It’s overkill. That’s all I’m saying. If the mail carrier is so afraid of dogs, she needs to get another job. The dog isn’t a threat to anyone else and the OP has taken reasonable steps to restrain her dog. I’d be interested in hearing what the Post Office says if she decides to take them to task on this. Saying something is a threat doesn’t make it a threat.
But I could turn that right around! Saying something is not a threat doesn’t mean it’s not a threat. Like I said, lots and lots of people claim up and down that their dog is the safe one. I don’t blame the mail carrier for not believing it. Still, I think the mail carrier should have told the truth and also should be willing to show some flexibility.
Velma, do you yell at your dog when she barks?
I ask because my family has spent 10 years with a barker, and my parents recently had some success with the techniques one of their trainers told them about.
Basically, if you yell at the dog from behind it, the dog doesn’t really process the words, just to vocal tone. In effect, they think you are backing them up, so are encouraged to bark more. If you come around to the front of the dog, and look them in the face and then correct them, they get that you’re correcting them, and not the person/thing they’re trying to correct.
This hasn’t fixed most of the dog’s barking quirks, he’s fairly neurotic and has a lot of history, but my mother says it’s the most successful thing they’ve done in the past decade with him. I’d hope that a dog who is as trainable as you say, without the past history of abuse that our boy had, would be more receptive.
Granted, you may not be able to get the carrier to deliver your mail even if the dog is merely standing in front of the storm door, but reducing the barking of any dog really reduces the appearance of threat.
I’d close the door at mail time. Leave the windows open.
I really don’t want to get in a fight with the mail carrier on this, as I think she has the upper hand here. She can refuse to deliver and say we have a hostile dog. The most I could accomplish is to force her to deliver with the main door open, and I really don’t like the idea of her hating us or even genuinely feeling afraid. Think of the junk mail lists she could put us on :). Or oops, I accidentally lost that check kind of thing. I am just irked at the situation and I do feel like she is being a little unreasonable, but I don’t like the idea of going to her supervisor and trying to force the issue, like I said I don’t think it will end up in our favor.
All I can find when I google search on this issue is that dogs must be restrained and I guess she is saying our dog isn’t. I would argue she is, but I am thinking I have no real power here. Putting her in another room is possible, but she is a people dog and she cries if she knows we are around and she can’t be with us. I can kennel her and she is quiet in her kennel, but I would rather just close the door than make her be in her kennel all afternoon.
So it seems like all I can do is close the door. I just wanted other opinions on whether they thought this request was a little extreme. I am sure there are dogs that can open doors but does that mean it should be assumed that all dogs might.
Sorry, I missed this on preview.
I have tried getting in front of her and she will quiet down (although she is all aquiver in excitement) but that does not stop her from barking again next time. So I can quiet her if I go over to her, but the cycle begins again when someone comes to the door. I need to find a way to keep her from barking to begin with (although it is handy for solicitors 
)
Well, if you do find that magic “no bark” pill/cream/training, please post it! I’ll tell my mother about it and be heralded as the Best Daughter Ever!!! I might even get a tiara.
Posted by Velma: " I am sure there are dogs that can open doors but does that mean it should
be assumed that all dogs might."
YES!
I agree. Telling the carrier that your barking 40 lb shepherd mix isn’t dangerous is not a useful endorsement.
Your opinion of your dog’s behavior is in conflict with the dog’s actual behavior. It is barking in an attempt to warn off intruders, which in this case is the mail carrier. Every day the dog barks at the intruder and every day the intruder backs away in response. It’s a self-fulfilling response so you’ve unwittingly allowed your dog to train itself. This person has no way of knowing the level of danger in this situation. What’s going to happen when you forget to latch the door and your 40 lb shepherd mix hits it on the run? Who’s going to be more surprised, the dog or the carrier?
You have no case unless you can prove:
- The screen is rated to stop a charging 40 lb dog
- The door has a visual marker that shows it locked (like a porta-john)
- The door cannot be opened by a scratching paw
Just wanted to mention, dogs can get through plexiglass. With a hard enough leap and after enough abuse, the stuff will crack/break. My little fat miniature daschound used to be taunted by the neighbor’s cat, until he became angry enough and broke through the lower plexiglass sheet in our door. Scared the bejeezus out of us, let alone the dog and the annoying cat.
Ok, there are trained helper dogs that can unlock and open all kinds of doors. They can answer the phone too. Does that mean I have to assume my dog can do it?
I agree that I have no real way of convincing the mail carrier not to be afraid. She is coming from her perceptions and I don’t fault her for that. I am going to keep the door closed from now on, for reasons I have stated. I just think it’s an overreaction. Our door is stable and our dog is limited in her abilities and I feel that by looking at the door and the dog the carrier should be able to tell that the dog can’t get her. We have had 2 carriers before this one and no one else had a problem. Neither do the paper carriers, the UPS / FedEx people, the solicitors who leave fliers, etc.
Here are the official mailbox regulations. I would imagine a curbside box would be fine, but you should check with your postmaster.
If it’s my ass that’s going to be chewed off, yes.
I was a paper carrier long ago.
Raises hand.
Not bitten, but almost. I delivered mail one summer when I was in college. There was a dog sitting on the lawn of the house, which looked at me and seemed friendly, and never budged when I went to the door. I went around the corner, and saw what looked like the same dog - who immediately attacked. He just missed my leg as I sprayed him. The owner then came running up, and told me the dog was friendly right after he almost bit me. :wally Dogs are territorial, and carriers invade their territories all the time. A guy in my office was badly bitten that summer. The carrier in the OP might have been bitten before, or almost been bitten, and might not want to take any chances.
A good solution is to move the mailbox. Ours is a slot in the garage. Having a box on the street might or might not be allowed in your area. It seems a lot simpler than remembering to move the dog.
A compromise worthy of Solomon!
The dog we owned when I was growing up could easily open the front screen door just by jumping up and hitting the handle with her paw. She discovered this by accident but learned quickly.
And, yes, the letter carrier should assume that the dog can open the door because if it happens they could be in a world of hurt.
So was I.
Look, I understand that some people are afraid of dogs. I understand that sometimes people are attacked by dogs that the owners say are nice. I am just saying there should be a reasonable amount of compromise here. I feel that having the dog inside is reasonable, she obviously disagrees. Since she is the one with the power, I am deferring. The Post Office rules say that if something “impedes” the carrier they can refuse to deliver. I guess she is arguing that her fear is impeding her?
I am thinking more about moving the mailbox, but I am afraid that if her issue is really that she thinks the dog is going to get out the door, then her being anywhere near the house is going to have the same problem. Our front lawn is not that big.
There is. Shut your main door during mail delivery times.
My best friend’s dog was a shepard mix that she called her “Cowardly Lion.” He’d bark at the door (or storm door) when anyone approached, then run off and hide, if they came in.
I had been in the house many times, and had interacted with the dog a few of those times.
But, I’m afraid of dogs, especially dogs that bark. I would react every time the dog barked at the door. Then one summer day, the main door was open when I approached.
My friend had, what seemed to be, a sturdy storm door. The handle was a knob, so it couldn’t be opened by an accidental paw. As I got to the bottom of the porch stairs, the dog started barking, I startled, and the dog backed up, then leaped four feet in the air, through the screen at me. Luckily, I didn’t freeze up I turned and ran back to my car.
My friend got control of the dog before it got to the gate, but, I couldn’t get out of my car.
Dogs react differently to people who are afraid of them, even nice dogs.
Is it really so hard to close the inside door for a half hour a day when the letter carrier is due?
Is there some way you can reinforce your door so you can leave it open for the cross-breeze? Maybe there’s a metal grate you can install on the inside. I’d give it some thought.