The Insanity of the United States Postal Service

The owner didn't see it, what's the dog
gonna do, squeal on you? Screw those
kinds of dogs. Did you every read the
S King story about the dog and Polaroid
camera? Think about your incident that
way.

The Sun Dog

http://stephenking.wikia.com/wiki/The_Sun_Dog

The USPS has a new slogan, Priority: You. Why
do they even bother to advertise, we use them
because we have to anyway.

Quote: Evenbob

The USPS has a new slogan, Priority: You. Why
do they even bother to advertise, we use them
because we have to anyway.

Same reason ma bell did. Goodwill.

Face,

You have every right to shake over that. No right to be upset with yourself. I'm certainly not upset with you, I'm upset FOR you being put in that position, and I have a large, over-protective dog. He doesn't get to be out in the yard where he has to interact with anybody, especially the mailman. That's on the property owner, leaving him where he's an obstacle to a delivery, and known to be aggressive.

I don't care about the fine legal points. The homeowner ordered a package that had to be delivered. Put the dog in the way of a package delivery. Put you in harm's way doing your job, not trespassing. After that, what happens, happens. I'm more appalled that your being attacked in the course of your duties and defending yourself could POSSIBLY end up in your firing; how does the PO not defend your responding to an attack?

I'm glad you didn't kill him. But I think you did what needed to be done, you tried to give the dog options, you were trying to leave. Don't lose another moment's sleep over it, please.

By the way, there's a move you might consider, but I don't know if you have to be a jujitsu master to do it successfully...

When a dog launches itself (as opposed to staying on the ground and attacking a leg/ankle), it leads with the front legs, pushes off with its hind legs. The face comes first, jaws open, big teeth aimed at your whatever. But the front paws are stuck out front too, motionless to the body, available. You can reach in quick before the dog hits you, grab either paw firmly by the "wrist", take a sideways step away from the hand you grabbed with, and throw the dog past you with a "long arm", slingshotting it past you. Its leap plus the arc of your arm adds up to a throw that's surprisingly long, 10-30 feet depending on how well you grab-and-toss. Gives you a chance to get away.

Quote: beachbumbabs

By the way, there's a move you might consider, but I don't know if you have to be a jujitsu master to do it successfully...

When a dog launches itself (as opposed to staying on the ground and attacking a leg/ankle), it leads with the front legs, pushes off with its hind legs. The face comes first, jaws open, big teeth aimed at your whatever. But the front paws are stuck out front too, motionless to the body, available. You can reach in quick before the dog hits you, grab either paw firmly by the "wrist", take a sideways step away from the hand you grabbed with, and throw the dog past you with a "long arm", slingshotting it past you. Its leap plus the arc of your arm adds up to a throw that's surprisingly long, 10-30 feet depending on how well you grab-and-toss. Gives you a chance to get away.

Babs! You are really empathizing!

My experience with dogs is that they don't make that final lunge if you are face to face and not running away; if there is more than one, look out, they will try to get in behind you and bite [I've been bit that way]. Maybe I should re-read Face's account to see what this one did.

Quote: beachbumbabs

By the way, there's a move you might consider, but I don't know if you have to be a jujitsu master to do it successfully...

When a dog launches itself (as opposed to staying on the ground and attacking a leg/ankle), it leads with the front legs, pushes off with its hind legs. The face comes first, jaws open, big teeth aimed at your whatever. But the front paws are stuck out front too, motionless to the body, available. You can reach in quick before the dog hits you, grab either paw firmly by the "wrist", take a sideways step away from the hand you grabbed with, and throw the dog past you with a "long arm", slingshotting it past you. Its leap plus the arc of your arm adds up to a throw that's surprisingly long, 10-30 feet depending on how well you grab-and-toss. Gives you a chance to get away.

Face, I think that move will also work with co-workers that try to hand you a package after they have incorrectly sorted it.

Quote: beachbumbabs

how does the PO not defend your responding to an attack?

The PO cares not about lowly deliverers, what it cares about is procedure. To the post office what he did [forgetting his pepper spray] was similar to if one day at atc, you decided to mix things up a bit and instead of having jumbo's circle to the left, for kicks you decided to have them circle to the right. Well, at least at PO management, those two instances would be equal offenses.

The USPS is ground zero for the invention of the Peter principle.

I haven't known DRich as a smart ass, but he's been on a heater lately. Got everyone at Applebee's looking at me I laughed so hard.

Dunno if any of that jujitsu would work. To grab a leg id have to stoop to where I'm face to face, and I can't imagine ever doing that. The two attacks I've had have been for my legs, even though they were both huge dogs. I'll just keep shucking and jiving. As my bff said "You're 2-0 with 1 knockout, you're doing it right" ;)

And no, OG, that bastard never flinched. I did every animal thing I knew, he didnt care. Not so much a flinch, not an iota of hesitation. Just advance advance advance until I smoked it. Good news is I finally saw it today, posted up in its usual spot, barking away at me. Job security intact =)

And you got it, petro. I'm nothing but warm meat. Die today and it'd be but a temporary hassle to make up the labor. I'd go on a rant right now, but I'm on my way to drunk and on a phone =p

Quote: Face

that bastard never flinched. I did every animal thing I knew, he didnt care. Not so much a flinch, not an iota of hesitation.

I prolly have a bit different view?

From my friend and mentor Ivan: Let me tell you this little story pole.

Back when snow machines were pretty new and the coyotes caught on real good, when Ivan would get layed off in the winter, he would hunt coyotes from the old stupid sno machines. The technique was to chase them down and run over them and jump off and club them, while they were still dazed. Ivan said the ones that didn't get knocked cold would sometimes get really pissed and attack. Coyotes aren't real big, but when they turn for a fight, they mean it. From that he learnt, and taught me this.

Dogs, will watch you on your backswing but don't watch it coming at them. Try it sometime with a friendly mutt. Pretend you are winding up with a bat or a golf club. The dogs or coyote's watch it as you slowly wind up, but they never see it coming. Dogs understand a good ass whoopin, so do people.

You and that mutt are both Alpha's. You see some big dog pack's running together, they don't take long at all to find out who is the boss. After that, they don't have to fight all the time.

Here is another trick. The dog remembers you. Practice your most threatening growl at home. When you get close to that sum bitch, look him in the eye and give him your most threatening growl. It works sometimes.

This is your job and livelyhood.

I have to appreciate something some inbreds done in Nikiski. There was a dog musher in town, had over fifty dogs, chained up to their houses like you see on some tv show. What they don't show is those dogs never shut up and the poop gets a foot deep by spring because it freezes. Then it all thaws out about now and the odor is staggering.

The neighbors complained, and complained and there really wasn't anything anybody could do about it. An unknown neighbor one day killed the musher on his porch. Animal control dispersed the animals to good homes. End of problem. It wasn't the dogs fault, so the inbred toothless Nikiskians didn't take it out on them, they took it out on the owner.