Royal Mail threatens to stop deliveries over dog attacks

My little dog loves people but barks loudly at everybody entering our garden. I have a postbox on my gate and no letterbox so the post people don’t need to come through the gate.
We had one sensible postman who carried dog biscuits to give out.

One problem that seems to have gone locally due to the cost of having a dog these days are dogs straying. There used to be a neighbour who let her dog wander and as she never had it neutered, it was always getting pregnant.
On an estate down the road, I used to dread waiting at a bus stop as there was a nasty brown dog that was always snarling at people and bit a few people.

We used to have neighbours who had a large and very badly trained husky. Whenever I had to call at their house for any reason as soon as they opened the door the dog would bound out and try to jump up. It was very scary though I don’t think the dog wanted to attack it just jumped up at people.
I wish owners of dogs that are known to try to bite posties could be prosecuted and fined as well as forced to take their dog to attend a dog training centre.

My sister has had dogs for nearly 30 years and insisted on having them neutered to prevent unwanted puppies and aggression. Also she makes sure the dogs she's had are properly trained and has a box underneath the letter box in case her dogs unexpectedly bit a ;postman or leafletter. Her oldest dog, a spaniel cross bitch, does bark to warn my sister there's someone at the door, but is completely placid otherwise.

Whitewavemark2

Covid and lockdown was the reason. I remember walking my dog and there was suddenly loads of puppies around.

Yes, I think a lot of people got puppies on a whim during that time - people who'd never had dogs before and had little or no idea of the time and effort you need to put in to train them properly. And with no puppy training classes or anything like that, it meant many of them were poorly socialised, and we're seeing the results of that now.

Covid and lockdown was the reason. I remember walking my dog and there was suddenly loads of puppies around.

There have always been irresponsible dog owners but now there are so many more. Incredibly there are more than twice as many dogs in the UK than 26 years ago!
2000 - 6.5 million dogs
2026 - 15.5 million dogs
It does seem that way too, dogs everywhere! That wouldn't be a problem if the dogs and their owners were nice, clean, responsible and friendly. But as we know many of them are really not, the type who allow dangerous dogs to attack delivery people should be properly punished. Over 2,000 attacks on posties in the last year is disgusting.

I had a leaflet drop job when I was 20 and was told if a house had a Beware Of The Dog sign or you saw an aggressive dog in the garden, not to deliver the leaflet. However, the postman doens't have this option and has to risk being bitten to deliver the post.
Regarding dogs, tiny dogs can be nasty, but are likely to cause far less damage than large German breeds or Xl Bullies that can be very dangerous if they think you're a threat.

I deliver leaflets for a local annual charity event and have more left over year on year, as I have learnt not to go near any houses with signs of a dog, or open any shut gates when I can’t see the full garden. I use a long handled spoon to push leaflets through. One of our volunteers lost a finger last year doing that. The dog didn’t make a sound when it went for her.

My favourite people are the ones with letterboxes by their gates.

Bukkie

Good it's about time dog owners were made responsible for their dogs actions. Nobody should be attacked just doing their job. And I know all the dog owners will come on here with their stupid excuse, " He just wants to be your friend." Time to get dogs out of cafés, pubs, shops and garden centres too.

Excuse me, but if you'd actually read the thread, you'd see that this particular dog owner stated that no-one should be put at risk of dog attacks in the course of their job, so no, it's not *all' dog owners! Some of us actually are very responsible, and resent being tarred with the same brush as the irresponsible ones.

I hope our lovely postie has never been bitten. I know he used to keep a few treats in his pocket for a neighbour’s lab, who unsurprisingly was always very pleased to see him

Good it's about time dog owners were made responsible for their dogs actions. Nobody should be attacked just doing their job. And I know all the dog owners will come on here with their stupid excuse, " He just wants to be your friend." Time to get dogs out of cafés, pubs, shops and garden centres too.

I agree - there are solutions at hand if there is a problem
A good life motto ViceVersa.
Tell residents that's the rules or collect your own post, I'd have to travel 20 miles to the nearest sorting office.

Our box in France was at the end of a long drive but monsieur le facteur used to drive in to our place up to the open front door, despite two large dogs, because he liked a piece of homemade British sponge cake and coffee! We also tipped him €20 a year for his calendar. Win win all round! 🍰

And the poor postie just does as he’s told😡

I think that the delivery office managers have to be entirely confident that they will be backed up by their bosses.

I know someone who works in a delivery office, which serves some very big properties in Sussex and there is a problem with vicious dogs, but if the postman refuses to deliver, the owners of the properties phone snd make a massive fuss and the delivery office always gives in.

They need someone GN to sort them out in short measure!!

I think any dog owner should have a self-contained delivery box outside. The fear of not knowing whether you might be bitten is horrible. I'm not a dog owner but different breeds bark more and can be excitable and territorial but don't necessarily intend to bite. But it shouldn't be left to the postie to have to assess the situation. And dogs can potentially be unpredictable, as can some owners. Zero tolerance has to be the norm.

Crumbly159

Really? Any excuse - and Royal (privatised) Mail have plenty of them - to justify their non-delivery performance joke service.

One multiple delivery in 12 days? But that's actually pretty good by their downhill standards, these days.

Rant over. Thank you.

You’re completely confusing the actual workers who over the years have been attacked regularly by dogs with the actual management and owners of RM. Which by the way is another triumph for privatisation and foreign ownership.

Nobody who is delivering to an address should be in danger of being bitten by a dog.
If people can't control their dogs then they should not expect people to put themselves in danger to deliver to them.

I thought this problem was tackled years ago. I have a memory of public announcements being made. They should regularly announce this ongoing problem, as it is unacceptable. I think they do refuse to deliver to known irresponsible pet owners. However I'm not sure how consistently this is enforced.

MartavTaurus

I think the suggested solutions are very reasonable.
- put up an external box on the property
- keep the dog away from the door when post is delivered
It's the responsibility of the dog owner.

I agree - there are solutions at hand if there is a problem, but it is absolutely the responsibility of the dog owner to make sure there isn't an issue for postal workers or other delivery people. No-one should be put at risk from dog attacks in the course of their work - and I'm speaking as a dog owner. As usual though, it is the irresponsible owners who are at fault here.

I do agree BlueBelle. I did the Christmas post one year as a student. My horrible experiences with dogs has left me very wary of them. Even now if I am walking along the street and hear a dog bark it makes me anxious. I approve of the new ruling.

When I went canvassing I was amazed at the number of houses with letter boxes without a protective basket to prevent the dog from snatching letters etc while attempting to bite the hand that inserted them. Seasoned delivers use rulers or wooden spatulas to push them through.
I was also concerned about the number of large dogs confined in small houses who would rush at the door in an attempt to get out when someone approached.

I think it’s a very good rule and I am glad Royal Mail have taken it seriously if somewhat late in the day
When my grandaughter was a papergirl she was often greeted by very vicious sounding dogs behind the door some even getting their snout through the letterbox it was horrible and enough to put you off dogs for a life

I think the suggested solutions are very reasonable.
- put up an external box on the property
- keep the dog away from the door when post is delivered
It's the responsibility of the dog owner.