Postman kicking dog

[Lokiju]

Daily Fail article (I know, I know, but I can't sleep) about a postie kicking a dog. Doorbell video shows the incident - I can see why he did it.

Small terrier type dog running toward him, looks like a purely instinctive defensive kick - I think the owners here were irresponsible and should have had their dog under control.

Poor dog was defending the property, but poor Postman defending himself.

It's horrible the dog was kicked (I love dogs, I have my own and foster) but 33 posties are attacked by dogs every week apparently - they should be allowed to defend themselves.

If this was a huge dog running at him and he felt in danger I might agree. But a grown man kicking a small dog is nothing more than cruelty. As though the postie really felt scared of the terrier ffs - no he’s just an angry little man.

I haven't seen the video so shouldn't really comment, but I don't think we can police what we are afraid of based on size or sex. Just because he's an adult man doesn't mean he can't be afraid of things.

I don't agree , this was a tiny dog and they do bark and yap. It seemed to me it wasn't defensive as he seemed to have time to aim and kick .
I get they are irritating but his force on a small fluffy dog was OTT
It was hardly a rotty coming at him snarling .

Genuinely looks like an instinctive reaction kick and I can see why a dog, of any size, would cause fear. He could well have experience being bitten previously too.

Not sure why him being a man should shield him from being frightened though?

But a grown man kicking a small dog is nothing more than cruelty. As though the postie really felt scared of the terrier ffs - no he’s just an angry little man.

My dog is smaller than a terrier and I've seen more than a few men be terrified of him even when he's been on the lead.

Well if dogs weren’t running free then they won’t be getting kicked.

The dog was outside the property, not under any control, running towards him as he was going about his job. If the owners had the dog safely inside or on a lead, it wouldn't have happened.

I think (someone hopefully will correct me if I'm wrong!) That you can report a dog under the Dangerous Dog Act if you feel threatened by a dog that isn't under full control of its owner - a dog doesn't have to even bite/growl/lunge etc but just feeling unsafe warrants a report. And this is for any breed. Even small and fluffy dogs have teeth!

Bit different in their own garden though?

Although if you have free running dogs you should install a letterbox on the outside of the gate.

As someone who was bitten as a child - walking down the street doing nothing provoking a dog came out of its garden and the first I knew it had bitten the back of my leg,

I am happy to meet dogs that I see under control but if an unknown barking loose dog came running at me my lizard brain would take over and I would react instinctively to keep it away from me . .

You've seen multiple men terrified of your dog? I find that a little hard to believe, where are you walking it? How do they manifest this terror?

While I didn't study the postman video in detail it didn't seem to me that his excuse about it nipping him was right, he seemed to kick out too quickly

Was the dog outside the house when the postman rang the bell, I didn't get why it is now scared on the doorbell, was it still ringing when the dog was kicked?

I have 2 friends who were bitten by little dogs. The dogs ran up at them and took a nip. Very quick indeed. One friend ended up in hospital due to infection. If it was my job to deliver mail/parcels to unknown houses I would carry a bottle of water to spray any approaching animal. I believe the dog was going in for a bite and that the postie did the right thing as sad as that may be.

They must be cut from the same cloth as this “man” then.

Seriously can’t believe people are defending a grown man kicking a tiny dog. I don’t believe he was afraid but if he was that’s quite pathetic.

Why should a dog of any size cause fear? That’s absurd. I would be afraid of a large dog, but if a miniatures daushund came running up barking Is just think it was cute that it was acting all tough guard dog.

Where was he afraid of being bitten? His toe? If it was instinctive then his instinct is to be a cruel coward.

Being a grown man should shield him from the fear of being mauled by a tiny dog yes. Being a grown woman should also shield you from such fears as it does me.

@IcedOatLatte people use my road as a cut through for the train station so there's a decent amount of foot traffic of people he doesn't know and who don't know him. He doesn't like people walking up behind us or around us (I've got him, toddler DD walking and baby in a pushchair) so we're not always the fastest!

He'll bark at them until they're far enough away that they're comfortable and they'll do this weird hoppy skippy little speed walk thing and keep looking back (once they've passed us) with a scared look on their face.

Occasionally you'll hear "fucking hell" or similar as they pass too. Some give you the death stare - I laugh.

It's only probably 5/6 men in total and I agree it's pathetic - particularly when he's generally on the lead (he's scared people by running down our drive when DD's opened the door before he's had his lead on).

Funnily enough, he's never scared a single woman. They just laugh and say hello to him.

That had paragraphs. Hurry up and fix it MN.

Why do people take their dogs to the front door with them anyway?
Advocate for your dogs and don’t put them in situations like this where it can go wrong.

If it was me I would be very embarrassed my dog behaved like that to be honest!

My bil is a postman..you should be able to do your job without being attacked by dogs..the worst bites he has had (and he has had loads!) is around the ankle areas. Last time he had to take time off work was due to a nasty bite just above his heel by a little dog!

Why do people take their dogs to the front door with them anyway?

Lots of dogs run straight to the door when it goes to alert you there's someone there. If you dont have a porch or similar it can be a right pain to get your dog away before you open the door - particularly bigger dogs

He wasn’t in the wrong

I hate to think of this. I can imagine that fear might cause a postie to lash out under the influence of a 'fight or flight' instinctive response, especially if he has been bitten before, or a colleague has been bitten.

But OTOH, Ihaven't seen the video and it's possible that it was a voluntary, angry response, which is not excusable.

Either way, though, he has a right to be angry with the owners for allowing the situation (but certainly not with the dog). Everyone has a right to go to work without fear that members of the public will cause them harm or fear. Failing to prevent a dog from rushing at a postman like being stroppy or aggressive to a shop worker, or an NHS worker, etc. It causes an accumulation of stress and it isn't fair.

So he should have just stood there and being bitten?!
FGS! The people at fault are the owners. Their dog, their responsibility.
it’s not the fault of the guy who kicked away an angry dog with sharp teeth that was running for him!

Saw the video. Horrible man! He kicked the dog really hard yo make it fly almost. It was completely disproportionate force

You answered your own question. If you want your post, make the access safe.