what breeds dont your DOGS like

**Twisterdog** · 05-17-2004, 10:30 PM

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.

**Twisterdog** · 05-17-2004, 10:36 PM

Maybe it's just the personality/traits of certain breeds... I find it rather hard to imagine that a dog is thinking "Oh, that's a Pit Bull. I hate Pit Bulls"...

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."

*snort*

A case of great minds thinking alike, perchance?

**Shelteez2** · 05-17-2004, 10:44 PM

Originally posted by Twisterdog
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."

See and I would agree if my experiences had shown that the dogs didn't like these certain dogs after getting close enough to meet. But for my co-worker's dog Sydney to get worked up on sight of a boxer, even way across the park doesn't seem to point to it being the boxer's bouncy friendly nature that he is taking offense to. We also have to be careful with him when bringing boxers in for baths at work.

Same with my boss's bouvier Virgil. He went after Husky's and husky like dogs on sight.

Dogs have eyes and while their eyesight isn't their best sense I think it is accurate enough that they can recognize other breeds.

**Twisterdog** · 05-17-2004, 10:57 PM

Originally posted by Shelteez2
See and I would agree if my experiences had shown that the dogs didn't like these certain dogs after getting close enough to meet. But for my co-worker's dog Sydney to get worked up on sight of a boxer, even way across the park doesn't seem to point to it being the boxer's bouncy friendly nature that he is taking offense to. We also have to be careful with him when bringing boxers in for baths at work.

Same with my boss's bouvier Virgil. He went after Husky's and husky like dogs on sight.

Dogs have eyes and while their eyesight isn't their best sense I think it is accurate enough that they can recognize other breeds.

However ... there has to be some original experience that leads them to that, I would think. If a boxer bit Sydney once, then perhaps Sydney remembers that and dislikes dogs that look like the one that bit him. In the same respect that a dog who was hit by a man wearing a hat may not like men that wear hats. I have a hard time believing, though, that he knows the difference between a boxer and boxer mix and a pit bull that happens to resemble a boxer. There has to be some visual cue that he recognises ... pricked ears and bushy coat, or floppy ears and short legs, etc. The dog may recognise a certain combination of physical characteristics, but a dog does not know which breed each dog is on sight, and then make a value judgement as to whether he likes or dislikes that particular breed as a whole.

I'm not saying that a dog can't recognise a husky vs. a chihuahua. I'm just saying that dogs are not born with some innate prejudice, and decide to hate an entire breed with no reason. Only people are that stupid.

**Kfamr** · 05-17-2004, 11:12 PM

Originally posted by Twisterdog
I'm just saying that dogs are not born with some innate prejudice, and decide to hate an entire breed with no reason. Only people are that stupid.

OH, OH, OH... I soooooo love that statement.

It's really scary in a neat way the fact that we both said basically the same thing.

**Shelteez2** · 05-17-2004, 11:18 PM

Originally posted by Twisterdog
However ... there has to be some original experience that leads them to that, I would think. If a boxer bit Sydney once, then perhaps Sydney remembers that and dislikes dogs that look like the one that bit him.

But Sydney never has had a bad experience with boxers. And it doesn't matter if the boxer has cropped or floppy ears. But you are right that he will sometimes get huffy with some pits that are boxer like. I'm not saying that it is just that he looks at a boxer and says oh there's a boxer and I hate them.

There has to be some visual cue that he recognises ...

That's what I mean though. Dogs of a certain breed are going to have similar visual clues. ie. they look the same. It is not necessarily based on the fact that they act the same.

Also with my grandparent's pug. SO many dogs do not like him, and I believe it's based on looks as many dogs are not exposed to dogs that look like him. In that case I believe it is just a fear of the unknown.

**cali** · 05-17-2004, 11:22 PM

yet never in happys entire life has she actually MET a GSP, not once, she has seen them only through her eyes unless happy is racing the dog in which case she will do anything possable to beat the dog in the race, otherwise I have never been able to get her within 10 feet of a GSP, it is not possable for her to have had a bad experence with a breed she has never met. personality would not fit the case either because happy is jumpy in your face herself, and she is happy to be with dogs she knows that are the same, but she is also very calm, for example she really likes shadow, who is VERY mellow, and not in your face, happy is also shy(she is a huge mix of practicly every charcteristic) there are only 3 breeds that happy has EVER had a bad experience with and not one of them does she hate, jack russles, other border collies, and belgens.

**Twisterdog** · 05-17-2004, 11:49 PM

I guess I'm not being very clear tonight ... maybe I need more caffeine.

I certainly know that dogs can and do form impressions based on all their senses, sight included. He smells steaks coming out of a styromfoam cooler once, and the next time he sees a styrofoam cooler he tries to get the lid off to see if there is a steak inside. A teenage boy in a baseball cap throws a rock at him, and the next time he sees a teenage boy in a hat, he cowers behind his owner. A big, bull-type dog frightens him once when he a puppy, and he growls at all big bull-type dogs he sees. He used to enjoy playing with a large, long-haired dog as a puppy and he is friendly to all large, long-haried dogs he meets now. I believe all these things are true and valid.

What I do NOT believe is that a dog is born with prejudices and "breedism", and can distinguish an entire breed and hate them, for no reason whatsoever. A human is not even born with prejudices and racism, something triggers it - something a child is told or shown or taught encourages and rewards prejudice. No human child is born disliking another race or religion or culture - they are taught to recognise members of that group and taught to dislike them.

SOMETHING is triggering the dog's reactions as well, they do not come from thin air. No puppy is born disliking boxers or huskies or labs - something the dog sees or hears or smells teaches him to recognise and dislike similar animals, whether the similarity happens to be in looks or actions or smell. We might not know about or remember or recognise what the situation was, but it exists, nonetheless. Dogs can hear and smell things we can't detect, and we can't possibly know every nuance of how dogs communicate. Perhaps there was a sound or scent or canine body language present in an initial encounter that we didn't notice - but that nonetheless was engraved in the dog's memory.

I'm not saying a dog can't dislike or fear a dog that looks or acts or smells a certain way. They can and do. But I do not believe for one minute that a dog simply decides to hate every dog of a certain breed, for no reason at all.

**Shelteez2** · 05-18-2004, 12:01 AM

I think we pretty much agree on most things. All I was trying to get across was that some dogs do recognize other breeds of dogs (or like breeds) and dislike them. I wasn't trying to imply that they were born hating them. I agree that a situation could have been something slight that we wouldn't have noticed as opposed to something as blatant as being attacked by a certain breed. I just meant that with Syd there was no obvioius (to us) reason for him to dislike boxers. Nor was there any obvious reason for Virgil to hate huskys.

Anyways I don't think I'm being all that clear either...LOL so I will sign off and hope that at least half of my point has gotten across...

**Twisterdog** · 05-18-2004, 12:04 AM

Originally posted by Shelteez2
I think we pretty much agree on most things. All I was trying to get across was that some dogs do recognize other breeds of dogs (or like breeds) and dislike them. I wasn't trying to imply that they were born hating them. I agree that a situation could have been something slight that we wouldn't have noticed as opposed to something as blatant as being attacked by a certain breed. I just meant that with Syd there was no obvioius (to us) reason for him to dislike boxers. Nor was there any obvious reason for Virgil to hate huskys.

Oh, you're just sucking up now because you want to make sure I feed you for two weeks in September, and not make you sleep in your car and eat at McDonalds.

**Shelteez2** · 05-18-2004, 12:07 AM

Originally posted by Twisterdog
Oh, you're just sucking up because you want to make sure I feed you for two weeks in September, and not make you sleep in your car and eat at McDonalds.

Doh you got me there..... although I'm a kid at heart and don't mind eating at McDonalds..... and my car is really pretty and comfy so you'll have to come up with better threats than that....

**Cookiebaker** · 05-18-2004, 05:02 AM

Originally posted by Kfamr
I've never heard or seen this before... interesting.

My dogs don't dislike any specific breeds.
I'm not even sure if dogs can tell the difference?

I would have thought this as well. However, in our second round of dog training with Malone, there was an Akita that had a thing for labs. He was totally fine with every other kind of dog in the class, but when a lab was near him, he would totally spaz out.

We learned to stay *far* away from him.

It was really weird.

**cloverfdx** · 05-18-2004, 06:27 AM

I am going to have to agree with Cali and Shelteez on this one. (Maybe it is a dog sport people thing)

My Clover has never had a bad experience with Rottweilers but goes completly beserk when she see's one, It can be next to her in an Obedience class or on the other side of the park it does not matter. I now refuse to race her against Rottys in Flyball after she went after one.

Blue merle Cocker Spaniels are another hate and she has never been attacked, growled at or even barked at by one. We see ALOT of this thing in Flyball and our poor Boxers are realy hated by alot of dogs. (One who bit a child a few weeks ago and was not reported)

Clover also adores GSD it does not matter if she has ever met the dog, she just loves them and can spot a GSD amongst a group of mixed breed dogs from across the park.

Penny hates black Labradors again no bad experiences.

Elvis is supprisingly not keen on other Border Collies.

And loves black Labs.

**anna_66** · 05-18-2004, 06:37 AM

I have to agree I don't think dogs can tell which breed is which. I guess it's the dog its-self

I have to disagree with this statement and let me tell you why.

When we were at the Pawsfest on Sunday I seen 2 huskies and walked over to them. The first thing Roxey did was growl at both of them. She pretty much had a problem with them all day

We walked by so many other dogs and she'd sniff and walk away. Not once did she growl at another dog.
Also we went to PetsMart for a play night and she got along wonderfully with all the dogs until another husky came in. Again, the first thing she did was go up to it and growl.

Now, I'm not saying she hates other huskies. I think she's just trying to be dominate with them and show them she's boss (or so she thinks

).
Given time I think she would have played with these dogs but of course she growls and the owners don't want her near their dogs

Woah, sorry this was so long!