To think that if you have a dog that tears open mail...

[safariboot]

you should stop it from reaching said mail? (Eg basket on the inside of the letterbox.) And not complain when someone sends you chocolate.

Question prompted by www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-41411781

Our dog used to maul the mail, particularly money related items so if I went out before the post came she was shut in the kitchen.

She mauled ds1's new passport, which I hadn't considered because it was meant to be a signed for item - bit was just put through the letterbox.

I was pissed off about that.

To be fair, lots of dogs who were usually fine with the post might make an exception for an envelope smelling of food.

Where's my free chocolate? (misses the point).
Yanbu though. 🍫🍫🍫

I read that article. Definitely need to put some sort of cage on back of door for dogs safety. Who knows what could get posted through the letterbox. Owners responsibility.

Expect the dog probably didn't eat other mail, so they wouldn't have expected it.

My dog doesn't chew the mail... But he would definitely chew up nail containing chocolate! I wouldn't think to have a basket though in case someone put food through my letterbox

My dog only rips leaflets but leaves the mail his favourite is farmfood leaflets 😕

I have a cage but sometimes it slips through the top. Many mail items eaten!

Huh? I didn't get any chocolate

Imagine living in fear of people sending you free chocolate. What a sad life.

I know chocolate is dangerous for dogs but look how happy those dogs are-bet they couldn't believe their luck.

My dog has never so much as glanced at the post.

Until I ordered him some revolting dried fish treats.

I came home and he'd eaten half the packet. They stink so I imagine he could smell them through the packaging

He'd probably do the same if chocolate came through the post too. (We've since had a new front door and put a mailbox outside)

My dog only eats homework.

It reminds me of the issue of those Dominos menus that are glossy. If dogs chew them they can cause big issues by gluing their jaws shut.

www.mirror.co.uk/news/weird-news/dogs-jaw-glued-shut-dominoes-8293288

Outdoor mailbox or cage type thing to cover the letterbox.

We came home one day to find that our old dog had ripped open my contact lenses package, chewed the lid off the solution bottle and was suckling it like an orphaned lamb
Mind you, this is the same hound who I discovered with the string of a used tampon dangling from the corner of her mouth and a pleased look on her canine face.

Needless to say, we invested in a more secure bathroom bin and a cage behind the letterbox.

My cat would rip open a mail with chocolate, yes the fussy feline would refuse any other food.

Our yorkie adores the postman but is petrified of the mail. She won't go into the hall until it's picked up.

She's terrified of most things to be fair except intruders

We have a stairgate. And dog is penned for the short time I'm not around. Dogs shouldn't be able to get to the post. Or the postie for that matter.

queen omg!

I'm a Sainsburys reward card holder. Where's my chocolate?

They probably don't routinely tear open the mail though - they only tore open that particular item because they smelt that it was food.

If the owners were expecting a load of chocolate to put through their door, then yes, it would be the owner's fault, but it was an unsolicited sample and they had no idea it was coming.

Our first dog didn't give a toss about mail and never paid any attention to it whatsoever - but if someone had posted anything edible through the door she'd certainly have eaten that. As far as the dog's concerned, someone has come to the door and kindly thrown them a treat to eat.

Yes, agree, OP.

Our dog used to rip mail. I got fed up with every letter having teeth marks in it. I was also concerned she might catch the postman's fingers as she used to rush to the door when she saw him and grab it.

We had a cage until we had a plastic door fitted and they told us the cage couldn't be screwed to it. So we bought an outside mailbox and sealed up our letterbox.

It's been miles better. It's also stopped Amazon from shoving smashable items through to land on our hard floor and break, and folding A4 books in half to get them through. My amazon complaints have dropped from constant to non existent.

One of my dogs likes to eat the mail, the other couldn't be bothered. If it smelt of food though, he would definitely have the whole thing devoured. We keep meaning to have a cage or box installed to catch the mail, at the moment I keep them away from the front door until the postie has been round and always when we're all out the house just in case (we lost a lot of Christmas cards from neighbours one year before we learned to do so.)

Surprised that Green & Black is classed as chocolate, it tastes like cardboard and is mainly palm oil and sugar. Poor dogs though, eating that crap.