My dog hates the Postman How can I calm him?

Tigress

He goes crazy when flyers or post comes through the door how can I calm him down on this?

Royale with Cheese

Beat him with a big stick.

Shelli

Dr J wrote:

Beat him with a big stick.

Not very helpful :mad:

How is your dog with other people?

We had this problem with our Boxer, she was fine with other people but went mad at the postman. We realised it was because he was the only person who actually went away when she barked at him. We got around this by gradually introducing the postie to our dog, now she wags her tail when she sees him coming!

luckat

I did two things: I got rid of the draughty letterbox and put up a postbox outside, and I introduced the dog to the (nervous) postman.

ctrl-alt-delete

try send him some post??

Tigress

The Dog hates anyone Putting anything through the letterbox e.g. charity bags, Lidl Flyers etc......... I could have up to 3 items coming through the letterbox a day! He will growl until they leave the street.

when someone comes to the door he just growls to let you know there is someone there but in general he is the best pet anyone could have.

Tabitharose

http://www.petplace.com/articles/artShow.asp?artID=2168

http://www.rlrouse.com/stop-barking.html

haven't read the above fully (in a rush) so apologies if they are not suitable - will read them fully later & possibly edit / remove / add to

BolBill

Beat yourself with a stick ?

tj-music.com

Tigress wrote:

He will growl until they leave the street.

That sounds more like defending the territory.

I am doing holistic animal healing and what I have learned is that dogs communicate a lot through images and are very open to suggestions. You could try to mentally send the image to your dog that you would like him to relax and do nothing when the letters are flying in. Try this a couple of times during the day, not only when the postman is coming.

After a few days I'd say the dog picks up on your thoughts.

May sound crazy but it might work!

Roddy23

am doing holistic animal healing and what I have learned is that dogs communicate a lot through images and are very open to suggestions. You could try to mentally send the image to your dog that you would like him to relax and do nothing when the letters are flying in. Try this a couple of times during the day, not only when the postman is coming.

After a few days I'd say the dog picks up on your thoughts.

May sound crazy but it might work!

Very interesting this. But how would you go about doing this.

tj-music.com

Roddy23 wrote:

Very interesting this. But how would you go about doing this.

Usually it works best when the owner knows how to calm himself down, maybe through meditation, before attempting this. The better your focus the better your chances of success.

Yes, we have domesticated animals, and as humans we try to talk them out of things. That is usually not the way an animal communicates. Talking to an animal is still good, don't get me wrong but it is more natural to try a non-verbal approach to "bigger issues".

The owner could start with small tasks like mentally suggesting that the door gives a paw or the dog brings the news paper or something like that. When you talk to your dog while giving him food (which is perfectly fine) you could at the same time try to send a message to him that you want him to do something for you - give and take so to speak.

It takes practise and it doesn't always work. The relationship between owner and companion animal and the surroundings in which the animal lives are crucial as well.

Rabies

Install mail catcher box thingy on the inside of the door. Your dog won't see the mail coming through the letter box.

DonkeyStyle \o/

Royale with Cheese wrote:

Beat him with a big stick.

I'd never beat a dog with a big stick, but I got a good laugh out of that... it's all in the delivery/timing
Kudos.

boneless

I used to be a postman and had the idea that it is the fact that I knock (effectively) at the door and am never let in... pooch thinks I'm a big bad person due to this fact, so barks to see me off- same thing with people dropping flyers etc.

Sigma Force

Yep, picture it in the dogs head. Some stranger comes to the door most days makes a noise and then 'runs' off. The postie is not welcomed by the owner into the house so the dog thinks postie is a threat. Only thing you can do is get the dog to make friends with the postie or install a post box at the end of the drive or further from the door.

Tigress

Won't be using the stick.....