Help Please Postman & My Dog

Sammy_Girl

Thanks for all the replies. As suggested, I think the best way forward is to place a mailbox on the side wall of the house near the gate, so that the Postie doesn't have to walk past the window. Unfortunately we have a small house and my dog can see out of the living room window onto the street. the stairs and the kitchen lead off the living room, so it wouldn't be practical to keep him out.

And yes, the long term solution is to train him not to bark when the door goes. He does bark when the doorbell rings (gas man, delivery man etc) but its usually one or two barks and then nothing. And then he is quite happy to see them when they come inside.

Tom, I can assure you that I did not find it funny whatsoever. I hope that I'm not giving that impression. This is the first time that such an incident has happened, and it will certainly be the last.

medders2604

I have to agree with the post (sorry cant remember whose) not to do anything until you have spoken to your insurance company for their advice.
If you do contact RM (and I understand why you want to) and haven't spoken to your insurance co first they may see it as breach of terms and conditions and refuse to pay if the postman in question does decide to take it further.
Glad postman in question is OK though!
Also worth speaking to your vet and asking if they have a behaviour specialist in the practice mine did and it worked wonders for my dogs barking problem.

Sammy_Girl

Thanks Medders,

Yes I think I will call the insurers first. I know I have the public liability cover (£1m I think), so I better make sure that I follow the rules first.

Good idea to ask the vet about behaviourists. How did it work for your dogs?

medders2604

It was very similar to the threads mentioned earlier.
Not rewarding dog for barking, if she barked she got ignored not told off just completely ignored until she had been quiet for a minute, then extended it to 2 mins and so on. I couldn't even look at her just had to turn away from her. Ignoring works better than shouting at them or telling them off and its not always practical to block their view out of windows.
I also had to rattle the letterbox and not come into the house until she had gone quiet.
There were other things but it was a fair while ago so can't really remember it all. SORRY!
There are books available I think that you can probably get from a library on different techniques and that would be even cheaper than the vets and probably worth a try.

gomer

Please bare in mind that the Dangerousd Dogs Act does not apply in the same way to incidents on private property, i am surprised the Royal Mail didn't think of that before quoting it because it only applies to dogs out of control in a PUBLIC space & if the postman was on private property at the time it does make a difference, however if it was in a public area away from your property then you are liable even if all the dog does is simply jump up at someone.

Mojisola

gomer wrote: »

Please bare in mind that the Dangerousd Dogs Act does not apply in the same way to incidents on private property, i am surprised the Royal Mail didn't think of that before quoting it because it only applies to dogs out of control in a PUBLIC space & if the postman was on private property at the time it does make a difference, however if it was in a public area away from your property then you are liable even if all the dog does is simply jump up at someone.

It sounded as if the dog was out on the street when it attacked the postman.

The OP can't deny liability - she went out after the dog and took it back to the house.

Some dogs do have particular people they react against. My neighbour's dog goes crazy when the window cleaner comes - it seems to be the noise the ladder makes that sets him off.

There's some good advice posted about how to deal with it. In the meantime, if you have a situation where the dog may get out again, put him on his lead and fasten him somewhere in the house.

I'm sure if you can show that you are doing something about the problem then RM will not pursue this.

lowis

i wouldn't stress too much about your dog barking at the postie through the window...there is absolutely nothing illegal in that...but as others suggested it would be a good idea to try and train your dog not to, desensitising him to reacting to him, and in the meantime reposition your mail box.

LittleMissRolo

Rolo doesnt bark, she'd lick the postman/window cleaner/milk man to death if she could.

I hope everything works out ok

As for controlling your dogs behaviour try pennies in a plastic bottle and rattle it next to the dog saying shh, this usually stops the barking. Another one is to throw a choke chain collar, or something similar at the dogs feet. Its like a shock tecnique (without harming the dog of course) that distracts them from barking and encourages them to stop.

Theres also these anti-bark collars on the market that spray your dog with something every time they bark, again distracting them and encouraging them to stop

You could (as daft as this sounds) ask the royal mail for an old uniform and wear this yourself, aroud the house, then 'pretend' to be the postman once your dog is used to you in the uniform. See what the reaction is then

I suppose its how much effort you want to put into changing your dogs behaviour

Good Luck

user55

You've had some great suggestions here so I'm going to pick up on the one thing no one else has mentioned.....the "mouthing" when playing. This is kind of cute when done by puppies but big strong adults dogs doing it amounts to biting really, whether it's playful or not. I have a rescue dog who nips playfully and it has got to stop! I'm working on it all the time because it isn't acceptable. It's not nice, it hurts sometimes, and if it was done to anyone other than me there would be serious repercussions.

Definitely start discouraging this behaviour. I have been told to yelp and turn away and end the game every time it happens, so she learns that nipping ends the fun. She is improving a lot.

Good luck!

custardy

LittleMissRolo wrote: »

Rolo doesnt bark, she'd lick the postman/window cleaner/milk man to death if she could.

I hope everything works out ok

As for controlling your dogs behaviour try pennies in a plastic bottle and rattle it next to the dog saying shh, this usually stops the barking. Another one is to throw a choke chain collar, or something similar at the dogs feet. Its like a shock tecnique (without harming the dog of course) that distracts them from barking and encourages them to stop.

Theres also these anti-bark collars on the market that spray your dog with something every time they bark, again distracting them and encouraging them to stop

You could (as daft as this sounds) ask the royal mail for an old uniform and wear this yourself, aroud the house, then 'pretend' to be the postman once your dog is used to you in the uniform. See what the reaction is then

I suppose its how much effort you want to put into changing your dogs behaviour

Good Luck

RM wont supply any unifrom,its changing soon anyway