Is there any truth to this?

[Seravieve]

We have a cattle dog mix but we dont tend to take him out in public much. He can be aggressive and he's also a big barker. J did take him through obedience class through petsmart and I dont think anything happened there. Sounds like a rather silly generalization. All dogs have such different backgrounds and upbringings and experiences, I just dont think it'd be possible to give a blanket statement like that.

But about the breeds sticking to their own kind... I will vouch for that. When we take Eli up to the dog park, there's always multiple boxers and they always tend to stay together and play with their own kind. Labs seem to do it too there. I think it has some to do with theyre energy levels. The boxers are all younger and tend to run all over like crazies so it'd make sense for them to be drawn towards each other. =)

[Giselle]

IMO, what you heard is true to a certain extent.

Border Collies are often misunderstood because they have not-exactly-natural behaviors. For example, their stalking movement and hard eyes can confuse and set off other dogs. From what I've read and heard from other BC owners, attacks from other dogs due to body miscommunication are not uncommon.

However, you will notice that it is BODY miscommunication, not a simple matter of prick and drop ears. Dogs communicate with their entire body. A dog will not focus in on a Doberman's cropped ears and perceive it to be a threat. A dog will look at where the weight is being held, the base of the tail, the tenseness of the muscles, the facial muscles, the hardness of the eyes, etc. It's not a matter of pick/drop ears or tail/no tail. It's much more intricate than that.

And dogs certainly can and do pick and choose their own breed out from a pack. I guarantee you: If you take two retired racing greyhounds and stick them on opposite sides of a dog park, wait 5 minutes, and those two greys will become inseparable. I absolutely guarantee it. Greys "know" other greys. Could it be due to their upbringing at racing farms? Possibly. But they definitely recognize their own breed.

[Denyce]

What Giselle said is correct. I am sorry but the rest of you are wrong in that dogs do not discriminate between breeds. They most certainly do. Not every dog will care but they can tell the differences.

Sequoia will only respond in a friendly manner to other huskies or malamutes. She will either ignore or be aggressive to other breeds. One husky breeder said to me she sees this often. That if a dog doesn't "speak siberian" then some huskies won't like it. This is a hard and fast rule for every dog in every situation but it is commen enough.

Also prick ear breeds with erect tails can be disliked or misinterpreted by other dogs. They see the husky ears being up, the direct stare and the tail over the back as being an aggressive stance and will react accordingly. If you have ever watched huskies look at other dogs most do so in a very different manner than a border collie or a yorkie or any other breed. Especially with a very dominant husky.

I don't know about Australian Cattle Dogs. They also strike me as a assertive breed. I know Sequoia will ALWAYS react in a dominant/aggressive manner to labs, goldens, greyhounds, and any of the bulldog/pitbull/boxer breeds.

[4 Dog Mother]

I would have to say that some dogs do have strong feelings to other breeds - and there are some people (like Staci) who can back me on this. My Dazzi is a golden retriever/spaniel mix. She does not like German Short Haired pointers at all. She will go after them if they come into the dog park. (Althouogh we have not been going nearly as much and now that she is living with 8 other dogs seems to be mellowing out some). When we first started taking her to the dog park she would go after Golden Retrievers - and yes she did go after Keegan and scratched her nose up pretty good. After that though she would "Protect" Keegan from other dogs. Certain Cocker Spaniels also set her off.

She has seen a lot of Australian Cattle dogs though and I don't remember any of those being a problem for her.

When we were taking her almost every day to the dog park we would leash her when a golden retriever came in and put her in the time out pen when a German short-haired pointer came in. She has always been very protective of her "pack" - meaning our dogs, Amy's dogs and Keegan. Now I think maybe there are just too many or she decided they needed to look out for themselves because she is too busy doing other things.