The Mailman

A lot of dogs react strongly to the mailman, and for good reason. Every day they bark like ferocious hellbeasts and he leaves. Behold the power of barking! Fortunately, most dog owners can successfully pair the presence of the mailman with wonderful things like food and BarkBoxes, so their dogs can learn a better way of coping with the reality of the United States Postal Service.

Photo by Erin Koski

And then there's our mailman. He's a bit...odd. Possibly autistic? At any rate, his shirt is rarely buttoned correctly and he is always, always running as fast as he possibly can with his heavy mailbag. He's always monstrously sweaty with his hair plastered to his head, and ignores people who attempt to talk to him, wave, or even make eye contact. The mailman sets off little "not right" alarm bells in my head, so I can't really blame the dogs for freaking out.

I've been trying to reduce everyone's stress about mail delivery for the nearly four years we've been living here. Unfortunately the daily routine makes it difficult. The mailman may hit our street as early as 11am and as late as 7:30 in the evening without rhyme or reason, so it's tough to plan for his arrival.

Our first indication that the mailman is afoot is when he slams the special mailman-only door on the back of the block of mailboxes for the apartment building across the street. This is the only time this door is used, so we can't have a friendly resident help us pair the sound with tasty treats.

Next the mailman will make his way down the street, slamming mailboxes all the way. Finally he will make it to our house, where he will jog down the driveway to the other house on the property before dropping off our mail. The entire process takes about ten minutes, during most of which the mailman is out of sight and may or may not be audible. This is a lot longer than the average mail delivery, and makes it difficult to train around. Here's what I've tried so far:

Mailman=Boring

Pairing exciting neighborhood events with unstimulating activities has been somewhat successful in reducing Brisbane's reactivity to skateboards, at least in the house. For a while after we moved in, I had him dragging a leash around the house. When he barked at things outside, I would calmly and silently escort him to the bathroom, flip the light on, and leave him in there until he was quiet. This made pedestrians, passing dogs, and most neighborhood activity boring enough that Briz began to ignore them. However, it failed to make the mailman less exciting. In fact, attempting to use it for our mailman problem ruined the effect by making the bathroom super exciting. Now when I stick Brisbane in there, he starts barking hysterically because he knows the mailman might be afoot!

Look at That!

Gleaned from Control Unleashed, this game teaches the dog to look forward to the appearance of their trigger by clicking and treating them for looking at said trigger. Our problem was that the mailman was only visible for a brief portion of the mail delivery period, while he was audible in the neighborhood for a good ten minutes. By the time there was anything to look at, Brisbane was already way over threshold.

Speed Treating

I've had an enormous amount of success with just feeding Brisbane treats in the presence of his triggers. This has helped him get over his issues with joggers, bicycles, and other unsavory sights. Normally I start rapid-fire handing him food as soon as he becomes aware of the trigger. The issue with the mailman is one of duration though, it's difficult to have enough treats to last through ten minutes in the presence of the trigger. It also requires me to drop whatever I am doing and just stand there feeding Brisbane continuously for the entire ten minutes. Neither of us can maintain our focus for that long.

Rain of Kibble

This is my current tactic for dealing with mailman time. I take half a cup of kibble and fling it across the kitchen and living room. Brisbane must then spend the next ten minutes or more racing Ru, the cats, and any other dogs in the house, to find and devour all the pieces. This project is distracting enough to keep Brisbane busy while the mailman makes his rounds up and down the street, and if they finish the kibble I can always toss a bit more. It doesn't require constant vigilance on my part, so it's something I can do even when I'm in the middle of something. It also gets my floors kind of gross, but so far the peace and quiet during mailman time is worth it.

One Whole Year!

Brisbane's Bark Blog has officially been up and running for one year! That's a whole year of near-daily blogging about my dogs, dog stuff, dog food, dog treats, and dog training.

In the last year, Brisbane, Ru, and I have reviewed nearly 150 different products, from puzzle toys to booties to harnesses. We've been lure coursing and taken many, many trips to the dog beach. I have fostered six different dogs with varying outcomes, and done a variety of dog-related crafts and projects.

So what were we doing this time last year? And how have some of those products held up after all this time?

Product Updates

My first product review was for the Chuckit! Ultra Ball. As of last month we were still using that exact same ball, until someone stole it. I had purchased a two-pack and we're now on ball number two. I'm pretty sure these things last forever. Same with our Chuckit! Ball Launcher. Meanwhile, our Lupine beach gear is gradually getting phased out in favor of non-absorbent alternatives like our Fraggle Rock Harness and Dublin Dog Collar.

Photo by Erin Koski

I've retired a few of our food toys in the last year, while others are still going strong. The Kong Quest toys have been abandoned because I got tired of cleaning them. They didn't keep the dogs busy for very long, either. I was surprised to see that Kong expanded the product line, and I can only assume the new animal-shaped toys are for smaller dogs than Brisbane, and busier dogs than Ru. Syd the puppy would probably enjoy them.

Our Kong Quest toys went to entertain Xhuuya the Raven for a while, but the enormous task of keeping them clean meant they still didn't get used much. While soaking in a bucket outside one night, the Starpod was stolen by raccoons. We were all thinking it was gone for good, and then several weeks later they brought it back.

Photo by Erin Koski

In the last year, Brisbane has developed a little bit of arthritis in his hips. This has led me to change the way I fit harnesses on him. I've learned that harnesses that cross over the upper arm can cause the dog to carry less weight on their front end. This resulted in Brisbane being noticeably unhappy in his ComfortFlex and Rolled Leather harnesses. I've stopped using Norway-style harnesses on Brisbane, and switched to highly-adjustable ones like the Premier Sure-Fit.

Foster Dogs

Photo by Erin Koski

Josie the German Shepherd was my hospice dog when I started this blog last year. She was here to get spoiled and loved at the end of her life. Josie went to work at doggy daycare with me every day and enjoyed playing with her many friends, despite her advanced age and spinal degeneration. I love when old dogs play.

Ulysses was with us off and on for nine months, during which he learned how to be a proper dog. We're not sure what exactly happened to him before he landed in the Orange County Animal Shelter as a stray. We do know that he did not have acquired bite inhibition, and this combined with his behavioral problems made him dangerous. Uly was released from his demons in January. 

Darla and Hellin were here for a few weeks. Their primary foster mom has a somewhat rural property, and I've been helping to socialize her rescue pups with cats and tiny dogs. While they were here, Darla and Hellin were exposed to traffic, hardwood floors, and doggy daycare. Hellin has since been adopted locally, and Darla is back with primary foster mom while I work with her sisters.

Xena is an odd little puppy, and still looking for the right home. Living in the middle of town with me was pretty stressful for her, and we're thinking that she needs to be placed with someone further from the center of town. She is currently back with primary foster mom.

Syd is currently napping on my couch. We met a wonderful woman who wants to adopt her, and will be visiting the home and meeting the cats tomorrow. 

Syd and her sisters are now seven months old and seem to be topping out at 30 pounds or less. The original breed guess of "pit bull + German Wirehaired Pointer" fits less and less, and I'm beginning to suspect they are actually schnauzer mixes. They're all very low-effort, low-drive, easy puppies.

What's Next?

I have lots of plans for the next year, and some of them even involve this blog! Brisbane and I have finally begun sheep herding lessons again, and hope to enter a competition at the end of April. He is registered with the AKC, and I'm also hoping to do some official lure coursing events so he can finally earn some freaking titles. We may also begin a rally class in the spring because I miss doing competitive obedience in a weird sort of way.

Brisbane's Bark Blog will continue to bring you product reviews, food spotlights, and tasty treats. I have a bunch of new stuff to share, including Brisbane's new Sleepypod Clickit harness, a Dr. Chris Zink-approved Balance Harness, and some stuff we're trying out to toughen up Brisbane's delicate feetsies. I'm hoping to start doing video blogs one of these days, and will continue to update the Dog Food Wizard as quickly as possible. Stay tuned!

Product Review: P.L.A.Y. Garden Fresh Carrot Toy

The P.L.A.Y. Garden Fresh Carrot Toy is a durable stuffy with a squeaker inside. The stuffing inside is made from recycled plastic bottles, and the whole toy is constructed with strong stitching and heavy reinforcement to help it stand up to tough play.

Photo by Erin Koski

This toy arrived in our November BarkBox, and I wanted to keep it looking nice for pictures. These pictures were taken when I handed the carrot to him for the first time, and obviously he thinks it's awesome.

My dogs aren't major shredders, but Brisbane is an experienced stuffy-killer. He likes to bite, toss, bite, catch, bite, squeak, bite, and shake his toys. It's not that Briz deliberately tears holes in his toys, they just tend to happen. Of course, once the stuffing has been exposed, it must be removed. I'm not a huge fan of stuffingless stuffies because I feel they rob my dog of one of the great joys in life.

Photo by Erin Koski

The P.L.A.Y. toys aren't your average stuffies. These things are durable, with tough seams that resist splitting. The fabric is difficult to tear holes in unless the dog really wants to tear holes in it.

Pros: Stands up to rough play. Looks totally adorable. Small enough for itty bitty dogs. Irresistible, my dogs have all started playing with these toys spontaneously. Machine washable and dryable.

Cons: Won't stand up to actual gnawing. Light color starts looking dirty pretty quickly.

Bottom Line: I don't know what it is about the P.L.A.Y. stuffies that is so compelling, but the crab from our July BarkBox still gets more play than any other stuffy in the house. In fact Syd the puppy is carrying it around right now. Clearly the crab needs a review of its own.