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do you think your postman should deliver to you if you have a loose dog in garden?
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My dogs are never in the front garden unattended. They have free run of the back garden and part of the side gardens but they are enclosed and they have no access to the front or to the side where my gas meter and bins are.
I'm curious as to what the people with post boxes at their front gate do about parcels. Do you have a buzzer/intercom by the postbox? Or do you just accept having to collect parcels from the post office?0 -
ironic that today would be my worst day with dogs in a while at work, same house in same estate.. dog is very aggressive when inside and see's you comming.. i still deliver their post when he is inside growling..barking etc..
last week or so they have for some reason decided he can sit on the front step of the house..right at the front door.. its a big black lab..male.
if ever a dog was making his 'turf' by his posture its this lad.. worst of all he's sitting in the last house of a u shaped row of ten houses,and has full view of me as i turn the corner.. ears cock..low grumble ..hair stands..
i walk a few steps and he stands and points snout right at me..tail straight up..takes one step forward and i stop and turn around.. none of them get their post today..
i know its exactly what he wants..i.e me to leave his patch.. i dont care,im goin..not my problem,not risking it.. ive learned that the closer i get the more he gets ready to show who's boss.
dog 2.
black male sheepdog cross.. usually has a brown bitch in tow, he has a collar and nametag so has a owner.. ive seen them running through a area i deliver to,consisting of 4 housing estates.. nice enough area..
dont know where they come from or where they are going but they remind me of a couple of joggers doing there morning run,they seem to know where they are going and how much time they have to get there..
problem is the male has decided im his enemy, i havent said boo to him,its just that the bitch was beside me on our first meeting (she's harmless) he took offence to that and took a lunge at me..since then every time ive seen them he makes it his buisness to have a go.. well today i seen him,alone.. he wasnt running but just sniffin the grass and having a wander.. spots me and turns around and walks off.. "brilliant" says i to myself, he's grown tired of giving out to me..
no such luck, i continued on delivering.. 2 minutes later i exited a garden and boom the basturd was all in my face roaring,spit flying from him.. what could i do i got such a fright i raised the bike from the ground and lunged it at him.. didnt hit him but he backed off,stopped barking,just growled.. i slowly just walked away and hopped on the bike when i hit the corner.. didnt see him after that, thats someones lovley pet, thanks.
dog 3. yes all happend today,all within 1 hour aswell.
smallish old crossbred terrier.. usually sits at his window and gives out when he see's me,been out a couple of times and rushes at me barking but always stops when he gets close and proudly walks to his house to guard it..
same craic today,did exactly as above except the owner came out and made things worse ..dog actually lunged to bite me as the owner got close to him..obvious what was happening,always happens this way.owner comes out,tells off the dog ,and as owner gets closer to me dog gets more aggressive,owner roars at dog and dog gets hyper excited and goes for me..
was really pissed off by this stage and let the owner know in curt language that if it happend again i would report him and dog to my bosses and the warden..he was about to say something ,im guessing along the lines of "he would never bite"etc etc when he realised his dog and he were totaly at fault and he then just agreed with my threat..
then he started to call the dog and its name is so unusual i almost burst out laughing,couldnt post it here for fear their is no other dog alive called this and i get done for revealing it online lol.
just a note to dog owners who may not realise.. the nice calm friendly dog you take for walks on the lead our in the park,who are friendly or at the very least non aggressive to anyone or animal, is a completely different animal when its let roam and 'protect its patch' mode is engaged.. completely
you may not even realise it,which is why you cant let them free to roam.
thanks for reading.0 -
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as title says, whats peoples take on this?
im a postman, deal with dogs all the time, love dogs,and have bred jack russells in the past for a few years so i know the temperament signs..
many many times ive been run at by dogs as i enter people's gardens.. never once has a dog been wearing a muzzle, i dont just mean a gated and walled garden.. i mean all gardens, walled,fenced,open.. housing estates,private houses.. even appartment blocks..
by run at i mean a direct run towards me with teeth showing,snarling, sometimes in almost silence..headdown and would snap ya if it got ya..
barking is ok, a warning to me.. lots of dogs pay no heed at all and some are fearfull.. most are the opposite.. will chase ..attempt to bite,prevent me delivering the post.. not just to their own house, but usually to within 4 or 5 houses once they spot you.. sometimes more..
if they pack up with other dogs and surround you its pretty fear inducing let me tell ya..
question is simple.. do the owners of these animals not even consider a postman/delivery person when they leave animals free to wander their general housing areas..
do you expect to still get your post,and your neighbours to get theirs?
would you prefer if the postman simply reported your dog,and you.. and informed your neighbours why they were not receiving their post?
and what if we are bitten???
happens more than you might think..
dog owners opinions here please.. if you were at work would you like my dog snapping around your ankles,or worse ???
Hi there Barone,
Firstly, I don't mean to be ignorant, but I have not read any other reply to this post as I am short on time.
I am a dog owner and lover.
When you are talking about private property (so mainly gardens) if a dog even seems to be aggresive, no, I do not believe you should deliver the mail, plain and simple. If there is a possibility you could get injured, it's not worth it....it may be your job....but at the end of the day, your health is your wealth.
However, I do think there needs to be a line drawn, in estates or appartment complexes (the dogs should not be let run free either way) but, its a public road/street, so, at the end of the day, its not the persons fault that your delivering to, just one irresponsible person. I know this is somewhat contradictory to what I just said about you getting injured, but, after all, you could meet a dog anywhere on a street, even outside your sorting office, so you need to draw a line.
There are a couple of things you could do, firstly, if a dog is let loose in a garden and there is no external postbox, you don't need to deliver, secondly, if a dog is roaming free on the street, be it an estate or a main road, you can call the local county council dog warden (or police) and inform them. It is an offense to let a dog run free.
Now, if you still deliver, there are a few things you can do to help (can increase your route time, but may be worth it in the long run for you)
First thing to do is, when you are approaching the garden and the dog starts barking, do not look at it, walk over to the gate and look up the street with your side to the gate, mostlikley s/he is curious or afraid, doing this will give the dog a chance to sniff you. When it has stopped barking, you can slowley enter the garden, take a step or two inside and let the dog sniff you, then when he walks away, your free to go about your normal business.
Secondly, I know it's not exactly your job description, but it kind of comes with the territory, no pun intended, you could bring some peices of doggy treats to bribe them with.
Also, when you are leaving, if there is a stick or a toy, you can throw it and immediately leave. So, the last thing the dog remembers from you is playing with you, so the next time you arrive, he will remember that.
One other point, even when you are walking into the garden, if the dog seems anxious, don't make eye contact, and walk in with either your side or back facing it. If you walk in frontward staring at it, that is confrontational.
Hope this helps, let me know how you get on.0 -
was really pissed off by this stage and let the owner know in curt language that if it happend again i would report him and dog to my bosses and the warden..he was about to say something ,im guessing along the lines of "he would never bite"etc etc when he realised his dog and he were totaly at fault and he then just agreed with my threat...
Well. I wouldn't threaten. I would most certainly mention it to my bosses, preferably in writing. I assume some kind of report would have to be made when you returned with the undelivered mail. I would also make a report to the dog warden. Threaten to sue the owner (if found) though...
Look at it this way. What if the dog followed through and actually bit you?0 -
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Dog owners can be sued by the post office here, they are usually given a written warning and plenty of scope to control their dog. Not all posties report bites either which imo they should. One guy was pinned up against a wall, loads are bitten happens all the time. Owners need to keep their dogs in, lets face it most posties deliver around the same time every day so people know what times to keep their dogs in.
Not only posties who suffer, the selfish people who allow their dogs to roam also prevent anyone walking their dogs or walking in general on being able to move freely through a town or estate or village. Many are totally oblivious I really don't know what's going through some owners heads do they think they own the roads. It's a real pet peeve of mine, not to mention the poop left behind.
If we'd better legislation and stricter rules for people allowing their dogs to roam unsupervised we'd all have an easier life.0 -
I live in a rural area in a house that does not have a fence between the back and front, quite a normal occurrence. When my dogs are out I am always around.
My dogs are well behaved and even though the postwoman knows the dogs and is not frightened of them, I still decided to fix a postbox outside.
I grew up in the country and everyone I knew with open gardens built a fenced area for their dogs but mostly to stop them escaping but sure the outside post box solves that, I think its a rare occurrance for a pet to attack but its more of an inconvience not talking about your dogs specifically but most do not like visitors!0 -
I grew up in the country and everyone I knew with open gardens built a fenced area for their dogs but mostly to stop them escaping but sure the outside post box solves that, I think its a rare occurrance for a pet to attack but its more of an inconvience not talking about your dogs specifically but most do not like visitors!
My garden is fully secure even though it is a large area. My dogs do actually like visitors and one can be over friendly and put up her paws. It was because of this that I put up the postbox, as I explained in a previous post.
I do understand that some people can be nervous with dogs, whether or not the dogs are friendly.0
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