardest to adopt. Not only are they bigger than the females, but "black dogs look vicious". Black females are the next hardest to find homes for.

And of course there are more black greyhounds born than any other colour which make it even more difficult!

[W Sibs]

Never heard of that syndrome before..

but some Asian people don't like black dog because they do feel it's bad luck, and also they like things all bright.. so they will stick to the white, gold and light colours things. It's not just with dogs, it's with everything else. Saying that, my dad now owns a black cat name Ninja and nickname Evil Ninja (but that's cause he is really evil).

Someone told me that they don't like black dog because it's harder to read their facial expression and that can be scary.

Personally for me, I always preferred light colour dogs BUT saying that if I came across a black dog with awesome temperament and that fits into my family, then I will get that dog

[Guest Ams]

I always thought brindles were hardest to rehome.

[Kavik]

Yes I have also heard that black dogs are difficult to home. I however love black dogs - every dog I have owned so far has been black

[aussielover]

Absolutely - the black males are the hardest to adopt. Not only are they bigger than the females, but "black dogs look vicious". Black females are the next hardest to find homes for.

And of course there are more black greyhounds born than any other colour which make it even more difficult!

Oh, sad :D

Is that because black is a dominant colour or something?

When I get my acreage I will adopt some black Greys

[Cazstaff]

I always thought brindles were hardest to rehome.

Me too Ams, black dogs and pups I havent had any trouble finding homes for. I've found Brindle adults the most difficult to find a good home for. Even just walking the Brindle boofa's I see how people give us a wide berth (watch out thats a guard dog! ) yet walking same breed type in tan they walk by comfortably.

I wasnt aware of the black dog with white feet being bad luck, its interesting :D

[cowanbree]

Very true. As a sheltie breeder my favourite colour is the black tri but they are extremely difficult to sell in comparison to sables or blues. I don't really understand why, I think they are gorgeous

[Leema]

Another theory is that black dogs in shelters are harder to see the details of and so people are less likely to feel attached to a black dog. Difficulty in photographing black dogs also contributes to this problem.

[aussielover]

Another theory is that black dogs in shelters are harder to see the details of and so people are less likely to feel attached to a black dog. Difficulty in photographing black dogs also contributes to this problem.

Absolutely agree

Where's my face

[Inspired1]

Oh how sad Our Kelpie is black with spots of white on his chest and feet. We found out about him just before his owners had to surrender him, so we love him and feel lucky to have him, so he doesn't feel unlucky to us :D

[Leelaa17]

it's amazing isn't it. I absolutely LOVE black dogs. All the dogs I've owned have been black (or black and white or black and tan). And it is great because you don't see the dirst as much!!

Cesar did say something about the photogenic thing as well - that black dogs arent as photogenic.

I think its really sad. I would never not get a dog based on colour. Its all about tempermant... I would even get an 'ugly' dog... And I say 'ugly' because I think every dog is gorgeous in its own way!!1 :D

[wuffles]

I have a large, black, male dog and he is damn lucky that he got out of the pound even though he is a lovely dog ( to the pound volunteers and foster carers). When we walk down the street I get noticeable negative reactions from many people - may just be because he's big but I think being black contributes.

In comparison, everyone smiles when they see my other dog who has a white face. I know a few other people with dogs with white faces and for some reason people seem to be drawn to them.

[freundhund]

I breed and show GSD's. Over the years, I have had people want the darkest puppy in the litter because they are the most savage!!!

I found this amongst the Greek, Italian and Maltese families that wanted puppies. I also found that I was frequently told this myth at training over the years. A coloured South African friend told me that in South Africa black dogs were not as popular as lighter coloured dogs, she actually commented it was to that level some white people's mindset went to.

With pure black GSD's I find that they are often easier to sell. I used to have a bitch who carried the black gene and I had people always after black puppies!!!

For me, I must admit, I don't care what colour a dog is if I like it, and I do like a solid black or bi-coloured GSD.

[Leelaa17]

I breed and show GSD's. Over the years, I have had people want the darkest puppy in the litter because they are the most savage!!!

I found this amongst the Greek, Italian and Maltese families that wanted puppies. I also found that I was frequently told this myth at training over the years. A coloured South African friend told me that in South Africa black dogs were not as popular as lighter coloured dogs, she actually commented it was to that level some white people's mindset went to.

With pure black GSD's I find that they are often easier to sell. I used to have a bitch who carried the black gene and I had people always after black puppies!!!

For me, I must admit, I don't care what colour a dog is if I like it, and I do like a solid black or bi-coloured GSD.

Savage?? Haha! That has to be a myth right??

And TBH I prefer darker GSD's - mostly tri colour the most. my two are quite dark but have tan and even white patches on them. Jenna is much darker than max - has a much darker face... But I love it - and their colours!!

[Maddy]

I just don't know why people have what Cesar called 'Black Dog Syndrome'???

It's not exactly a new or unknown problem, there are actually some reacue groups that rehome just the blacks. http://www.blackpearldogs.com/

Blacks make up a substantial proportion of greyhounds (I can't remember the exact percentage but it's over 60%) and the blacks have always been the hardest for us to rehome.

I actually have a small pile of applications on my desk right now, all of them set aside because they wanted "unusual" or "pretty" or "rare" coloured dogs (sadly, those are some of the actual words used in the applications)- and the current foster girl is just black.

The colours people prefer in greyhounds seem to be fawn and blue, in particular, parti colour fawn or blues. We've actually only ever had two parti dogs, one of those was white with black (although she was cat-safe so rehomed very quickly) and the other was white and fawn (the greyhound on the right in my signature) but she failed small dog testing twice and was not suitable for rehoming.

It's really quite disappointing that people would still prefer looks over temperament, our current foster is a lovely girl (very intelligent, gets along beautifully with other dogs and she's very people-oriented) but as soon as you tell people what colour she is, the interest in her disappears completely.