Postie's and dogs, a war of attrition with my new postie! Advice please!

Can you fence off part of the garden which is at the front from that round the side and back?
Failing that, how about a swing gate the width of the side garden which can be closed until the postie visits?

Don't feel bad Henetha, I only managed a half day delivering leaflets. As I'm terrified of dogs- definitely not a job for me!

If you can't afford a big box then make one yourselves- simple, has common sense flown out of the window?

The problem is our post is from 8.30 until 3 in the afternoon ,what time do I chain them up?it's not just me who says they are lovely ,our two regular posties are telling royal mail the same ,surely if they have done this route for ten years,and are saying this,does that not count for anything,they are posties too!

Both my dogs have been tested by a dog specialist who past both with flying colours,we have had grandchildren around them all their lives,never ,ever has anything even slightly worrying happened!
Vet said they are best behaved breed to deal with,it's the smaller dogs that are aggressive.
I was at a boot sale last weekend and saw some really aggressive behaviour ,with two dogs in particular,going nuts when they passed each other,these were small breed,no one says anything had it been two staffs or staff involved, everyone would be disgusted and tell me so!

Okay you are entitled not to like any animal,then dont do a job where you come into contact with any!
I faint at the sight of blood,so I wouldn't apply to work in haematology!

Think you need a big delivery box and/or a bell or something so he can alert you to come and fetch your post yourself from his safe position behind the fence.

Thanks for all your comments! It's really helping me! I have loads of ideas,I am interested to hear from those who are scared of dogs as well,is it a bad experience,or something else,plus do those are who are scared ,able to recognise a friendly dog or not,or does it not matter ,and the fear is overwhelming,I am Interested to know!
For me they are such a comfort and joy,it can be lonely in rural communities,and these two give so much,they are so happy to see you,and they think you're wonderfull! They also get people talking,
So I can not understand the fears,and would like to know!
I just feel they are being judged and they have never done anything wrong!

I have 2 dogs myself, but I also have a sister who is absolutely petrified of dogs. It wouldn’t matter how many times anyone told her dogs are friendly, she can’t help her feelings. She won’t even see her son’s dog who is very placid. Some people have these fears which seem irrational but which are very real to them (eg spiders).

That said, maybe he is in the wrong job, always supposing he could find something else.

I have no fear of dogs in general Farmnan having several myself, but I do understand that some people do have genuine concerns.

You wouldn’t want this man to lose his job over this. I suggest you arrange to meet up with him and reach some kind of solution.

It doesn't matter what your dog does or doesn't do - you can't expect someone to come into an area where dogs are loose because there is a risk of injury.

You have been very lucky that your previous posties were so amenable.

We don't know the history of the current postie - maybe he had a traumatic bite from a dog when he was a child.

As for your fainting at the sight of blood - there's not much risk of injury there. Some people are petrified of dogs and I'm quite surprised - given that your dogs are 'therapy' dogs that you don't seem to care how much you might be affecting the wellbeing of your hardworking postie. He's just got to put up with it, right? Or he easily just choose to do another job to do because you feel your dogs are not your responsibility.

There are two choices.

1. Keep the dogs out of the garden. (cant they go in the back - also dogs shouldn't be left unsupervised anyway)

2. As PP have suggested put up an enclosed letter box.

Oh I've thought of a 3rd - keep complaining that the postie is the problem and don't change anything. It sounds like you're expecting Royal Mail to change your one for someone who is ok to come in with your dogs.

I too live in a rural spot with a dog. (Only one). I wouldn’t dream of leaving her outside unsupervised. She’s a gentle soul but as her owner I am responsible for her safety and the safety of anyone who comes on to our property. Could you not keep the dogs in until after postie has been?

I think the bell at the gate idea is the best! So many wireless ones now and cheap solution too.
If you are out, presumably the dogs are in the house, so win/win!

Also if you truly are open to everyones views please put your post on mumsnet - but make sure you're wearing your hard hat!

Could you not set up a cordless door bell outside on the gate so that the postie could ring you to come out and collect the post/parcels. I have one for this purpose and it works well. up to 30m distance.

I agree with FarNorth. It doesn't have to be a total solution to make things easier. A box large enough for small parcels would mean that cards could be left about larger boxes.
There is probably no ideal solution unless this postman leaves (which in my experience is the kind of thing that happens just after you have paid out money and taken steps to make things easier).

What an unpleasant lot some of you are. Having a go is not constructive. I'm surprised anyone asks for advice at all.

I have noticed my daughter's neighbour has a large metal box at their gate, marked "parcels". Could you not do something like that? I am terrified of dogs so I know how your postman feels. I've always thought of staffies as fighting dogs, even if you say they are friendly, how would the postman know that.

I am the wife of a retired postman (27years) in the job and I have lost count of the amount of dog bites and tetanus injections he had endured over the years. There have been owners who have said he never bit anyone else and have never apologised and owners who have said its part of the job get over it, and hardly any who have ever taken responsibility for what their dogs have done.
Royal Mail's stance on it in those days was if a dog is loose you do not have to deliver the mail but return to office and get the mail collected. The post man who left mail and wedged in gates was wrong to do so but probably thought he was doing you a favour instead of having you collect it.
As for being a jobsworth, we all start out in life with good intention, maybe this postman has had a very bad experience with a careless owner. Should he have to give up a job he probably enjoys because of someone else's thoughtlessness?
I'm not saying you're wrong to complain, I'm just saying I can see both sides and I think as others have said if you have the dogs running loose, to avoid this happening again, (maybe there are other postman who are not dog lovers/ or who have had a bad experience), a large vessel where the post can be left safely and securely without approaching the dogs would seem the most sensible solution long term.
It is the long term that counts, not knee jerk reactions and takings sides.

Well - how ridiculous!

If you want this public servant to deliver your post then you will have to chain up your dogs, put a box outside the perimeter fence or create dog-free access to your front door. Why should he be expected to run the gauntlet of your barking dogs? How selfish is that?

He is not obliged to like your dogs, nor to take your word that they are "just being friendly" - how many times did I hear that in my home-visiting career!?

I think you are being wholly unreasonable.

You complained to the post office!!!! - I simply cannot believe the gall of it!

He has a duty to leave the post somewhere secure, but you also have a duty - to create the circumstances in which he can safely and comfortably do so.

I was going to say "Words fail me" - but clearly they do not!

I would not leave two lovely staffies, or any other dog for that matter, alone and unsupervised in a garden. Far too many deeply unpleasant people steal dogs to use as ‘bait dogs’ in dog fighting, or take them to sell to others or ransom back to their owners. We often don’t hear about this because, so I’ve been told, police forces do not collate this information amongst different areas.

Even the most good natured dog can bite if he is frightened or is protective of you. Some people are frightened, terrified, phobic or even allergic to dogs, and these people can’t all guarantee getting jobs in dog free areas.

We have a lovely, calm, happy dog who is wonderful with very young children and with most people, but he looked very thoughtfully (!) at our window cleaner, who does NOT like dogs, so when the window cleaner comes to our house, I make sure that our dog is safe away from any possible accusations of biting, etc. Again, I was told that the very badly drafted ‘Dangerous Dogs Act’ can be used against the owner of a dog who puts someone in fear, even though the dog does not actually bite the person.

Sounds like a large box at the end of your drive, home made or bought, plus a doorbell there, might be the answer.

Hope all resolves between you and your postman! ?

Very true Millibear

Maybe when the postie started the job, he wasn't so afraid but has become more so as he faces less friendly dogs. My son is slightly afraid of dogs and I think dogs must sense it because he has been bitten on more than one occasion even though he had done nothing to the dog.
Sadly, Staffies do have a bad reputation because of the feckless owners who have them. They might be brilliant dogs in the right hands but they do need the proper training otherwise they can be very unruly...just like any other dog. However, they do tend to grab hold of something and shut their jaws absolutely tight when they do bite so I think that can make them seem more scary. Add that to the fact that they are often illegally used as fighting dogs and there's probably your answer to why people are nervous of them. I have had to rescue another dog from one and the only way to do that was cut off the air supply by twisting the collar tight. It was a very traumatic for the other dog and its owner. When I was young, Alsatians were the breed that had the bad reputation and, no doubt, in time it will be another breed that goes through the mill.
It does seem odd that the Post Office haven't transferred him to another role like in the sorting office. Are you the only person he refuses to deliver to?

How about putting a little shed alongside your gate with a large window that could act as a postbox for the larger items.
As an aside though, our little cocker spaniel always used to bark at the postie - but not bite. Now she is old and deaf, she misses him but when she spots the letters on the mat she barks at them!

There is something about posties that drives many dogs mad.
They might be the sweetest natured usually, but when this person comes up regularly to their home, which they're supposed to protect, the alarm bells ring.

Unreasonable as it no doubt feels, I am afraid if you want your post delivered, you will either need to fence off the path to your front door, or put up a mail box and parcel safe outside your gate.

Frankly, I do not understand why people who are afraid of dogs become postmen, but that's just me.

I agree you cannot keep the dogs in from 8.30 to 3 every day on the off chance that there might be a postal delivery, but either you have to make sure the dogs and the new postie don't come face to face or drive nine miles to collect your post. I would boggle at the latter solution.

The easiest solution I can see is: Put a wheelie bin just behind the gate, insert a wireless bell. I used to visit Mental Health patients at home, we are guests in their homes, I was fine with their dogs and likewise the dogs. Nurses from other countries found it difficult but what is an issue here is, that community visiting you have to be the right person for the job. Am getting concerned with all the scared and spiteful posters, how ever did we have an empire?