Help Please Postman & My Dog

jackiegibbo

Hi i am a postwoman and am also a dog owner to a very large dog who hates anything coming through his letterbox.
I have spoken to my postie who works in my office and explained its just a territorial thing and to mind his fingers. He leaves things under the mat if hes worried!!
I think if you can speak to your postie or attach a note to your door or letterbox that helps a great deal.
Recently when i was on delivery a jack russell terrier jumped up on me and cut my leg(i was wearing shorts til last week) and the owner who was in the garden (its not enclosed) so i didnt have the option of not entering as its a cul de sac with lots of houses, said nothing to me which really annoyed me!!!Why couldnt he have apologised or reprimaned the dog
An hour later a great dane launched himself at me full pelt as his owner was shouting at me that he was after the cat that was behind me and i wasnt bothered in the slightest because the owner took the time to explain the situation.
Now in the morning before i go to work i make the point of having a bag of dog goodies in my pocket for the dogs and they actually look forward to seeing me although i find that the smaller they are the easier they find it to forget!!!

foreign_correspondent

Milford_Cubicle wrote: »

I would certainly echo the idea of a rattle tin or bottle to try and discourage the barking. It's also worth trying a shock tactic (loud noise or squirt of water) from somewhere the dog doesn't realise it's you. If you're able to hide round a doorway and do it, then great as the dog won't put two and two together and realise it's you making the noise/squirting the water, just that something happens he doesn't like when he barks at the postman. Even just doing it as his back is towards you and quickly hiding the thing you've chosen. Good luck.

personally I would not do this - it is quite likely that the dog sees the postman coming as a frightening time, which could be why he protected the house by biting him.

Imagine a time when you have been anxious - eg, when walking home alone at night, or when about to sit an exam. As a result you may become protective of yourself, snappy, or jumpy. You would hope a kind person would try to sooth you or make you feel more secure - not make you jump!

By creating a sudden loud noise or squirting this dog with water you will only increase and reinforce his anxiety and distress related to the postman coming. This could lead to greater problems.

Positive distraction, moving the letter box and making this a happy experience is much more likely to have the desired effect - a calm happy dog who has no issues with the postman!

MrsTinks

Thank you FC - I was going to say the same (and I know another poster has said it too) - PLEASE don't use rattle bottles or "shock" tactics unless you have been told to do so by a trainer (and preferably a good one!). You can make the situation a lot worse if you do it and get the timing wrong or worse if you use it as punishment instead of distraction (which is actually the point of it...).
OP I'm glad you're taking it seriously and dealing with it so responsibly! Many owners wouldn't sadly...
I know Kira still gets excited if anyone comes up and rings the doorbell but now she barks once or twice and goes to her bed instead of trying to get through the door Granted she doesn't want to hurt people but how do they know that???
It's taken a lot of training to get to this point and a LOT of being consistent with her. She STILL gets very excited at the postman or delivery drivers and if we have a Tesco delivery... WOOOOHOOOOO! He always has treats!!! she goes NUTS! Problem was the time we had a different Tesco guy - I opened the door expecting the normal guy as it's been the same person as the last 4 times and this guy turned WHITE as Kira launched herself over the boxes to say hello... She didn't do anything but it must have been terrifying for him! Apparently he's very scared of dogs!
I got her straight back and put her away and appologised profusely and explained why she'd jumped out and she honestly wouldn't have hurt him... don't think he was impressed but nothing more I could do than appologise and explain why she'd jumped the boxes really... Now she gets shut in the livingroom when Tesco arrive and depeding on who it is I'll then let her out of there if it's one of the ones known to us One of them will even play with her in the cul de sac whilst I unpack the boxes :rotfl: