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But I have seen some dogs that aren't even trained to do it. They just pick up the hostility felt by their masters towards a certain type person, and know to show hostility towards them as well.

In general, this is not true. Dogs tend to react with hostility towards anything new. The "racist" dog is usually one who hadn't seen many black people while a puppy. They then seem strange to it as an adult, and many dogs react to strangeness by growling, snarling, and biting.

Now, different breeds can be more or less prone to this behavior, and individual dogs within a breed also vary greatly. Early training can make a big difference as well - if you introduce your dog to new neighborhoods and people regularly while it's a puppy, it'll tend to do better with new experiences as an adult.

But the bit about the dog's reflecting an owner's prejudice is not true.

Drew Garrett