Mail delivery aggression problem

[Ben Curtis]

The party will be mostly family that has already met him already. Like always I do watch him, and I have had to separate him on occasions. I will do the same if need be this weekend. Cody, this was a bit more than what I would expect from him. My wife claims she was actually fearful he would bite her. For all other strangers I would say he acts more like a lab with out the jumping up on people than a Corso. He loves meeting people. I do however hope it is just something about our mail lady that Leo is picking up on that we can't understand. I also think it is probably a bit of his maturing too. Either way time and careful attention to him is all it sounds like I can do at this point. This weekend will be a good test to see if there is a pattern or if the incident was just the exception to the rule.

 

[marti1357]

The more concerning is that he growled at your wife and somehow challenged her. Also was the Leo on leash when she me the mail delivery lady? I leash may be necessary when the dog meets strangers in the front yard.

 

[Ben Curtis]

The more concerning is that he growled at your wife and somehow challenged her. Also was the Leo on leash when she me the mail delivery lady? I leash may be necessary when the dog meets strangers in the front yard.

Leo stopped the challenge immediately after realizing it was my wife, so I am not too worried with that. My wife has told me that she was not worried in the least for herself, only for the mail lady. It was more that he was somewhat out of control at the time. Maybe I should worry more about his reaction to my wife, but just as my wife was surprised by his attitude, he was surprised by her grabbing his collar. That was probably the first time we have ever needed to restrain him by grabbing it. To me I'd prefer to figure out what caused him to get upset, than how he reacted after being upset. Treat the cause not the symptom. Does that make sense?

He was not on a leash at the time. I agree the leash would be preferable, but our mail lady and others show up at unpredictable times often.

I am more wondering what to do when the unpredictable stranger shows up and does not act properly to Leo and he gets upset while off the leash. Obedience is something I am working on, and I'd love any recommendations in that regard, and any other ideas for those situations.

 

[jsavoni]

Leo sounds pretty well behaved for the most part. I thought i have been training mine well, but i have had to actually put my hands on her chest because she gets way to excited to meet new people. I usually have to hold her and then say a command, she usually fusses about having to lay down, but she knows that its the only way she will be able to say hi. This was my first dog that i have actually owned and i must say there is a lot to training. I thought i was doing well, but sometimes i question it I sometimes find myself wondering how i correct certain Behaviors, how would you guys have corrected Leo if you did think he was getting aggressive towards your wife?
I am on my second obedience class now, but its basic classes and corrections havent really came up all that much as far as aggression. sorry for the long replay, and how did leo do at the party?

 

[Mooshi's Mummy]

Just a quick thought. Does your mail lady wear any hi-viz clothing or have any hi-viz strips on her mail bag? Some dogs absolutely hate these.

 

[Ben Curtis]

Just a quick thought. Does your mail lady wear any hi-viz clothing or have any hi-viz strips on her mail bag? Some dogs absolutely hate these.

Not sure but I will ask my wife tonight.

As an update... We had my daughters graduation party this weekend and Leo was great! Happy to meet everyone, and great with the little kids. My brother brought his new 17 week old lab / golden mix, and we had some worry that Leo would crush him if he ever stepped on him. The pup was very nasty to Leo, but it did not seem to bother Leo much. Actually at one point the puppy bit Leo and had him a bit corned and Leo gave a nice loud correction bark, and that put an end to the puppy biting him.

At the end of the day I think I am chalking the mail lady up to something unusual about her.