Postal Letter - Why is it just the mailman dogs hate?

Why is it just the mailman dogs hate?

My mother's Border Collie mix loves every person to death, and is a constant licker! She loves other people to death like she's known them for years, even strangers! But, she's constantly barking MAD at the mailman when he comes by .... growling, etc. This is very weird for her. We've had different mailmen over the years, so what is it .. the outfit? Lol. Why is it just mailman that dogs seem to dislike? ... They even put it in old cartoons and movies!

Public Comments

Someone is coming to her door but not coming in to see her. And putting something through her letterbox, how dare he?! ...at least that's how she sees it.
Probably all the different smells on them.. from the letters to other animals..
ummm..i'm not the most popular thing around dogs either... how do you think i got this way... <<<<
lol This is a funny one actually--usually it's because the mailmen are afraid of dogs, and the dog knows it! They're establishing that they are boss. And because of all those silly old cartoons and movies--mailmen fear dogs, it's a subconcious thing.
yeah, it probably is the outfit. lol. but don't woory about it too much. at least that dog isn't biting him/her. Have a good day.
Dogs don't like that someone is invading their territory, so they bark and growl. The mailman comes everyday and doesn't make an effort to pet her, make nice, say hi, etc., so she sees it as a repeated invasion of her space.
It might be the mailman's energy. If he's putting off fearful energy she probably picks it up and barks to show dominance.
That is atually a really good question! Our mailman doesnt get out of the mail truck, but my dogs go crazy over the UPS man and the bugman (he sprays our yard for bugs). This is really strange, but our bugman is a black man and now one of my dogs growls at all black men every time she sees them because she got really scared of the bugman as a young puppy. Its so embarassing at the dog park when she loves everyone and lets them pet her happily wagging her tail and only growls at the black men.
My dogs don't like anyone in a hat, walking in "their" yard, loud trucks and the like. Here, they are protecting me. My mailman delivers in my box on the road. They don't care.
When a dog becomes territorial, they will bark at anyone crossing the boundary without their approval. That the mailperson does this daily, without ever meeting the dog is the problem. Some mailpersons go out of their way to make friends instead of hearing the barking. In the end, it's a problem that the owners should work on. Correction is the key. Not just once, every single time the dog tries to start barking at the mailperson the dog should be corrected. You could watch someone like Caesar Millan from Dog Whisperer to get a clue as to how to accomplish this. You could also call in a professional dog trainer if you feel it's escalated to a point where you are ineffective. It is not good to allow your animal to be out of control like this, it's not healthy for the animal. No mentally balanced animal will act this way towards a mailperson if the owners dont' allow for it. My two boxers wouldn't dare, they look to me to guide them on how they should act. I would be waiting to correct them if this happened. A mailperson has a hard enough job. Most times they are in vehicles that don't have any air conditioning in horrible heat. They have large bundles to carry around with them or pull. They have to make sure people get the right mail, or get yelled at for common mistakes. Then to have animals out of control that the humans refuse to work on? Not pleasant. You could make your home a nicer, quieter place for you and the mailman who has to deliver your mail daily. Keep in mind, if they (the mailperson) ever feel truly threatened at your home, they have the right to refuse to deliver your mail from that day forward. Whereas you'd be required to either remove the dog from your home, or pay for a post office box. Also remember, if your dog ever bit a mailperson, you would be sued by the postal services and your dog would probably be put to sleep. These are two great reasons to get control of this situation now. Why doesn't the dog act up when it comes to anyone else? I bet you wouldn't allow for it. I bet if the dog acted that way towards a friend of yours, you'd correct the behavior immediately. That's why the animal isn't doing it to them. Also, the owner (that's you) probably introduced the dog to the friends and made the dog feel comfortable. You can do the same with the postal worker if they are willing. Exercise the dog like crazy first. Get them in a good healthy walk for 45 min to an hour. Get them good and tired and away from the house. Then come back at the time you knwo the mail should be running, then introduce the dog to the mailcarrier. You should see some improvements there. Though, if the dog even starts to look like it might bark or growl, correct it immediately. After being barked at so much, the mail carried might refuse though. I might refuse if a dog has acted badly for so long without correction as well. But hopefully, you can make a change.
LOL, I think it must be the uniform. My dog actually loves the mailman and gets all excited when he hears his truck at the beginning of our street and HAS to go out in the yard and wait for him. My mailman also keeps treats in his pocket for all the dogs on his route though!!
If you think about it in a dogs view. You have this stranger on the property, the dog barks, the person goes away. The dog thinks that the barking caused the stranger to go away. Then your mom's dog just got more intense about it. What time does the mailman arrive to deliver mail? Before that I would keep the border collie away from the door or the window where he can hear or see him. I would bring up the tv or radio so that it will drown out the outside noise.. It's like the garbage truck, the UPS truck also. I purposely took Khori out as a puppy so that we can meet everyone and was given cookies. My dog never react to people like that.
its an IBM compatibility feature
Its nit the smell, its not the outfit, its not even the person carrying the mail, is it due to the fear written all over them, dogs know it, horses know it, its just about every animal that can sense fear..... if your afraid of dogs, then stay away if you can, if you are afraid of horses, best not ride, they know it and will take you for the ride of your life...... and its called the fear factor...I have seen it, you can let a person walk up to a horse with no fear, no reaction, you dare let someone walk up to a horse or dog with fear, and you can see the difference. and yes the cartoons always shows the dog after the mailman, but that poor mailman is scared to death also., look at the carton characters face. -