A dog is adopted from a shelter on a Saturday. He is taken to his new home and introduced to his new family.
Sunday was the best day of this dogs life. He spent the whole day at home with his new family playing, exploring and cuddling. Not bad for a hound dog.
Monday comes around and the family decide that since he’s been such a good boy over the weekend, they would leave him in the hall with access to the living room while they are at work.
So they leave the house, say good bye to their new friend and hope he feels safe at home.
The dog is ok for a while. Not really moving around just staying still and a bit unsure about the new situation he’s in and where his new family went.
Moments later, he looks over to the front door only to see the black silhouette of a man approaching the house through the stained glass window. This would be the post man dropping off his letters and doing his job.
The dog doesn’t know that. He gets up and charges at the door barking with everything he’s got. Post man drops off letters and goes on to the next house.
In the dogs mind, he made the post man go away. He stopped him from coming in and god knows what happening. Next day this is repeated, and the next day and the next….
Now this is a fight the dog wins every day. He believes the post man is a threat because he was left to his own devices and given too much freedom too early.
Dogs are always learning. They can create fears, phobias and perceive things to be life-threatening simply by being given too much freedom too early and having to figure the world out for themselves.