Q: Are black dogs really harder to rehome?
A: If we consider how black dogs have been presented historically, we might think of folklore, werewolves or the term ‘black dog’ being applied to describe depressive symptoms. This is such a pity as it risks people becoming conditioned to associate black dogs with negative feelings.
Behaviourally, it is suggested that humans, and perhaps even other dogs, might find black dogs’ body language more difficult to interpret, perhaps because their black fur makes it harder to observe very subtle body movements like brow furrowing, nose wrinkling, or muscles becoming taut and tense.
Black Dog Day was started to raise awareness of the beauty of these dogs, as it is believed that they are spending longer in rescue centres waiting to be adopted than dogs with other coloured coats. While research has not been formally conducted here yet, anecdotal evidence certainly suggests that these dogs spend longer waiting for a home than their lighter-coloured counterparts.
