Stop dog biting at post

blatantrereg

Our dog has started biting at the letterbox when anything is put through it. Apart from biting post, I'm concerned she will bite someone's fingers sooner or later. Have been keeping her out of the hall when post might come, but she did it yesterday evening when an envelope was hand-delivered also - so clearly this behaviour needs to be stopped altogether sooner rather than later.

One thing that complicates correcting it is that it's not something I'm happy allowing happen at all. So I can't just let her do it and then correct her.

She started doing it since we moved house. She's very obedient in general, and usually gentle, but she's highly protective and has become territorial since moving. She was highly aggressive when someone tried to start a fight with me once while I was walking her at night. Other than that and this post issue I haven't seen her be aggressive. She seems confused when dogs are aggressive towards her, and ignores them or tries to play and be friendly anyway. She barks more here than she used to, but not excessively, and she stops when I shush her. She's a very fast and agile dog, and would be just inside the large category. She's fast and strong enough that she could give someone a bad enough bite if their finger went inside the letterbox.

I suppose one of those cages you put around a letterbox to collect post would be advisable when I think about it. Still need to stop her doing it as well though. Any advice?

Kukey

What about one of those metal post boxes that goes on the wall?So no one at all

will be near your hall door letter box and you won't have to worry about any

people getting their fingers bitten.

blatantrereg

Good idea. I was thinking along the same lines already with the cage around the letterbox. I would still prefer if she stopped doing it altogether. Otherwise she might do it in a different house where there is just the letterbox.

tk123

We used to put an open umbrella in the hall to stop my dog getting to the post lol! Once his 'leave it' (loads of examples on youtube) command was better we just told him to leave it and he did. Now he still runs out but cries at the post because he knows he's not to touch it
Have you somebody who can help you practice by posting stuff through the letter box? That way you're not limited to practicing when the postman comes.

Eeden

An outside postbox is probably the easiest way to go. My daughter got bitten through the letterbox when she was delivering leaflets; it has made her terrified of dogs.

I get your point about your dog doing this in another house - but surely your dog wouldn't be proprietorial if she's not in her own house? (I could be wrong here of course)

Pretzill

I have a similiar problem with one of my dogs it's not the postmans fingers she's after but the post - I put a basket up to block the opening and she still tries to get underneath it and steal the letters! If I'm there which is most days she'll Leave It! With some persuasian - but she's removed the basket and post if I'm out - I hate those outside letterboxes but I may have to go down that route also. If the door is open and postie calls she runs out tail wagging - I think she believes the letters are alive/some sort of creatures that throw themselves loudly through the door!

blatantrereg

Might ask the landlord if he's okay with us fitting an external letterbox. I don't see anywhere that it would "go" though, so he might not want us to. One of those ones that are mounted on a post might be preferable if we can find one. Also he is likely to ask why we want it. Telling him we're concerned the dog might bite someone is not ideal and might make him take issue with us having the dog. I guess the cage idea would need permission too. Are there any other types that don't need to be screwed into a wall or similar?

lorebringer

One of my guys has a thing with anything being in the letter box - if he is there when the post comes, he will go mental and snap at it (it's the post he's after, not the person) and will also bite at any post he comes across that is hanging from the letter box.

Solution was to get a letter box cage - think we got ours in B&Q, but I'm sure similar hardware stores will sell them. You do need to screw it into the door but it leaves very minor holes that are easily filled. We considered getting an outside box for the post but didn't like the thought of our private stuff hanging around outside our door for any period of time. The dog now barks a bit at the post if he sees it coming in the letter box, but learned pretty fast that he can't access it so isn't as bothered as he used to be about it.

blatantrereg

Letterbox cage is difficult to find in bricks and mortar stores. Tried a few including B&Q. External letterbox is much more widely sold. Will order a cage online.

tk123

I was in PetStop in Blanch the other day and they had the cages so they might have them in other branches. I'd recommend teaching the leave it command too btw it - it takes a few mins a day and is a lot more useful than you might think - leaving the post alone at home or if you're in somebody else's house, leaving food you might drop, something outside on a walk you want the dog to leave a lone, a bee on the ground(my pup got stung last year before she knew what leave it meant lol ), wounds, bandages etc etc