Picking up the post!

[Anonymous]

Join the club Viv! I’m rubbish at this!!

[Vivian]

Right I am gona make a real fool of myself now but hey here goes,
Would I be on the right track thinking it could be somthing to do with the fact that Meg has learnt that she wins everytime ie  she frightens the postie off every time. She copes with her coming down by ripping up the post which she has learnt works?
Dunno really, could it be that Meg has to learn that she will not always win? or somat like that anyway ?

[Anonymous]

Thinking of putting something foul tasting in the post and shoving it through the door! She won’t touch the post if i’m here and never used to! What has changed?

I understand the winning the postie thing and even destroying the bad thing that comes through the door-but what I don’t understand is how to get her to like the post-other than going back to my original post and teaching her that it is a trick to eventually put it on the table…..Short of never leaving her at home I’m lost…as usual!

[Vivian]

How about leaving post there all the time, even when you are in? Just leave letters or paper there all the time? So then at other times when she is on high alert and she goes for the post you can tell her to leave or whatever?

[kizkiznobite]

ok …lets try again…in her head postman is an intruder …a threat….she is protecting her home and her pack mate….she can even smell him on the letters etc she is doing her job…if someone came to the house to attack you and she saw them off you would praise her from the heavens…she doesnt understand the difference….

you need to desensitise the whole situation and everything in it…the door..the stuff coming through the door…the person putting stuff through the door, the noise of it all….so leash her and do the go greet greet nice with the postie…tell him not to stare at her or touch her until she has calmed down…set it up by putting treats on the window sill before he comes and get him to drop them at his feet while talking to you and not looking at her….so you do the go greet grett nice…he treats.. once she gets to the stage of greeting him nice ask postie if she can sniff him..he mustnt touch her still at this stage…give her lots of appraisal…once you have sorted that at that criteria then the next stage is to get her to sniff the post in his hand and agian he is to treat her….the next stage is to do it in the open doorway and after she has sniffed the post he shoves it through the letter box as normal even though the door is open…the next stage is to then get her to pick it up nice and bring it to you…this will all change the adrenalin reaction into one of achievement…if you wish to totally protect your post in the meantime then you could use an internal basket but i fear with meg that the fact she cannot get to it will make her bounce….if you just use a wall box outside then she will still react as if an intruder is coming unless you do all the above and you teach postie to shout it ok meg only me…once she knows him that is…

i appreciate because of work etc you cannot do all this now but if he comes on a saturday you could make a start otherwise it a task for end of term….took me 3 weeks to desensitise samtoo…..good luck  🙂

[Anonymous]

Wooohooooo Thanks Bev! A task for the hoildays me thinks! Our postie is quite scared of doggies but I will do my best! I have put a note on the door asking for all post to be delivered next door! Then I can collect it when I get home!!! Have taped up the post box too!!! There may be light at the end of the tunel after all! Aint it obvious when someone says!

[Author]

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