Did you ever hear this that black dogs are put down more

[laurie31]

I think maybe the reason for "more black dogs being put down in the south" is because there are more dogs put down here period. There are several shelters here that routinely ship dogs to the northeast to be adopted, because they have such strict spay/neuter laws that they don't have the problems with overpopulation and unwanted animals that we have here. They (the shelters) say that there is actually a lack of adoptable dogs in some of those states.

There was a story about it in the newspaper, but I can't find the link. Sorry.

All the doggie pics are so cute! I love ALL dogs!

 

[Jockaroo]

I live in the South and have two mostly black Cairn terriers. Before that I had a wheat colored one. I will say that in the summer, my black dogs are more miserable than the wheaten one was. Their black fur absorbs a lot more sun and they just bake. When I first opened this thread, I thought that would be the reason black dogs were less popular in the south. I had never heard the "mean dog" theory. Hmmm, I bet I'll hear it everywhere now that I'm aware of it!

You are so correct. I have to be very careful walking my Scottie in the summer. I get up early and take her on a long walk before the pavement heats up. I watch the temperatures in the evening and once they get to a certain point, I grab a flashlight and we go for a second walk. Other trips are just strictly in and out in the yard. It is just too hot for her. Last summer was brutal for my very elderly dog (who has passed). I got him a special bandanna with the cooling crystals and kept it in the refrigerator. It really helped. Here is a link if you think it could help your dogs:

http://www.kyjen.com/shop/index.php/pet-travel-gear/cool-it-cooling-bandanas.html

I also found a silicon collapsible 2 cup measuring cup that I can clip to my belt and use as a water bowl when we go for walks in the heat. I know that when I reach down to unclip my dog's leash her back feels like I'm standing next to an oven. I love my LBD (little black dog).

 

[puffkin]

I don't really notice it being a huge issue around here. It seems like people are more afraid of anything mixed with pit rather than just the color. I have always had beagles and we always tended to pick a tricolor that has more black. I just think they look nicer (but then again beagles arent usually a problem to adopt out).

It does seem that black cats are harder to adopt out here. However I searched for almost 6 months for a tuxedo female kitten and never found one. We eventually visited a cat rescue and saw Riley. After talking to her foster mom and realizing she would be a good fit for our family we took her. She is a darker striped tabby. The foster mom was so relieved because she said after the black cats, the striped are hardest to adopt. I don't know why because she is absolutely gorgeous!

 

[luvmy3jewels]

I have read articles about big black dogs being harder to adopt out. We adopted our BBD as a puppy at an animal shelter and we think she is a lab/rottweiler mix. She has a very sweet (but protective) disposition and is now 11 years old. She did have the lab exuberance for the first 8 years of her life which were a little rough. Now that she is older and has mellowed she is a wonderful dog!

To be quite honest, I don't think the next dog we get will be a BBD because Maggie sheds really badly and I am sick of having large clumps of black hair around the house. I'm thinking our next dog will be much smaller with hair that will camouflage better with the carpet and furniture.

 

[MommaMouse411]

Ive never heard this??? my dog is black...i think black dogs are the cutest!!!! that's sad poor dogs get judge by their colors too wow...

 

[horseshowmom]

We love our black lab/mixes.....true comment that they take a long time to get out of the puppy stage, but they are some of the most loving, good natured dogs I've ever known. The head of the animal shelter here compared a young 100 lb black lab to a 6 foot twelve year old boy - "they just don't know what to do with their size"

My black Lab is a year old, and he's adorable. He absolutely adores his family.

He came in to visit for awhile last night, and he's so funny walking around the living room. As the above poster said, there's just so much of him!

 

[landshark]

I don't remember if I've heard that applying to dogs in general, but I always hear things around Halloween where shelters refuse to adopt black cats out on the off chance they end up abused/killed because of the holiday.

It's disappointing to hear because I've never known the color of an animal to make any difference in their personality. I grew up with a black Lab and a black Cocker Spaniel my parents still have. My own cat is black, as is his sister, and a few others we've had over the years. If anything, I think the black animals were some of the nicest ones we had.

 

[pixiegoose]

Both of the dogs my parents have adopted have been black. The first one was a black lab/we think pointer mix who passed away last February at 13 1/2. The newest addition to the family is a black lab/we think beagle mix that my mom was so set on saving from animal control that the 2 of us drove from here (MA/NH) to GA to get her.

My mom's friend had seen Cassie at animal control and sent my mom her link. My mom decided she had to save her and was willing to sponsor her to have her fostered but the rescue had no fosters available. My mom decided to adopt her and had her friend get her out of animal control and bring her to our old vet (we lived in GA for 10 years) to get spayed and boarded. It was a pain in the butt to get her but she's worth it- she is so lovable and sweet and thinks that everyone is a new friend.

 

[bettymae1121]

I had heard that about cats, but it was a nation wide thing and not just the south. Hadn't heard that black dogs are harder to adopt though, that's a new one. My Missy is a black coated dog and I'll I ever hear from people when I walk her is how beautiful she is, and I can tell they mean it and aren't just being nice!

 

[MM27]

I've heard that too. It's sad.

 

[LiLIrishChick63]

I've never heard that it was a 'south' thing. Here in the northeast, it's the same for dogs and cats. Black ones are harder to adopt out, because some people don't think they are pretty. Some potential adopters have said they think they look mean.

that's the same that i've heard, they are harder to adopt out.

that's so crazy that people think they look "mean". i have 3 cats...a black one, a white one, and a gray one, and the black one is the friendliest of them all, he's always wanting attention from anyone who will give it to him lol

 

[TanyaLovesPooh]

I had heard that about cats, but it was a nation wide thing and not just the south. Hadn't heard that black dogs are harder to adopt though, that's a new one. My Missy is a black coated dog and I'll I ever hear from people when I walk her is how beautiful she is, and I can tell they mean it and aren't just being nice!

Missy is quite beautiful. Several people in our family have black labs, I love all dogs, color has no significance to me.

 

[Best Aunt]

Missy is a beauty.

 

[DMRick]

that's the same that i've heard, they are harder to adopt out.

Add to the fact that we have so many more black and black and white cats in our rescue group, and it is difficult. We try to get good pictures, we often try to pair them up with a more colorful cat.
While we won't adopt them out the week before Halloween, we do pre adopt them and deliver them the first week of November. That worked well this year.
I was very surprised to read the OP mention it being harder in the south. It's the same all over. Why would it matter if it's in the south or not?

 

[Jennasis]

Our Milhouse is black. A giagntic moose-sized black mutt. He looks like a bear. Love him to pieces. But yes, I;ve heard that black dogs are harder to adopt out as they are seen as mean/aggressive.

 

[tonilea]

People like to assume the south is filled with superstitious bigots. Disclaimer: not saying anyone on here was implying that, but I believe that is how/why it got started.

 

[Diznygrl]

This makes me very sad. I know people can be superstitious when it comes to black cats, but have never heard about it affecting dogs as well. As if it isn't bad enough that there are people who discriminate against other people because of their color, but animals too?

I have a tuxedo cat and he's the sweetest boy ever. I wouldn't give him up for the world. Even Mickey and Minnie like him!

 

[elgerber]

The agency we adopted our dog from, has a paragraph on their adoption page, about this very subject. How it is harder to get them adopted, and they are trying to change that.

 

[simba928]

That's what I was thinking about. We just got a black and tan puppy(min pin/rat terrier mix) and I had the hardest time getting a decent photo of her to show my family on facebook.

Although I would think that at shelters, a lot of people go in without a particular animal in mind, so I'm not sure how the photos would have a lot of impact.

A lot of shelters post their animals online. We use petfinder. People do look online at the animals and when they come to the shelter, they already have a few picked out. I've adopted several animals out this way. We do also have the people that want a dog without a particular one in mind, though. If we can't get a good picture of a dog (and some dogs it is a whole project to get a decent picture of them), they don't look as good online and the people that look online will bypass them.

And as far as the "meanness" goes, it is harder to see the eyes on black dogs, which makes them appear more threatening.

There is a certain "look" that dogs have. My coworkers and I can simply look at a dog and say whether that dog will be with us for a while or if he/she will get adopted fairly quickly. It's not something I can explain, it's just after a while you learn to be able to pick out the ones that are going to be tougher to place on appearance alone. We have one dog right now that is as sweet as can be, loves to play, when we go into his cage he just leans into us loving all the attention, but he just has this look to him that steers people away. Then there are other dogs that are not very friendly, growling and barking at everyone that goes past their cage, but they have this look that draws people in and EVERYBODY is interested.

 

[JerseyJanice]

FYI to all you fellow black dog owners--you can get some nice photos of your black dog if you film him/her with a Flip or similar video camera, then slow it down frame by frame and make it into a snapshot. It's so hard to capture black dogs with a still camera.