Protecting our house from the parcel delivery man

Our terrier flies at the front door every time the postman comes, we had to fit a cage to catch the post or it gets shredded.

It's very difficult to train them against their natural protective instincts. Barking at the door knock or door bell is one of the more difficult things to train, and we are still working on our 5 year old aussie shepherd.

If we know someone is coming we announce it, and she will patiently wait on her stool by the front window. I will know by the frantic tail wagging that Uncle J has arrived, or the grandchildren, etc. However, when the doorbell is rung unannounced, she does go into a frantic barking mode. I usually will get a treat, tell her to sit, and then answer the door, hoping that whoever is outside is patient.

we are still working on her.

I have a gentle golden retriever but when anyone dares walk by our door he sounds like a ferocious guard dog. Then he immediately begins to cry as he runs to lie down, hanging his head in shame because he knows we disapprove!

Message withdrawn at poster's request.

Is it just this one particular delivery man, AussieGran or all of them?

notgran

LOUISA1523 We don't have a dog and yet when delivery men come we still get parcels, we don't need a dog barking and being aggressive to alert us as the OP's dog does and is. I'm assuming you have never come across the expression "sorry, not sorry" before, which I find weird.

Of course I've come across the saying.....its one my GD uses....are you 12?🙄

notgran

LOUISA1523 We don't have a dog and yet when delivery men come we still get parcels, we don't need a dog barking and being aggressive to alert us as the OP's dog does and is. I'm assuming you have never come across the expression "sorry, not sorry" before, which I find weird.

Like I said...weird 🙄

notgran

I'm sorry, (not sorry really), all of you that have dogs who bark for no good reason, I have to say it, your poor neighbours.

You don't seem to understand dogs very well.

Down through the ages people have kept dogs for many reasons, as they do today. One reason is to alert their owner when some stranger enters the premises. Another is to signal to an intruder who might have a nefarious purpose that there is a dog here that can and will defend the property.

Most dog owners train their dogs to bark briefly then hush when told to.

A well trained dog that obeys this command is not a nusiance to the neighbours.

A dog that barks endlessly is badly trained, kept tied up, frightened or has been or is being ill-treated. In these cases a neighbour is justified in reporting the matter to a competant authority if the dog's owner either will not, or cannot rectify the problem.

I am endlessly surprised at the number of people who read this particular thread and who quite obviously neither like animals nor approve of their being kept as pets.

Do tell me: why read a thread obviously meant for the pleasure of those of us who like animals?

Many years ago at 3am, 3 of our dogs began barking. This was most unusual. I was convinced someone was breaking in. Of course I got my DH to trot downstairs. The dogs stopped barking, no sign of anything at all, so back to sleep.

The next day a neighbour called in asking if I knew about the spate of burglaries. It appeared that most people had unwelcome guests indulging in a spot of burglaries.

Late that day the police called round which set the dogs off briefly. They smiled when they heard and pointed out that they were the reason why we'd not had burglars.

The dogs I have now might bark when someone rings the bell but it's hardly regular and it's quite reassuring knowing that any cad wanting to do damage is put off by my dogs.

Forsythia

It might sound simplistic but why not shut the dog in the kitchen or similar before answering the door?

Not so exciting 😁

Sorry! It is a very sensible idea.

poshpaws when our friends' house was broken into years ago, they came home to find the dog shut in one room. They said she would have wagged her tail and welcomed the burglars!

It might sound simplistic but why not shut the dog in the kitchen or similar before answering the door?

The one time my home was broken into, when I arrived home I was met with a broken door then 6 assorted breeds of dog in the hallway, all incredibly excited and noisily telling me that we had "visitors".

The "visitors" were still in the living room, and the police told me later that giving them a VERY loud lecture on the error of their ways and how if they'd let any of my cats out I'd hex them hadn't been one of the brightest ideas I'd ever had and I was very lucky not to have been attacked. (I think the burglars were just terrified of the mad woman - they couldn't get out fast enough!)

Anyway, I'd have preferred the dogs to have barked like AussieGran59's did!

I'd ask the delivery man to leave the parcel on the doorstep, ring the bell (and retreat) AussieGran

notgran

I'm sorry, (not sorry really), all of you that have dogs who bark for no good reason, I have to say it, your poor neighbours.

They are barking for good reason - warning their owners there are possible intruders.
Our last dog looked on any cat which dared enter our garden as an intruder 🐈. The cats used to sit on the fence and laugh at him.

Now, we know all about dogs who bark incessantly for no good reason. One of our neighbours had a large dog which barked all day every day for years; we found out eventually that they shut it out of the house and went off to work or just out. Occasionally it would stop and apparently that was when another neighbour took it into her house for a while. Poor dog.
We complained and to Environmental Health but nothing was done. Then they moved. Oh, the relief.

I realise the difference between warning barking and unhappy, incessant barking.

* = insert expletive.

I am * glad I do not have to do deliveries.

A bit of warning barking from inside the house is one thing, but letting a dog roam about in the front garden where delivery people might be is simply discourteous. If we want deliveries we must create safe conditions for the workers.

Our dog guard breed working dog barks when someone comes to the door, we just say the word enough and he stops! Our dog does not bark for no good reason,

LOUISA1523 We don't have a dog and yet when delivery men come we still get parcels, we don't need a dog barking and being aggressive to alert us as the OP's dog does and is. I'm assuming you have never come across the expression "sorry, not sorry" before, which I find weird.

Our Parsons Terriers bark at any delivery, person at door, person on path or in the drives. Well done dogs, enjoy your dog-biscuits.

notgran

I'm sorry, (not sorry really), all of you that have dogs who bark for no good reason, I have to say it, your poor neighbours.

It is an exceptionally good reason to bark i would have thought 🙄
..
This is the only time our dog barks....it alerts us to someone being at the door ....it literally a minute of barking then done....why would the neighbours be bothered about that???..
.why are you sorry...then not sorry.

Very weird post 🙄

tickingbird

Dogs barking at strangers coming down the path isn’t barking for no good reason. Dogs left outside yapping for hours on end, probably out of boredom, cause annoyance to neighbours but it’s the owners who are at fault.

Of course, this is right, dogs are supposed to be on guard duty to protect the house and occupants.If only somebody could tell our dog this, he only raises his head and does a half hearted bark, then settles down again.
He would shred any parcel that he could get his paws on though.

The thing to do with a guarding barker is praise her for barking and then order "shut up!" then "lie down"when the guarding is sufficient.

The dog is then trained to bark and guard on command by you, not when the dog chooses. The barking is good when it's your choice.

Dogs barking at strangers coming down the path isn’t barking for no good reason. Dogs left outside yapping for hours on end, probably out of boredom, cause annoyance to neighbours but it’s the owners who are at fault.

I'm sorry, (not sorry really), all of you that have dogs who bark for no good reason, I have to say it, your poor neighbours.