Edie MacKenzie

Edie MacKenzie is a published author, traveler, dog lover, and tortoise enthusiast. Passionate about what she does, her books provide peopel a firm grounding in the dog breed and their unique characteristics with a nice touch of humor.

Why Your Dog Loves Barking At The Mailman

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Your dog probably doesn’t have anything personal against the mailman. He’s just taking care of his own. In fact, it is safe to say that every dog has a little watchdog in him. It’s something that dogs inherit from their ancestors, who had to defend their territories and limited food supplies from trespassers.

To a dog, the great thing about mailmen is that they appear to be easy targets. Here’s what happens:

The first time a dog heard this stranger coming up the walk, he got alarmed. He probably backed up a little bit at first, but one brave day, he gave a little bark. His owners came running to see what was causing the commotion. The mailman, of course, dropped off the mail and left. The combination of praise from his owners and the mailman’s retreat makes dogs very happy. They just assume that they scared the mailman off. From then on, they feel confident that they can protect their homes from these fearsome visitors, so they keep barking.

Mailmen, meter readers, United Parcel Service and FedEx couriers, and any other stranger who purposely heads up to the house and then looks as though he’s retreating when he gets barked at is going to get the same reception.

Nearly all dogs have an instinctive urge to protect their homes, but that’s not the only reason they kick up a fuss when the mail arrives. Part of it is merely anticipation. Dogs are attuned to rituals and routines to such an extent that they’d probably be called obsessive-compulsive if they were people. The mail comes every day at more or less the same time. It doesn’t matter whether this event is happily anticipated or thoroughly dreaded.

Dogs probably begin thinking about it when they get up in the morning, and their excitement grows as the time approaches. By the time the mailman finally arrives, they’re keyed up and ready to rumble. It can get to be the high point of their days. Dogs who spend their days alone get particularly excited because they feel as though they’ve been left in charge. If they don’t bark like crazy and warn off intruders, who will? They figure they’re on duty should anyone approach their property.

How To Banish Your Dog’s Destructive Scratching

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Destructive scratching is related to escape chewing, digging and jumping out of windows. This is a behavior that the dog normally undertakes when he has been confined and wants to escape.

To discover the causes of this destructive behavior, you must determine when and where the scratching takes place. Obvious causes of this behavior is when the female dog next door is in heat, or confinement because the dog is a social problem or is being punished, which are the usual causes relate to confinement alone.

One exception is the dog that scratches on the seats or cushions of furniture or through bedding or mattresses. These excavators are usually digging a hole for themselves to curl up in or are scratching in frustration at their owner’s anal and/or genital scents. When pillows and clothing are the target, the dog may be attempting to masturbate with them.

Scratching in order to escape can occur in dominant or overdependent dogs. In either case, correction involves the same methods as for destructive chewing. The owner must teach at least the “Come,” “Sit,” and “Stay” commands without the use of force. These commands should be used whenever the dog nudges for attention. The dog should be praised for desirable responses. If punishment has been used, this must be stopped immediately, as this is usually counterproductive.

To minimize the contrast between the owner’s presence and absence, all unsolicited attention, such as talking to the dog, petting him or playing with him in response to the dog’s attention seeking, should be stopped. Examples of these activities include tug-o’-war, wrestling, chasing the dog, and playing fetch when the owner must force the dog to give up the ball or stick.

In other words, interactions must involve the dog’s responding to the owner, rather than vice versa. Coming and going rituals must be avoided. It is also helpful to leave a radio turned on at a normal volume at all times to stabilize the acoustic environment and keep the dog company.

If the cause of destructive scratching is known, that cause should be eliminated, if possible. If a confined male dog is scratching because a neighborhood female dog is in heat, the use of some medication for the female dog in heat has proved to be successful, providing her owners are willing. If not, and if the problem is recurrent with a male that is not to be bred, castration has proven helpful if combined with the other steps outlined here. If the dog is unruly or shut away as punishment for some other behavior, the basic behavior problem should be corrected.

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