why does the dog attacks the mail man?

Answer 1

BECAUSE MAIL MAN IS INVADING THE PRIVATE PROPERTY OF THE DOG

Answer 2

No one really knows why. My dog never attacks the mailman. Well she will attack him by licking him and jumping on him so he could pet her but never in a vicious way. If you have a dog problem like that then you should either introduce your dog to the mail man so that he knows him and wont bark at him. Or you can always just not let him see the mailman. If your mail man has a schedule of a certain time it comes to your house then you should just leave your dog in your house for that small period of time that the mail man comes.

Answer 3

Pack mentality and defense of the pack.

Dogs, descended from wolves, are pack animals and everything about their behavior is related to this pack mentality.

When a stranger comes by the dog senses, smells them, and rushes to confront them. Usually, the dog starts barking and the stranger leaves. The dog feels that he has done his job and is rewarded with satisfaction. If the stranger keeps coming and enters the property then they are a greater threat. The dog will keep barking and if they are not called off they may attack the intruder.

If the mail man drives by or if you have you mail boxes at the curb then the dog will probably be satisfied with just barking at them. If the dog has to be delivered to a box on the or near the door then the dog might try to bite.

Utility workers trying to read electric meters and water meters have more threat from dog attacks than mail men. The reason is the same.

People claim that pit bulls are such sweet dogs, who always play nice with their children; right up until these dogs get out and go kill someone or chew their face off. The dogs are sweet with the children because they are pack members and the dog is secure in his position in the pack, the child is a new pack member and so is to be protected and cherished. But, a stranger, especially one that shows a weakness is an object to be attacked and destroyed.

Answer 4

Did you hear about the mail man that got attacked by the Pit bull and the mail man said to himself and the dog heard him say you will not getting the mail today and the dog jumped the 4 foot fence and bit the mail man in the face. It was on the News today.

Answer 5

It isn't just the mailman who gets attacked, but anybody who comes close to his "turf".

Dogs are territorial by habbit, which is why male dogs mark their territory.

No matter what trick you try to get your dog to make friends with the mail man, it won't happen. I'm not saying it won't happen, but it just isn't a normal thing.

But it isn't the big dogs the mailman is worried about the most. It's the little ankle biters.

The old addage of letting a dog sniff the back of your hand doesn't always work either. I let a dog sniff the back of my hand and he took two sniffs and a chomp.

Keep Fido inside until after the mailman has come. Also they should be inside during the heat of the day unless you give them lots of water.

Answer 6

I would venture to guess it because the mailman comes onto the dogs "property" unwelcomed. Also dogs learn that barking & putting on a show always drives off this "intruder" and hence the action gets more & more intense at times depending on the dogs temperment.

Also, it could be the owners reaction to the dog when the dog does this as "its normal". It's not, and should be corrected.

Answer 7

Because of "rewarded" behavior. Dogs do what works and what doesn't work, what is safe and what is not safe. If a behavior works for them- that is rewarding- and they are more apt to offer that behavior again. mailman comes up to house every day- dog barks at mail man. mail man leaves- every day after dog barked at him. In dogs little lemon brain- not having any understanding of the mail system- he sees his threat display as working! Every time that scary guy comes here and I bark at him to make him go away- he DOES go away- it's working! So the behavior is reinforced and can actually increase to a greater threat display. By the mailman leaving the porch to continue his rounds, the dog- in his mind- was reinforced for his behavior. Barking, lunging, growling at the door "made" that scary guy go away.

Answer 8

He's an intruder into the dogs bounderies.
The dog has marked out the area with its scent and here comes along a stranger, every day to break in.
Wouldn't you attack someone that walked into your personal space every day?
The dog is a pack animal - you have to respect the mentality of a pack animal's simplicity.

Answer 9

It's not just the mail man, the dog will also go after the milkman, door-to-door salesmen, anyone, especially if they are wearing a uniform and they emit the fear factor that the dog can detect and takes it as a weakness, thus attacking!

This is a chemical scent that your body emits, when your terrified, that shows that you fear this animals attack and want to flee.

Thank you

Answer 10

It's just the classic comedic relief, way back from the old cartoons where they have the rotwilers that are very teritorial. If it ever happened in real life, it would either be because they didn't want the mailman on thier territory, or they felt threatened by him/her. Or if it had the scent of an unfirmiliar dog, that could also provoke it.

Answer 11

Dogs like to mark their territory, whether by peeing around their neighborhood or by asserting dominance often both. Another possibility is that your dog is trying to protect you or himself. think if every day a stranger walked into your bedroom and just left. The mailman is a unfamiliar smell and face and thus it is quite possible that your dog is afraid of him.


The best way to cure your dog of this fear is to introduce him to the mailman the way you would to a child. Just take the dog out, let him sniff around, dont let him bark, and you should be fine.