The Postman Doesn’t Always Ring Twice…

By Dr. Robert Forto

The other day, I was at a client’s home doing a behavioral modification session for a dog that “barks, jumps, and lunges” at the door, particularly at the mailman and the pizza guy. About fifteen minutes into the session, guess who shows up, our boys in blue. No, not the cops, but the local mail carrier. It was a sight that I have never seen in my entire life, and I will do my best to describe it here.

The doorbell rings, and the owner answers. It is a mailman with a couple of packages and a bundle of mail. The dog, a Chesapeake Bay Retriever, greets the mailman with his tail wagging. The mailman freaks out and starts dancing with the dog with the packages out in front of him like a shield. The mailman proceeds to drop the mail bundle and the packages and literally runs, well, it was a fast walk really, away.

There was no biting, lunging, barking, or even sniffing. The dog was just curious at who was at the door. I can understand the mailman’s apprehension, of course, but this dramatic display was off the charts! I just wish I were fast enough to have my iPhone camera on and recording so I could post it to YouTube, but as you know, we are never fast enough to capture these moments on film.

I also remember when I was a kid, our local mailman would carry three huge cans of, I guess, Mace in his bag, one at the ready, and he would spray every dog that came within twenty feet of him. This guy looked like Clint Eastwood in a western movie, and Quick-Draw McGraw was a sight to see for a 6-year-old with his cap gun on his waist, like me.

I am not making light of this situation. On the contrary, there is full justification for mailmen, or are they mail-persons in this politically correct world? to be apprehensive, and as I note below, legal authority:

The United States Postal Service, whose mail carriers are frequently bitten by dogs, is fighting back. Its dog-bite awareness program, aimed at getting owners to keep their pets from bothering mail carriers, has reduced bites to about 3,000 a year. The Postal Service also encourages its carries to sue if they are bitten.

Source: Every Dog’s Legal Guide, Mary Randolph, JD, Nolo Press (2007) 

I am writing this article today for dog owners to give them a few tips on how to deal with the mailman and their dog.

• Teach your dog to sit and to always accept a friendly stranger. The AKC Canine Good Citizen Test is a great training routine for this exercise.
• Your dog thinks it is a game when the mailman comes to the door and looks at it this way: the big, scary mailman comes to the door and makes a lot of noise, your dog barks, and the mailman walks away. This is self-reinforcing to the dog. He barked, and the mailman walked away. Train your dog not to bark at strangers at the door, but rather to accept them by sitting politely for petting. Now, getting your mailman to pet your dog is a different story;
• Hey, if all else fails, put your mailbox on the street instead of the porch, or better yet, get a P.O. Box at your local Post Office. (My tongue firmly in cheek, of course…)

If you do need help with this training regimen, I would suggest contacting a canine trainer or behaviorist, who will develop a training routine based on counterconditioning and desensitization. If you have questions, please feel free to call us anytime at 907-841-1603.

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Robert Forto is the training director for Alaska Dog Works and the host of a weekly radio program, Dog Works Radio.