Mina and Mail People
Please do not oppress my love.
I had the dogs out for a potty break. This is the only time I use retractable leashes. I live in a psuedo-apartment complex, which is actually a neo-Victorian home transformed into apartments. There is a partially fenced in front yard. Since other neighbors have dogs, I always leash my dogs. And since I cannot fathom having to follow six feet from two pooping dogs, I use retractable leashes. Please do not hate me too much.
The postal person arrived.You know how I knew the postal employee was going to arrive? A full 45 seconds before the postal worker came into view, Mina was all POSTAL EMPLOYEE APPROACHING, high alert, high alert! I thought it was another dog approaching, but then sighed heavily when I saw the mailman.
Celeste is unsure of postal employees. She's curious enough, but a little nervous when they pet her. Mina LOVES postal workers. It's an intense sort of love that almost borders on obsession. She once tried to jump into a postal worker's vehicle, just to say hi. The postal worker was polite enough not to hit her over the head with his satchel. He even pet her. This just reinforced her generally one-sided love obsession.
I'm not sure how this mail man is going to react to the dogs. I start heading up the stairs, but Mina is DO NOT DRAG ME FROM THE LOVE OF MY LIFE and Celeste is totally oblivious. I am glad 50% of my dogs are acting normally. The other 50% is embarrassing enough. I'm talking about you, Mina. Finally, I just give up and ask the guy if he is okay with dogs.
He's all, I love dogs! Which is good, because Mina is barreling towards him and can't stop in time, so she head-butts him in the leg. This is all very acceptable behavior, according to the postal worker. He pets Celeste who is slowly wagging her tail and looking concerned. And he pets Mina who ducks and expresses her desire for a back scratch, not a head pat.
Then he tells me how a Pit Bull once tried to attack him. He had to use his satchel for protection, which was good. I felt bad and embarrassed (come on, people, don't let your dog eat the mail!) (Or the mail person). To allay his fears, I tell him Mina only latches on to stuffed animals, not satchels or body parts. He said, he could tell she was a good dog. Ha! I could not disagree, even if I wanted to and I sort of did.
My neighbor, an 11-yr-old girl who loves Mina (her Pit Bull is named Nina!) and whose younger brother calls me the pit bull lady, even though only 50% of my dogs are Pit Bulls...oh my god, where was I going with that sentence? Geez. Anyways, she randomly leaps in to pat Mina on the head (Mina is all that is not how you do it) and tell her GOOD DOG before chasing her brother down in an intense, full-contact game of hide-and-seek. That is not how I used to play that game.
So while other dogs may have a strong dislike of mail deliverers in uniform, Mina has an obsessive fascination with them. To be clear, if you saw Mina when she sees the postal employees, you would think OH MY GOD, THAT DOG IS CRAZY. Not because she is slobbering or growling or barking or indicating a desire to eat anyone, but because she looks like a stalking, staring, creepy dog. She's like a Border Collie with The Eye, except the sheep are postal employees and, well, yeah she's a Pit Bull. Nevermind that she just really likes postal employees (and UPS staff too!), *I* still find it disturbing. I do not want my dog to be that intense about greeting someone.
How do your dogs react to mail persons?
I had the dogs out for a potty break. This is the only time I use retractable leashes. I live in a psuedo-apartment complex, which is actually a neo-Victorian home transformed into apartments. There is a partially fenced in front yard. Since other neighbors have dogs, I always leash my dogs. And since I cannot fathom having to follow six feet from two pooping dogs, I use retractable leashes. Please do not hate me too much.
The postal person arrived.You know how I knew the postal employee was going to arrive? A full 45 seconds before the postal worker came into view, Mina was all POSTAL EMPLOYEE APPROACHING, high alert, high alert! I thought it was another dog approaching, but then sighed heavily when I saw the mailman.
Celeste is unsure of postal employees. She's curious enough, but a little nervous when they pet her. Mina LOVES postal workers. It's an intense sort of love that almost borders on obsession. She once tried to jump into a postal worker's vehicle, just to say hi. The postal worker was polite enough not to hit her over the head with his satchel. He even pet her. This just reinforced her generally one-sided love obsession.
I'm not sure how this mail man is going to react to the dogs. I start heading up the stairs, but Mina is DO NOT DRAG ME FROM THE LOVE OF MY LIFE and Celeste is totally oblivious. I am glad 50% of my dogs are acting normally. The other 50% is embarrassing enough. I'm talking about you, Mina. Finally, I just give up and ask the guy if he is okay with dogs.
He's all, I love dogs! Which is good, because Mina is barreling towards him and can't stop in time, so she head-butts him in the leg. This is all very acceptable behavior, according to the postal worker. He pets Celeste who is slowly wagging her tail and looking concerned. And he pets Mina who ducks and expresses her desire for a back scratch, not a head pat.
Then he tells me how a Pit Bull once tried to attack him. He had to use his satchel for protection, which was good. I felt bad and embarrassed (come on, people, don't let your dog eat the mail!) (Or the mail person). To allay his fears, I tell him Mina only latches on to stuffed animals, not satchels or body parts. He said, he could tell she was a good dog. Ha! I could not disagree, even if I wanted to and I sort of did.
My neighbor, an 11-yr-old girl who loves Mina (her Pit Bull is named Nina!) and whose younger brother calls me the pit bull lady, even though only 50% of my dogs are Pit Bulls...oh my god, where was I going with that sentence? Geez. Anyways, she randomly leaps in to pat Mina on the head (Mina is all that is not how you do it) and tell her GOOD DOG before chasing her brother down in an intense, full-contact game of hide-and-seek. That is not how I used to play that game.
So while other dogs may have a strong dislike of mail deliverers in uniform, Mina has an obsessive fascination with them. To be clear, if you saw Mina when she sees the postal employees, you would think OH MY GOD, THAT DOG IS CRAZY. Not because she is slobbering or growling or barking or indicating a desire to eat anyone, but because she looks like a stalking, staring, creepy dog. She's like a Border Collie with The Eye, except the sheep are postal employees and, well, yeah she's a Pit Bull. Nevermind that she just really likes postal employees (and UPS staff too!), *I* still find it disturbing. I do not want my dog to be that intense about greeting someone.
How do your dogs react to mail persons?