Racism is a social construct, created and used solely by humans to justify social hierarchies. Dogs do not understand this concept. So what’s actually happening in situations in which a dog might be labelled “racist?”
The dog is under-socialized
It is possible for a dog to be reactive towards people with a particular physical appearance. This could be skin color, the way the person is dressed, the person’s height, etc. This is typically because the dog is under-socialized, and may be more common in dogs who are generally anxious or suspicious of people.
Often, though, when a dog’s reaction to someone is attributed to the person’s appearance, it’s actually a response to the person’s behavior, the environment, or the dog’s handler’s reaction.
False pattern recognition
When a dog reacts to a white man, it’s said to be because he’s a man; when a dog reacts to a black man, it’s said to be because he’s black. This double standard says a lot more about the person labelling the dog than it does the dog.
It’s natural to seek out patterns in a dog’s behavior, however, we have to look at the whole picture. Is race really the only distinction between the people that a dog does or doesn’t react to, or are there other consistencies, such as location, on vs. off leash, the way that the person reacts to or engages with the dog, or the handler’s reaction to the person?
Fictional backstories
While a dog’s past experiences can give us context for their current behavior, their current behavior does not necessarily tell us about their past.
When a dog with an unknown background displays fear or reactivity, they are often assigned fictional and sensational backstories filled with abuse and neglect (in this case, supposedly at the hands of a black person). While mistreatment can absolutely lead to these behaviors, so can under-socialization, pain, genetics, and other non-malicious causes.
Perpetuating racism in rescue
The animal welfare industry upholds systemic racism in many ways, allowing for the normalization of microaggressions such as labelling a dog as “racist.” Microaggressions create a hostile environment for anyone outside of the “norm” (in rescue, typically white, middle-class, cis women), limiting the reach and impact of rescue and outreach efforts by alienating people in need or who could be volunteers, fosters, or adopters.
Holding yourself accountable
It’s your job to identify and correct your own implicit racism. It’s uncomfortable and it won’t happen overnight, but individual accountability is the first step to making animal welfare more inclusive, for the benefit of both the humans and animals in our communities.
