We all have favourite breeds and “types” of dogs and different dogs that catch our eye more so
than others. Unfortunately, dogs with Black coats are often overlooked.
So much so, this phenomena has been given the title Black Dog Syndrome or Black Dog Bias.
Rehoming centres across the globe struggle to find forever homes for Black dogs as they are simply overlooked by passers by, they just don’t stand out as much against the background of their kennels as some of the other dogs. Nor do they tend to photograph as well so we tend to skip past them when looking through books of dogs in need of a home or browsing rehoming websites.
Some people blame the association between Black Dogs and Demon Dogs from TV and film. People think they’re scarier looking and make the negative assumption that they’re aggressive!
It’s been said that the chromosome (part of their DNA make up) responsible for Black fur is exclusive to domesticated dogs only and that all Black Wolves are in fact Hybrids. So you could say that Black Dogs are like the “ultimate” domestic pet dog!
Other people say that they’re overlooked as they’re too plain and boring looking. PLAIN AND BORING? I think not. At Dogs Trust Ireland
Take Oscar for example, we always say if John Cleese was a dog, he’d look like Oscar with his hilariously long legs and debonair expression. Oscar is a BIG favourite here with the staff and wins everyone over.
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| Super handsome, clever Oscar! |
Handsome mega athlete Rodger will play ball all day. Rodger doesn’t cope well in kennels, he’s too active and just loves to run after tennis balls. When he’s not training to be the next Aggasi, he just wants cuddles and LOTS of them!
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| Happy chappy Rodger just wants someone to play ball with! |
We’re just stumped as to why Garvan hasn’t found his forever home yet! Garvan is an absolutely incredible boy. Kind, gentle and super loving. He just craves affection and cuddles so much. Our staff here regularly take him on days out (even on their days off) as he is just so easy going and adored by everybody.
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| Garvan - cannot say enough good things about this precious boy! |
So if you’re thinking of adopting a dog or visiting our Rehoming Centre, stop for a second to spend some time looking at our Black Dogs and you’ll wonder how you ever failed to notice them!
If you have a black dog at home and think he/she is just pure fabulous - leave us a comment and tell us why!
If you have a black dog at home and think he/she is just pure fabulous - leave us a comment and tell us why!
I've never heard of this before and I think it's fascinating. I have a black dog and can't imagine anyone overlooking her. (she wouldn't let them!) If anything I think their eyes stand out that bit more and melt your heart!
ReplyDeleteI have two black dogs. We were so happy with our black Labrador that we also adopted a black German shepherd from dogs trust. They both get on really well and are loved not only by us but by all the children on our street. They are the most loving perfect pets you could hope for.
ReplyDeleteI have a black lab, stunning looking dog but can't for the life of me get a picture of her that isn't just a pair of eyes. Maybe it does have something to do with it when people are looking through photos, they don't stand out. Maybe add videos as the video picks up a lot more. They are stunning dogs when you see them in real life though so don't know why someone would over look them in the rehoming centre as opposed to pictures online.
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