Problematic Postmen
The relationship between postmen and dogs has been the subject of numerous jokes and cartoon strips for as long as I can remember. Cartoons will generally show a fleeing postie running up a garden path with the smallest of pooches giving chase!
Most dogs will at least bark at the front door when the postman arrives, so what is it exactly that makes our canine friends despise the postman so much?
A lot of the reason comes down to body language or more specifically the postman’s body language and how a dog perceives it. When the postie approaches your property to deliver the mail he/she will be walking face onwards, unless they are very strange and for some reason walking backwards!
If your dog happens to be sitting in a prime vantage position they will notice the postman advancing and this will now be deemed as a dominant stance by the dog, any person approaching a dog face on is immediately seen as a dominant person by the dog.
Now the next stage taken by the dog will be to bark as they are protecting their domain and trying to keep the postman away. The postman will deposit the post then turnaround and walk away, as soon as this happens the dog feels that he/she has actually won this particular battle. Once the postman turns his/her back to the dog it will be observed as submissive behaviour and this is where the problem begins.
The dog wrongly thinks that the barking has deterred the postman and they have gone away because of them, they do not realize that the postman was leaving anyway and that it is all a coincidence. The only problem with this behaviour going unchecked at this point is that it can easily and quickly escalate; the next chapter will probably be that the dog now becomes more and more confident as he/she feels that their behaviour is scaring the postman away on a daily basis. During time their bark will increase in its menacing sound and the dear old postman will react accordingly, as far as the dog is concerned, by using extra body language which displays to the dog that he/she is even more fearful now.
The best course of action to take if you have a postman’s canine nightmare residing with you is to try and combat the issue before it becomes out of control, this can be achieved by using a non-coercive method of training and convincing your dog that the postman is actually a really nice person. When you know the post is due ensure that both you and your dog are in the vicinity of the front door and when your dog shows signs of running towards the door at the postman say a firm ‘no’ and then give the ‘sit’ command, when your dog responds praise and reward with a small treat.
With repetition this should work and your dog will hopefully learn to accept the postman, of course there is an easier way and that is to ask your postman to subtly bribe your faithful friend by always carrying doggy treats!
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