Can guard dogs get used to posties and other regulars?

[templek]

Just something i noticed. On a walk i do from time to time there is a house with two large mastiff type dogs. When you enter the garden they bang and bark at the windows ferociously and it is an intimidating sight. However i have noticed when i enter the property now, they sit by the window and take no notice of you anymore. They dont even bark! Can dogs be trained to do this? my experience of dogs or guard dogs is that they bark at everyone who enters and dont tell the difference between an intruder and genuine visitor.

[BettySwollocks]

It maybe something to do with the breed of dog,
Mastiffs are extremely protective of their master and family, but i don't think they are as territorial as say a German Shepard,
those dogs are just nut cases, i had 4 on one of my last walks, no way in a million years could i ever be accepted as anything but a threat by any of them,
i have a soft spot for Mastiffs, fantastic family dogs.

[scooby]

i have a bullmastiff she barks like mad at people that come by the house but if you come in she just a big teddy bear

[andy2007]

Several years ago, I used to live next door to a Security Guard, who kept his dogs at Home, when he wasn't at work. They were able to learn who was meant to be coming and going, and who wasn't. Admittedly, he was a professional Security Guard, and they were very highly trained. But it does show that they can learn the difference, if they're properly trained.

Another thing, is that properly trained dogs won't actually attack an intruder, they'll just chase them off, or hold them. As one unfortunate Window Cleaner found out. He was covering for the usual guy, and my neighbour had gone out, and left the dogs guarding the house. The Window Cleaner got as far as putting the ladder up, before they reached him, but didn't get any further. They just kept him there, 'till my neighbour got Home. A very frightening experience for the poor bloke. But he wasn't harmed. A far cry from the vicious attacks that so many poorly trained dogs perpetrate.

[Lounge Lizard]

Several residents on my rural round have what are meant to be guard dogs the owners of which are most surprised and somewhat disappointed that the dogs treat me as a friend. I have learnt that dogs know if you are a threat to them and if you are afraid of them and if neither is the case thaen I don't have a problem with them.

[brothermagrew]

i have a bullmastiff she barks like mad at people that come by the house but if you come in she just a big teddy bear

Two sides of a coin scooby:

2009 - Melbourne Herald Sun - Australia. TWO little sisters had no hope when they were savaged by a pack of bull mastiff dogs in a house. Neighbors broke down the door to find a three-year-old dead and her 16-month-old sister covered in blood as she tried to crawl away from the four baying dogs.

Wrong: leaving toddlers and infants alone with bull mastiffs. What were the parents thinking?


(Read the article) - http://www.heraldsun.com.au/news/nation ... 1118504429" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

Wonder if their owners regarded them as big teddy bears as well.

Looking across the big pond to our cousins in America. Recent U.S.A. fatalities in 2011, dogs have killed 8 Americans so far. Of these deaths 5 were caused by pit bulls, 2 by rottweilers and 1 by an akita. The year 2010 produced 34 fatal dog attacks in the U.S.A. Other canine homicides stats of recent years in America are 2009 - 33 fatalities, 2008 - 23 fatalities and 2007 - 33 fatalities.

[Nobodyshero]

For the most part it's not the dog thats the problem it's the owners who don'y know how to train them propely, a well trained dog will never bite the walk I did before revision a young lady who had an alsastain pup and when she took it out she got people to make a fuss of it now it's the softest dog I have ever seen if you had a packet for her the dog will bound out and not let you away until you stroked it but he would bark like mad when you knocked on the door or if it heard the gate so it's doing its job as a warning to any unsavourables, the ones I have most problems with are terriers snappy little feckers

[krussel]

Never fully trust ANY dog, even your own and esp around young children.

[Caniel]

There's a massive dog on my walk it's like it has the body of a big German Shepard and the head of a bulldog. It used to bark like bad at me but all it wanted was the mail, I feed it some D2Ds once a week and it's happy as f**k with me now. He munches them to bits lol

[Wessex]

What really brasses me off are 'beware of the dog' notices , I find them offensive and actually threatening...personally I don't think I should have to deliver to any address bearing such a sign.What I would like is a load of stickers saying " Beware of my effin' solicitor '' to leave affixed to offending notice.

[Lounge Lizard]

What really brasses me off are 'beware of the dog' notices , I find them offensive and actually threatening...personally I don't think I should have to deliver to any address bearing such a sign.What I would like is a load of stickers saying " Beware of my effin' solicitor '' to leave affixed to offending notice.

Yes, at the end of a tiring day delivering to an address I didn't know I was through the gate and half way to the front door before I noticed a Jack Russell that caught hold of my trouser leg as if attacking a rat.
"There's a 'Beware of the Dog' notice on the gate" is all the owner said. "Yes, there's one on every gate" I promptly relied before adding "I won't be delivering here again".

[wiganpostie]

What really brasses me off are 'beware of the dog' notices , I find them offensive and actually threatening...personally I don't think I should have to deliver to any address bearing such a sign.What I would like is a load of stickers saying " Beware of my effin' solicitor '' to leave affixed to offending notice.

On the estate where I deliver to, a "beware of the dog" sign would seem like a courtesy..instead, the dog owning pond life I deliver to have pictures of ominous looking dogs in threatening poses with captions along the lines of "I can make the front gate in three seconds..can you?"

[Wessex]

What really brasses me off are 'beware of the dog' notices , I find them offensive and actually threatening...personally I don't think I should have to deliver to any address bearing such a sign.What I would like is a load of stickers saying " Beware of my effin' solicitor '' to leave affixed to offending notice.

On the estate where I deliver to, a "beware of the dog" sign would seem like a courtesy..instead, the dog owning pond life I deliver to have pictures of ominous looking dogs in threatening poses with captions along the lines of "I can make the front gate in three seconds..can you?"

Although I live on a council estate myself I have to say I much prefer not to have to deliver to them if poss due to the pond life that you mention,of course on balance there are also many responsible dog-owners out there.My real problem with these signs is doing an unfamiliar walk and risking the rottie that isnt soppy when you get to know him rushing round the corner when its 50 yards back to the gate.One sympathy I have got with managers is when they have to go see a customer whom I wont deliver to on h+s grounds due to their miscontrol of loveable Tyson....

[TrueBlueTerrier]

What really brasses me off are 'beware of the dog' notices , I find them offensive and actually threatening...personally I don't think I should have to deliver to any address bearing such a sign.What I would like is a load of stickers saying " Beware of my effin' solicitor '' to leave affixed to offending notice.

On the estate where I deliver to, a "beware of the dog" sign would seem like a courtesy..instead, the dog owning pond life I deliver to have pictures of ominous looking dogs in threatening poses with captions along the lines of "I can make the front gate in three seconds..can you?"

Snap on the bweare of dog signs, snap on the pond life and snap again on the 3 second signs - Don't yah just love our deliveries.

[meercat]

If in doubt have your pouch over your shoulder not over your head and be ready to slip it off and use it as a shield. Hold it infront of you while backing away and kicking sharply with your feet not allowing the dog to hold your foot.

If there is more than one big dog, drop your pouch and run for your life and don't look back. If you get taken down focus on one dog and try to kill it by snapping it's neck or poking its eyes out. Once you have killed that one you may have to kill the other to get away with your life.

Then don't forget to mark up the mail 'Could not deliver, dog loose'.