Originally posted by veegan
It seems most logical to think that maybe its just that certain breeds have specific breed-wide temerapments/characteristics that annoy some dogs. same thing with dogs that tend to love certain breeds. and not that dogs know what breeds are which.
I agree.

Some dogs don't like bouncy, overbearing, loud dogs - and will therefore growl at them when they get in his or her face. So, a dog like that would probably not really like any dogs of a breed that is known to be bouncy, overbearing and loud. A dog may not like the actions or personality traits of particular dogs, but I do not believe that a dog thinks, "Oh, there's a lab. I don't like labs."

My dogs, for example, aren't particularly fond of shy, nervous dogs. They simple don't have the patience to deal with them, I think. They like dogs that are friendly, eager to do something (like chase a rabbit or dig a hole) and generally "dog-savvy". They have little use for pampered dogs who don't know they're dogs. I think this is because my dogs live in a big pack, where they all "speak dog", if you will. They are also mostly terriers, with a high prey drive and high energy level. They tend to prefer those personality traits over the shy, lap-dog, never-played-with-another-before personality traits.