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.

Only tragic thing in this case is that such a big man failed to punt the dog clear over the roof.

If there's evidence the dog bit the postman, the dog should be destroyed, the owners prosecuted and the house being blacklisted so the owners would have to collect the post from the sorting office everyday.

No one should have to face animal attacks doing their job. Postman did nothing wrong to in my eyes, the owners should train their dog.

Always the focus of how small the dog is.

a dog bite is a dog bite from a chi to a shep it doesn’t matter. This was someone at work getting bitten and reacting to being bitten.

damn right if kick a dog off me biting me. More so if it was a small one actually as kicking a larger dog might well not do much.

owners have a legal requirement to keep their dogs under control even on their own property and can be deemed out of control purely for frightening someone / making them feel threatened without actually hurting someone. So this dog was out of control since the postman got bitten and felt fear and reacted as most normal people would to be bitten.

It's a terrier, it isn't at toe level. A bite around the heels and ankles can do quite a bit of damage. The fact that you don't want to be bitten doesn't make you pathetic.

After watching the video - the family should have restrained the dog who is known to be a problem when the door bell rings.

I'm with the postman who defended himself.

How do you ensure your foot doesn't get bitten whilst you are using it to move the dog away?

A friend (a runner) was bitten on her calf by a small, fluffy dog a few years ago, the dog wasn't on a lead.

The bite wasn't too bad luckily but then a few days later a hot, red rash appeared, it was cellilitus from the bite wound.

My friend had to have antibiotics, she felt so poorly she missed work (no sick pay) and couldn't run for ages, she had to pull out of a half marathon she was doing for charity

If I asked her now, I think she wished she'd given the dog a good kick!

Not a comment on the video, but a comment on why do people take their dogs to the front door ....
I do this. I have very barky snappy terriers. They are trained to stand behind me and bark their heads off.
Some of you must live in nicer areas. Mine are deterrents. Everyone around me has been burgled/opportunistic break ins. Me, with my psycho terriers? Nope.
You don't know who is at your front doorstep or what they want. They may be casing your house for later - yes, even the yodel delivery person. They may be chancing their luck on trying door handles. They may try to force their way in (this happened to my family when we just had a placid old labrador).
And this is why people take their dogs to the door with them.
Obviously you need to keep them under control, which doesn't seem to be the case here.

I'm with the postman and have done the same myself to a dog charging at my picnic and kids.
It's the owners fault 100%

So I once knocked on a door, no answer, started walking to the neighbour when the door got opened, I turned around and a small cairn terrier type dog literally jumped up and grabbed my jacket right at my throat.... lucky I had my jacket on really otherwise judging by the state of my jacket my throat would have been ripped out.

One of my workmates has a scar on their face close to their eye from a Jack Russell jumping up and biting him.

Another workmate has 6 scars on her leg from 3 different small dog attacks.

I love dogs but until you are a postie/courier you really have no idea what it can be like. I got bit quite badly once and the woman posted on fb that it was a disgrace that we stopped delivering her post, what she didn't tell you is after her dog bit me she didn't try to stop it coming to the door and two other posties narrowly avoided being bitten by her carelessness. My point is you are seeing a snapshot video that the person has shared, you don't know if the dog has bitten before.

I’m a dog lover and owner but I have sympathy with the postie. If I was the dog owner I’d have been apologising and asking if he was ok, not trying to get him sacked.

it looked instinctive to me. Don’t think it’s fair of people saying he’s pathetic because it’s a small dog. Small dogs can still give nasty bites, is he supposed to just get bitten? Maybe he has a dog phobia?

the person who comes out of this badly is the owner for putting both their dog and the postie in this position. It won’t be the first time the dog has reacted like this.

I love dogs and have no fear of them out with snarling, showing teeth etc. I’ve seen the video and don’t agree it was “tiny” - it looked to me like a small retrieve type. Also - his actions looked instinctive - he didn’t so much kick it as scoop it up with his foot and get it away from him. Dogs can be unpredictable especially when their territory (ie the home) is being threatened (from the dog’s perspective) so dog should have been shut in another room when door was opened. I’d be surprised if this is the first time the dog has done this TBH.

If it was nipping at his ankles then 100% reasonable to boot it. Otherwise not.

I haven't seen any footage.

I was bitten by a terrier some years ago. It was barking and dived in quickly, so I didn't see it coming' and bit my ankle. It was very unpleasant. I'm not trying to excuse him but he may have been bitten before and was purely fear and defensive.

My grandfather was an avid walker and had been bitten before. He used to carry a walking stick and swore he'd use it before he'd let himself be bitten again.

The dog owners have a responsibility to their dogs. They are at fault. I've seen the stats on bites and it's unacceptable.

Though I don't know if I'd kick a dog for fear of making it more aggressive (I was trapped, with my child, by two barking dogs in a rural location, barking and circling. Luckily the bloody useless idiot owner appeared in the distance. I'd like alternative advice on what todo I I have situations. Presumably postmen and women are given some guidance?

Postman should be able to do his job without getting bitten.

If a dog was going for my ankles I'd kick it away too. To be honest I think most people would?

I have a fairly small dog and I always shut him in the kitchen if anyone rings the doorbell even though my dog is a complete softie I understand not everyone likes dogs. Small dogs can be extremely savage once they lock their jaws on you so the postman did what most people would do if a dog was bitting their leg.

Alternative advice on what to do in these situations. Stupid autocorrect.

Doesn't matter whether it's a big dog or a small dog. All dog bites have the potential to get nasty, infected and cause a lot of problems. Nobody should have to feel at risk whilst trying to earn a living. You can't accurately judge by just seeing that video, we have no idea how the dog approached him. The only thing we know is that the dog was out of the house and around his feet.

Any normal person would have kicked the dog away if they were feeling under threat. It's an instinctive, reflex reaction. Nobody is going to just stand there and say 'oh, it's only a little dog, I'm going to let it bite me because it's cute'. Some people on here have no idea!

I’m with the postie on this one.

People need to control their dogs.

I was walking past a house a few years ago and just as I got past the gate (which was open) a small dog came running at me, barking. Before I could react, the little shit had sunk its teeth into the side of my leg, above my ankle. I managed to shake it off and booted it away. It damaged my jeans and I still have a scar on my leg after having a few stitches.

I wouldn’t hesitate to do the same again, if a small dog ran at me barking. I’d make sure I got in there first this time though.

Same. I had a bite mid calf and needed to have stitches. It's left me a bit uneasy around dogs and angry with careless owners.

I hope the postman's job isn't at risk.

Postie was dead right. Keep your yappy, nippy little ankle biters under control and let the man do his job.

The dog had already nipped him and he reacted. It's impossible to see how he got it away, a kick or a hefty nudge with the side of his foot. I wouldn't fault anybody for doing either. Not many of these responses are taking into account that it had already nipped him.

The dog bit him. Anyone would kick out and if the dog is so scared of the doorbell then take it off. Owners of a lot of small dogs are the worst I think. They pick them up and baby them. They need to be trained just as must as any other dog.

Terriers are bred to hunt and kill rats and even badgers and foxes.

They might be small but they have a damn nasty bite on them.

My DF was a postman and was bitten twice by dogs. Something of an occupational hazard. Homeowners are not supposed to have loose dogs in the front garden, the postman can refuse to come in to deliver the mail and the householder will have to pick it up from the sorting office. I haven't seen the video but it sounds like he didn't see the dog before entering the garden, he bit him and he kicked it away.

I'm a dog owner and dog lover but if a little dog bit me it may well get punted into next week.

The owners are to blame. There shouldn’t be a dog running free on land that deliveey men have to access to do their job.

It’s ridiculous to say he shouldn’t have been scared of it because it’s small. I know people who are terrified of spiders! Also know one man whomis irrationally scard of cats.

And a bite from a small dog can be nasty indeed.

If an aggrasove dog comes running at me you can bet I’ll kick it away And I can’t imagine I’d have much time to ponder exactly what strength of kick would be proportionate ie definitely stop the dog and not just enrage it further.