Dogs and Postal Uniforms. My dog is so friendly and mellow except when she sees a postman. Then she turns in

Question

to Cujo. Its just the postman uniform. Can anyone explain why?

to Cujo. She does this in my house, and away from the house. And no I did not train her to do this. She does not react this way to the police.

Answer 1

I work for the post office and have to wear one of those lovely polyester uniforms every day !

To my knowledge dogs are color blind and can not detect color so that is not a factor in the "cujo " behavior.

It has been my experience that most dog are generally protecting their territory and their "property" when they see a person or persons that they do not recognize they go on the defensive. It may be that you have unknowingly conditioned your dog to respond to the mailman in that manner. If you have showed any reaction to your dogs behavior when she tries to tear apart the mailman she may see that as a type of "praise " so to speak and will continue to preform her "cujo" mannerisms

Secondly, majority of dogs can sense fear or anxiety. I am a dog person and therefore really show no fear of them. I have worked for the post office for 8 years delivering mail on a walking route and have never been bitten or chased by a dog.

Answer 2

She learned at your house that if she is aggressive people in uniforms go away. Every time she goes Cujo the mailman goes away. Of course she doesn't know he was going to go away anyway!

So she has learned that a good way to get rid of people in uniforms is to be aggressive toward them.

Answer 3

had a dog the same way be careful of anybody in uniform. Mine bit a cop that stopped in for directions to a house

Answer 4

I agree with Badkarma that it is not the uniform. The mailman is touching the mailbox and the dog does not like her property being touched.