Why dogs seem to hate mail carriers and UPS drivers

So I did some research and asked some questions. Turns out, dogs’ hatred of mail carriers is not cliché, as witnessed by the thousands of attacks on carriers every year. Dogs genuinely have a thing about postal workers.

Recently, a noise outside my front door set my dog, Bailey, to barking. I looked out the peep hole and didn’t see anyone, but when I opened the door, there was a packa geonthe welcome mat.

“Oh,” I said aloud, “it was the postman.”

In a split sec ond, Bailey was out the door and racing down the street to where the carrier had stopped to deliver a package to a neighbor. He was soon snarling and trying to get a good grip on the postman’s ankle.

I was mortified. And horrified. After collecting my dog and apologizing profusely, I started to wonder about what I had just witnessed. Bailey had been fine until I spoke the word “postman.” To test it, I sat him down and repeated a list of random words: Bread, birds, toys, laundry, postman. He started barking again and ran to the door, ready to tear the mail carrier to pieces.

Why? What was it about the postman that got him riled up. The postman has certai nly never done anything to Bailey. In fact, our mail is delivered to a collection of boxes two blocks away from our front door, and a carrier stopping by is a rarity.

So I did some research and asked some questions. Turns out, dogs’ hatred of mail carriers is not cliché, as witnessed by th e th ousands of attacks on carriers every year.Dogsgenuinelyhavea thing about postal workers.

The prevailing theory has to do with ancient dogs that lived in the wild. Whenever an intruder wandered into their territory, it was seldom fo rafriendlyv is it.Ifthedo gs wanted to keep their food, their mates and their pups safe, they had to fight off the intruder.

Dogs became domesticated, but tha ts treak of territorial defense remains strong. As such, mail carriers, UPS drivers, and pizza delivery folks are cast in the role of intrud er,c oming up to the house and triggering the defense mechanism in your dog.

Now, here’s the important part. These folk s show up more or less regularly. The dog barks and the intruder quickly leaves. The dog claims it as a victory. He or she has driven away the badpers on. Good job. Only one problem — the intruders always c ome back, requiring your dog to escalate its response. The dog adds in snarls to its bark, and if given the opportunity, might bite.

Dogs, being dogs, also begin to recognize the carriers’ vehicle s and uniforms, so they can become fixated on those elements. Bailey appare ntlyhasa lso learned the words “postman ” — he also reacts to “cat” and “vacuum c leaner,” two of his other arch enemies.

Although we don’t have mail delivered to our doorstep, Bailey has had experience with mail carrierswho did come six days a week, an dt hat’s probably where h e’sdev eloped his hatred of them, although dogs don’t actually hate. As Bailey sees it, he is just defending his home and family.

Having your dog go primal on a mail carrier is not a good thing, and Baile yand I will now work on changing t his beha vior. I fy our dog also has a thing against the mail carrier, you can attempt to broker a peace by having yo ur dog greet the carrier and attempt to make friends.

Have your dog on a leash and give your carrier some treats to give your dog. Don’t attempt to do this in your front door or near it. Moving al ittle ways away from the door will help ease the sense that the dogn eeds to protect the home.

Dog bites are extremely serious and should be treated with the gravitas they deserve. If you can’t stop your dog’s aggression toward delivery people, m akesure the dog is not out without aleash.