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Back when Temple and I were working on Animals in Translation, I came up with the idea that black dogs are better.
I came up with that idea because Temple told me skin color in animals matters; an animal needs some black skin in order to be neurologically typical.*
Temple was adamant that the color that mattered was the color of an animal's skin, not his fur, but I didn't believe her. I'd always loved black animals of any kind, clear evidence that black(-furred) animals are better, right? (Bayes strikes again.)
I started asking people about their dogs. I've been doing that for a few years now, and the survey always comes out the same. Black dogs are better. I'm sorry. They are. I've met maybe one person who'd owned both light and dark dogs who thought the yellow or white dogs they'd lived with were calmer & smarter than the black ones.
The best dogs of all: black mutts. This is my conclusion.
So today I came across a study of Labrador retrievers in suburban backyards that includes this passage:
The colour of the dog was the factor most highly correlated with the amount of time the dog spent on problem type behaviours, with gold dogs spending the most time on these behaviours especially if they were untrained. It has been noted that genetic influences have a strong effect on many behavioural responses (Wright and Nesselrote, 1987; Serpell, 1987). Dogs that are gold in colour may be more genetically predisposed to being strongly attached to their owner [very true of Abby!] and thus more anxious and prone to chew things when isolated than dogs that are black or chocolate coloured. In a study by Houpt and Willis (2001), it was found that chocolate Labradors were less likely to be presented for problem behaviour than the other colours. Yellow (gold) dogs, however, were over represented for aggression compared to the other colours. Other examples of dog colour associated with behaviour include red/golden English Cocker Spaniels being more likely to show aggression than black ones (Podberscek and Serpell, 1996).
The fact that having no training was only likely to increase problem behaviours in dogs if they were gold may say more about the temperament of gold dogs than about the effects of training. Podberscek and Serpell (1997) found that the type of training had no significant effect on whether dogs had high or low aggression. Voith et al. (1992) also found no affect of obedience training on the likelihood of dogs showing problem behaviours.
I happen to own a yellow Lab: a yellow Lab (Abby) and a black mutt (Surfer).
There's a reason why Marley & Me was written about a yellow Lab.
* This doesn't apply to "black" and "white" people, she said, because white people aren't white. White people are beige.
27 comments:
That's it. I haven't been able to figure out why my dog is so darn insane. She is gold in color - a classic fawn boxer. She must be absolutely neurologically atypical. I suppose that gives her at least two strikes in the sanity department.
I have had dogs all my life and never have I been so confused as with this one.
oh yeah
yellah dawgs!
Abby is a nut.
Abby is so hyperactive she once ripped me off my feet at the vet's and slammed me head first into a concrete wall. I couldn't even get up for several seconds.
This was just a typical display of Abby enthusiasm.
I'm never sure how to respond to these animal posts, because every time I think of something interesting, I realize I learned it from Animals in Translation. I just stopped myself from paraphrasing your own book with regard to albino characteristics.
Anyway, I once had an interesting subway conversation with someone who trained labs for the blind, and she said that the black ones were almost always smarter & better behaved than the yellow ones.
I just stopped myself from paraphrasing your own book with regard to albino characteristics.
I love it!
Thanks so much for the yellow lab story!
Kidding aside, that's exactly what I found in conversations with people who'd owned a lot of dogs. None of them had ever made the connection (and nor had I until Temple brought it up).
But as soon as I asked them whether there were differences in temperament they said "Yes!"
A woman I know who owns a black Lab with a hotshot pedigree (father was some kind of World Champion Lab) told me that the breeder advised choosing a black Lab because yellow Labs have recessive genes and are thus more prone to problems of various sorts.
Looking at the Wikipedia entry, I think he was right about that.
Actually, I have a qualifier on Labs.
There are 2 kinds of yellow Labs (Wikipedia seems to be saying the same thing): yellow Labs with pink noses & yellow Labs with black noses.
hmmm....
I just looked at "Marley" - he's got a black nose.
Abby's nose is pink.
oh wow -- Abby is the same size as Marley. 97 lbs. She's enormous. She's overweight now, so she's up to 105 (or more - can't bear to look----)
One of the few dogs I've ever seen Cesar Millan not be able to manage was a Lab!
Cesar has a zillion Surfer-clones living at his Dog Compound.
No Labs!
She's incredibly dear, though. She's right here by my feet, sprawled out.
Surfer's much more independent and withdrawn.
Also anxious.
pink nosed Lab
Mine has a black muzzle and little on her toenails. That's not quite enough to balance out the gold, I'm afraid. She's a neurological nightmare. I'm embarrassed to admit she's even had accupuncture and chinese herbs to no avail. So, she is what she is. One crazy dog.
Now you understand why my children turned pale when I pulled Don't Shoot the Dog out of the amazon.com box. They were actually concerned that I was considering doing just that.
I haven't finished the book yet because of that darn National Math Panel report. I reluctantly stopped reading a few chapters in (fascinating stuff) and I'm chompin' at the bit to get back to it.
I've read about a third. I fear I'm going to have to rebuild my life around Don't Shoot the Dog.
We have a black cat--does that count for anything? He's scared of his own shadow, and is always on "high alert" status. He is also incredibly loyal to me, which I happen to find very endearing.
As a dog person, I found this post fascinating. I have three dogs: a red tri toy Aussie, a blue merle mini Aussie, and a Welsh Springer Spaniel (red and white). The toy Aussie has multiple health problems, but is gentle and calm. The mini Aussie (who was abused in a previous life) has mental health issues and is anxious. The Welshie is very attached to her people, to the point of having mild separation anxiety. I'm not sure what it says for the theory that the calmest dog I have is also the reddest.
On the other hand, when I owned a dog daycare the craziest dog I had was a yellow lab. OMG! I didn't even like having her in the daycare, and I was set up for dogs. I absolutely can't imagine what she would have been like to live with. All labs have a lot of energy, hence I had a lot of labs who came, but she had as much energy as the next two or three put together. Her mom used to have her board overnight sometimes, just so she could have a break.
The mom have a break, not the dog.
One of my uncles is a vet, and he says that mongrels tend to be smarter than purebreds.
The mongrel dark-skin dog we had as kids certainly showed a lot of intelligence. I remember once I was studying at home alone. The dog came and barked at me, and curious, I got up to see what the problem was. The rest of the family had discovered they were locked outside and were hammering on the doors - but the room I had been in was quite a distance from the doors so I hadn't heard anything. The dog had figured out there was a problem and fetched me. Without any training at all.
Allow me to introduce myself. I am a black dog. You can read about my life at www.lifeofoscar.com I wouldn't consider myself a mutt, but a mix since I was bred this way on purpose. I'd have to say that this is the smartest group of people I've ever heard of. I've always known I was nicer than most of my friends (who happen to be other colors).
All labs have a lot of energy, hence I had a lot of labs who came, but she had as much energy as the next two or three put together. Her mom used to have her board overnight sometimes, just so she could have a break.
no kidding!
We ADDED a yellow Lab - a 100-pound yellow Lab - to a house with TWO autistic kids!
I fear I'm going to have to rebuild my life around Don't Shoot the Dog.
I fear you're right!
That book is one of those....DUH! experiences.
We "know" what she's talking about; we've always known it. "Catch more flies with honey than vinegar."
But the way she puts it together - her history as a trainer of dolphins - it's brilliant and it's life-altering.
I say that as a person who enjoys being cheerful & positive with kids --- compared to Karen Pryor I'm practically Mommie Dearest.
Hi, Oscar!
I have GOT to get a handle on my relationship with Andrew. We have terminal "escalation of the stimulus" around here. Andrew basically doesn't move until I'm shouting.
I've been very successful in teaching him this rule.
One of my uncles is a vet, and he says that mongrels tend to be smarter than purebreds.
I think there's no question -- and I also think (though I wouldn't bet lots of money on this) that black mutts are smartest.
I've owned two black mutts now. The first was brilliant (I'll tell some of my stories); Surfer is tuned in at a level that we just don't see with Abby.
otoh, Labs are bred to look and act cheerful at all times, so I'm not sure we "read" them as well as we read mutts.
A few months ago Abby started pacing around the bedroom, huffing and puffing. She was driving me nuts. Finally I got up and took her downstairs; I figured she had to go out.
It turned out that Jimmy was downstairs with his foot stuck in the kitchen sink & the water running. He'd opened up a scab on his leg and blood was streaming out; he was running water on it to try to wash the blood away--which, of course, was causing the sore to keep bleeding.
He was just standing there, bleeding and rinsing; rinsing and bleeding.
The instant I walked into the kitchen Abby wandered off. She had no interest in going out. All she'd wanted to do was alert me to the Jimmy situation.
That's an example of Labs behaving differently. On the occasions when Surfer has been worried about someone's safety, he's stayed close and watched anxiously until he was satisfied that things were OK.
Not Abby.
"Mom's on the scene so I can go do my Lab thing."
Abby was right to bring me downstairs (and Surfer was wrong not to concern himself). There was nothing dangerous about Jimmy's situation, but he did need help getting the bleeding stopped. Somehow the wound, while shallow, was deep enough (or had hit a large enough vein??) not to be clotting on its own. I had to apply pressure to get the bleeding stopped, which Jimmy didn't know to do.
The dog had figured out there was a problem and fetched me. Without any training at all.
That's intelligence.
She's a neurological nightmare. I'm embarrassed to admit she's even had accupuncture and chinese herbs to no avail.
lolllll
You've got to try to catch the Cesar episode where he's bested by a Lab.
There may be a couple of episodes where he's bested by Labs.
He has beautiful body movement - and with the Lab he was jumping around like a jackrabbit.
His rhythm was completely thrown off.
You should see Abby attempting to heel. Most of the time she doesn't attempt it (three words: GUN DOG COLLAR) but when she does she's a mess.
She has to keep turning her head to LOOK at my leg & my body; she has to consciously assess where I am and where she is. Then she has to slow down. Then, when she slows down too much, she has to speed back up a little, etc.
Poor thing.
I'm confused. Are you talking about the color of the dog's skin, or of its coat? You say Temple says the dog's skin color is important, not its fur, but then you go on talking about Golden Retrievers and black Labs. What makes them golden or black is their fur.
In my experience (sample size = 3 mostly black dogs with some gold, and 2 fawn/honey/gold dogs with some dark brown), dogs have pinkish skin under gold fur, and whiter skin under black fur.
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