Dogs!

[filthpig]

I've been having a lot of trouble with them lately. Not getting bit (been 3 years for that) but with people leaving them out with those electric fence things to keep them in the yard.
On stops like that I just sheet the package up NI1 with "dog" in the remarks field. I don't even get out of the car as I have been bit 5 or 6 times. I do honk a few times. How do you handle it?

 

[UpstateNYUPSer(Ret)]

Honk the horn several times; if that doesn't work, put the pkg in a DR bag and place just outside the boundary of the electric fence, sheet and put DOGS in remarks column. You can write a little note on the pkg telling them why you could not leave by the door. I have found that those fences don't always work, whether it be the power is not turned up high enough to deter the dogs or the dog is so big that the jolt of power does not bother them, and have had dogs run right through them. Bag, drop, go.

 

[New Englander]

I've seen an increasing number of aggressive dogs in our area. Some boards have 4 or 5 prompts of bad dog when those addresses come up!

Me? I honk, if I see some movement in the windows. I'll wait. If not. It's a NI1, dog in the comment and goes to ECS for a call to be made to the customer for the dog to be left in, chained out of the way or alt del.

I don't take that chance. These people know they ordered something. Keep the freaken dogs out of our way.

 

[trplnkl]

Honk the horn several times; if that doesn't work, put the pkg in a DR bag and place just outside the boundary of the electric fence, sheet and put DOGS in remarks column. You can write a little note on the pkg telling them why you could not leave by the door. I have found that those fences don't always work, whether it be the power is not turned up high enough to deter the dogs or the dog is so big that the jolt of power does not bother them, and have had dogs run right through them. Bag, drop, go.

How do you manage the " Out of sight and weather" by doing this and still make it possible for the customer to find the package on their normal walk to and from the house?

 

[trplnkl]

Me? I honk, if I see some movement in the windows. I'll wait. If not. It's a NI1, dog in the comment and goes to ECS for a call to be made to the customer for the dog to be left in, chained out of the way or alt del.

This is what I have mostly done when all else seems to be out of the question.
I like this idea, though I'm not sure our clerks would follow through.

I am usually a pretty good judge of when I am in real danger of being bitten and proceed with caution. I've only been bitten once in my delivery career and that was by a little ratlookinghyperbarkingpaininthetushchihuahua. I hate those little BAST......uhhh...dogs.

 

[Jim Kemp]

Just remember, "He won't bite"
"He just wants to play"
"He won't bite a flea"
"He would like you"


"that's the first time he has ever bitten anyone"

 

[dilligaf]

I've only been bitten once in my delivery career and that was by a little ratlookinghyperbarkingpaininthetushchihuahua. I hate those little BAST......uhhh...dogs.

Same here TRPL. I'm on a rural rte right now and most of my dogs are happy. I keep bisquits with me.

 

[ImpactedTSG]

When I went out during peak, I found that dogs don't like getting hit with a diad too much and usually leave you alone afterwards.

 

[freeloader]

I think "DIAD I" was nicknamed the dogbeater because it was huge and bulky. "DIAD IV" might end up chewed and buried in the backyard.

 

[HazMatMan]

I don't care what anybody says, pit bulls are dangerous, I don't trust them.

 

[Big Babooba]

Diad 4's handle does not hold up well when administering a good dog beating. I broke mine on the first whack. I swear that the dog just seemed to sit there and laugh at me when it broke.

 

[Big Babooba]

I don't care what anybody says, pit bulls are dangerous, I don't trust them.

So you've met my mother-in-law.

 

[barnyard]

I carry pepper spray. I only spray dogs when they are on public property or on their neighbors, never when they are at their home. I have sprayed one dog twice in the same day and a couple of weeks later it came back for more and the owner called it off just as I was getting ready to spray.

If I cannot get to a good DR spot, I sheet as non delivery, emergency conditions and type 'dog' in the comment field. I bring it in for a phone call at the end of the day.

A couple of the counties that my center covers have "nuisance dog" ordinances. If you get bit, you can call the sheriff and report it. The dog must then always be confined and if another bite is reported it may be put down and the owner may get restrictions on owning more dogs.

The route that I am on now has 4 problem dogs and the owners all know that they will not get their packages if their dogs are out.

Tom B

 

[filthpig]

By the way,the going rate for a dog bite lawsuit nets you about $4000.

 

[Overpaid Union Thug]

I approached my on car sup about this recently and was told that I could either sheet as NI1 with "Dog" in the remarks or sheet as Future and give to the ECS clerk and have him/her call the customer to arrange for the dog to be moved or to come pick up the package at the center.

As far as hitting dogs with the DIAD goes.....I have had to do it a few times and hated every second of it because I really don't like to hurt animals. Even if they are coming after me. I'm not one of those guys that gets off on running them over with my truck either. I don't need to hurt defenseless animals to feel like a man. To me they are just helpless and don't know better than to run near traffic and I realize that when they see us approaching their territory they are more scared of us than we are of them. I will only hit them with the DIAD or kick them if I am pretty sure they will bite. Most dogs tend to back off if I just raise the DIAD up and make it look like I'll swing at them.

 

[trplnkl]

With all due respect, I do have to disagree that dogs are defenseless animals. I can promise you some dogs are not only very capable of defending themselves, they can kill you in a relatively short period of time. When I do have to hit a dog, it isn't to make me feel like a man, it is to keep myself from being bitten.
There are many ways that you can keep a dog from getting too close to you, some of the time. Then there are a few that no matter what you do, they are going to come after you, and I am not willing to just watch them charge me without doing something to protect myself, regardless who's property it is on.
It's pretty simple really, dog owners have a responsibility to protect the public from their dogs. If the owner fails to do this, it's usually the dog that has to pay the price. It's a shame, but that's just a fact of life.

 

[Overpaid Union Thug]

With all due respect, I do have to disagree that dogs are defenseless animals. I can promise you some dogs are not only very capable of defending themselves, they can kill you in a relatively short period of time. When I do have to hit a dog, it isn't to make me feel like a man, it is to keep myself from being bitten.
There are many ways that you can keep a dog from getting too close to you, some of the time. Then there are a few that no matter what you do, they are going to come after you, and I am not willing to just watch them charge me without doing something to protect myself, regardless who's property it is on.
It's pretty simple really, dog owners have a responsibility to protect the public from their dogs. If the owner fails to do this, it's usually the dog that has to pay the price. It's a shame, but that's just a fact of life.

Most dogs are defenseless animals. Especially if a person is armed with anything that can be used to hit them. The dog's that attack do so for one of two reasons. They are either scared or they have been raised by someone someone that really doesn't deserve to raise them. You know....like Michael Vick. LOL! The dogs they have are indeed capable of killing people but the typical pet dog is usually more scared of us then we are of them. My comment about not needing to harm an animal (any, not just dogs) was aimed at the type of people that purposely run over animals or even abuse them any other way. Yes, it's up to the owners to keep them out of the road but people make mistakes and they escape . Animals don't know any better then to roam around. When I was growing up our pets were so domesticated that when they would escape (not often) they wouldn't know what to do once they made it out. They'd freeze up and we'd always catch them. My point is that I just don't feel like they should be punished for their owner's mistakes but at the same time it's definitely ok for anyone to defend themselves against a dog. A headache from a DIAD is better than having Animal Control come take the dog for biting us and possibly euthanizing it.

 

[browniehound]

My opinion is if the dog is out, then the homeowner should be home (unless he leaves his poor animal out all day while he is at work). I know the dog. I see the dog. I beep, but the homeowner should be more alerted by the sound of my diesel engine as its more distintive than a horn sound (right?).

He still doesn't come out. I beep again. The dog is now ready to tear my head off and barking like crazy. If the consignee is home and doesn't hear this racket, then I give up. Its only when he comprehends I'm not walking on his property will he come out and meet me.

This is a real scenario, as this person gets stuff 3 times per week. I just think he's lazy and doesn't want to walk to the street which is about 50 yards from his house.

I also almost killed the dog. It is pitch black on this street and I was driving down it. I didn't need to stop for at least another 1/4 mile. The dog was loose, heard my engine and made a B-line for the street. I had to slam on the brakes or this dog would have been dead.

I would have felt bad for the animal, but not the family because they are so careless with this monster.

 

[old levi's]

A hand held compressed air boat horn can be very effective with an aggressive dog. When the dog gets close point it directly at his face and let it blast. Dog stops to ponder: if his bark is that loud he must be one bad.........

You have several things working in your favor: surprise,intimidation,discomfort from the noise

 

[under the radar]

I'm sure this is not some great revelation but it took me about twenty five years to give in and carry dog treats with me. I would say that 90% of dogs will respond positively to this. They have been a great help to me for sure.

P.S. I've been bit twice in 32 years and both were small yap dogs that came out when the owner opened the front door. Since then I either pull the door closed if it opens inwardly or I block it with my foot if it opens outwardly. Then I tell the owner to please put the dog in another room.