Kingdom of Pets

Posted by sheilacooper39btinterne
Dec 23, 2008

My Yorkshire Terrier is 19 months old and I have had him for seven weeks. He is obedient and a joy to take walking as he responds well off the lead. BUT
as soon as he sees the postman across the square in front of our house he barks madly and runs between the front door and window. This morning I went to the dustbin at the front of our house and the dog followed me. Unfortunately unknown to me the postman was on our drive and the dog immediately went mad and tried to bite him and in fact caught the man's trousers him twice. I called the dog and eventually he came but the postman said it would report the incident to his office. I told the dog he was bad and he went to his bed and my husband and I are now ignoring him and will do so for 48 hours before starting to reinforce his training. Has anyone else had this problem and tried this method or is there anything else we can do? Although he does bark when anyone comes to the door he has never attacked anyone.
Sheila

Posted by Maggiesmom1
Jan 4, 2009

I'm sorry. I know this is a big problem to have and no one has responded to your question. I believe because there really is no easy answer. I would probably handle it by having a water squirt bottle handy and when the postman walks by and your dog starts barking at the window, I would squirt him and say "No! No barking!" If he begins again, I would say "eh-eh, No!" and give him another squirt. If he stops barking, praise him and offer a treat.

The biting problem is troublesome. Poor postman, probably not the first time he has been attacked by a dog. If the squirt bottle works inside, perhaps you could put your dog on a lead and take him outdoors when the postman is near. When the barking starts, squirt him again and correct him with a stern "No!" If he calms, praise him and offer a treat and "good boy".

If its the same postman all the time, another idea might be to allow him to meet your dog and offer the dog treats if he is calm....(make friends). Good luck...I hope he learns to get along with the postman.

My Yorkie bit the postman