Black Dog Syndrome: Affecting More Than Just Greyhounds

The  Black Dog Syndrome (BDS) is an odd phenomenon, and one that has rolled  around rescues and rehoming centres for many years, and while it is a  noticeable trend within greyhound rehoming, it isn’t just limited to  greyhounds.  Historically, the preference for lighter coloured animals  has heavily impacted many animals such as cats, and even smaller  creatures like guinea pigs!

While  there are various opinions and studies, some with conflicting results,  anyone that is on-the-ground in rehoming and welfare will tell you it is  very much a thing.  So much so that in America, it even has February as  it’s awareness month to bring attention to unwanted black animals  across the country.

We have long  seen a preference for the lighter coloured animals.  Black dogs,  particularly the big black males, are typically the hardest to home with  many people specifically requesting a coloured hound when first  applying to adopt.

Although there  is always that one beautiful soul that calls and says they specifically  want a black one because they know they’re overlooked.  It always makes  our day whenever we hear those words!

Thankfully,  it is through the power of social media that many people are far more  aware of the plight of black animals.  It has brought about big  improvements, at least from our point of view, in the number of people  specifically asking for a black hound or in not specifying a preference  for any colour at all…but there is still a majority preference to the  lighter colours.

Black is the  dominant genetic colour amongst greyhounds, many of the most prolific  sires used in breeding greyhounds for the racing industry were, or are,  black…and you can’t argue with genetics!

Even in breeding two fair coloured hounds, the whole litter may come out black.

Given  this fact, statistically, there will always be a greater number of  black greyhounds in need of homes.  So, when the one fawn hound amongst  twenty black ones gets adopted very quickly, it can appear as  favouritism.  

But statistics be damned, behind the scenes, it is absolutely favouritism!  

Fawn,  blue brindle or white with brindle or fawn patches often get countless  applications, regardless of their personality, temperament, and overall  suitability for that applicant’s home.  While the black hounds who would  be the perfect fit for those applicants, receive nothing.

We  once saw a rescue get so sick of people doing this, that they chose to  forgo uploading any images of the hounds to encourage people to apply  for dogs based on their personality and suitability!  At the end of the  day, that is what is important!

But colour, and gender, do fuel unconscious bias.  Some people don’t even realise they are doing it!

Black  animals, particularly dogs, wolves, and cats, have been portrayed as  aggressive, evil, or unlucky for decades.  This is probably a large  influence as to why people have such a poor opinion of dogs such as  rottweilers, Dobermans and various bull breeds, as they’re always  portrayed in a negative light in films and television shows.

Many  people are raised with these images, and these can be compounded by the  influence and opinions of family and friends.  It can be difficult for  people to break away from pre-conceived ideas.

We’ve  heard it all when it comes to people applying for specific colours.   The majority of the time it is purely for aesthetic reasons, they like  the look of them.  In scrolling through pages and pages of black  greyhounds, there is a dazzling fawn one.  Of course they’re going to  home in on them!

Some believe  they are too hard to photography clearly (obviously you must have an  Insta perfect companion!), others find their facial expressions harder  to read.  We’ve even had people tell us they all look the same and that  they find black dogs unattractive.  

Then there are the people who don’t want black hairs on their light-coloured furniture!

But  regardless of this, there are some genuine reasons as to why people  might request a lighter coloured hound.  The most heartbreaking one is  that people do not want the reminder of their previous hound who has  passed away…and while we’ll always do our best to respect that in  choosing a hound for them, sometimes a black hound is still the best  option.

If you are looking at  adopting a hound, bear in mind that colour has absolutely no impact on  personality, temperament, and suitability.  They are all equally  beautiful, inside, and out, but adopting a dog is a lifelong commitment  and one that should be decided on their suitability for you as a person,  as a family and as a household…not on the colour of their fur.

They will give you the love, happiness, companionship, and loyalty regardless of what colour their fur is.

Also…black  hound’s fur shines like no other.  It gleams with every colour of the  rainbow when the sun touches them.  It is one of the most remarkable  things about black hounds.  You definitely don’t get that with the  fairer coloured hounds, just saying!