Dog bit the postie!!

[NameChange564738]

He’s nearly 10 and hasn’t ever done this before, we’ve recently had a new baby which I’m suspicious has been a contributing factor.

Postie put his hand wrist deep into our letterbox and the dog has bitten two of his fingers. There was quite a bit of blood but it stopped easily.

But.. what the hell do we do? He didn’t give us his name, wouldn’t accept a lift back to office. We cleaned and stopped the bleeding before he left.

What should I do with the dog? I’m shocked, upset, apprehensive about what’s to come.

Does anyone have any experience with dogs biting people?! What’s the outcome?

[Heismyopendoor]

@Lilmissmissy surprised that he could report you, stop your mail etc

[Lilmissmissy]

@Heismyopendoor yeah i was actually, if there was blood a cut i totally get it. You couldnt even see where the dog caught him. I apologised loads and said i would put a post box up.

So yes answer to your small minded question. I was :)

[FelicityPike]

A postie in my village was bitten on the finger by a jack russell who barely left a mark.
Royal Mail took the dog owners to court, they ended up having to collect their mail from the sorting office as they refused to deliver to them and the postie got a huge amount of compensation through the owner’s home insurance (and I mean huge, it was the subject of gossip for months in the village).
I would speak to your lawyer, especially as it might not be up to the actual postie to sue you but the Royal Mail as a whole.
The fact that the dog drew a lot of blood doesn’t sound good. Sorry.

[Littlemeadow123]

Your house is the dog's safe haven, and a stranger put his fingers into it. The dog was acting in defence of his family and his home.

My dad occasionally does leafletting for a big company and he gets given a tool for putting flyers through letter boxes so he doesn't have to put his fingers in. The company's mentality is if you are daft enough to put your fingers through a letter box when there may be a dog on the other side then it is your own fault.

[CherryPavlova]

I’m afraid the dog has done something wrong; he but someone. In the eyes of the law, he might well be considered a dangerous dog and action can be taken against you, if the postie reports it.

I’m sure swift action to prevent a recurrence would count in your/his favour. I think more importantly, you need to consider whether you want a dog that attacks in a house with a baby or young child.

[Heismyopendoor]

@Lilmissmissy I’m surprised you were surprised!

You should read the post under your latest comment.

[leafeater]

What dog have you got if he weighs 57 kgs?

[BluebellsareBlue]

@CherryPavlova seriously? He may be considered a dangerous dog? In what capacity? Don't be so ridiculous.

[Littlemeadow123]

@CherryPavlova

Don't be so ridiculous. (Pretty sure I have told you this on numerous threads about dogs). OP, ignore this person. She doesn't have a clue what she's talking about. A nip on the finger after the postman was daft enough to stick his hand through the letterbox will not warrant your dog being seen as dangerous.

[Farheatarse]

My dog bit a delivery drivers hand when she pushed a ‘sorry we missed you’ card through the letterbox. She reported it to her company, who reported it to the police. The policeman told us that technically we could be prosecuted under the dangerous dogs act, and that our dog could be put down.
Because of the circumstances and it was a ‘first offence’ we got a dog control order instead. Had to attend the magistrates court to get it.
If the postie reports it the police could well get involved.

[Lilmissmissy]

@Heismyopendoor i commented on the thread just to let OP know that its happened to other people and how to move forward with the situation. Not to answer to likes of you.

[Letmegetthisrightasawoman]

@JacobReesMogadishu

Well you could get a stair gate in the hall to stop the dog accessing the door and prevent it happening again.

I wouldn’t blame the dog, he didn’t know it was the postman, doesn’t mean the dog is vicious and I don’t think the police would be interested in the unlikely event it gets reported. Worse case is Royal Mail refuse to deliver to you.

If I was you I’d be dropping a box of chocolates and a note for the Postman at the sorting office or give them to him.....and explain what steps you’re going to take to make sure it doesn’t happen again.

I was bitten by a dog when I was walking down the road with DS in the pushchair. The police were most definitely interested (it surprised me how seriously they took it), even though it only just broke the skin. It was resolved through a community resolution, which is essentially an agreement between victim and offender on how to proceed. It also means the offender doesn't get a criminal record. In my case, the agreement was they pay for my ripped trousers and muzzle the dog in public. OP, I hope that you can reach a similar agreement if Royal Mail does report it. I would be surprised if they didn't, I think they're quite hot on this. I personally also think dog bites should always be reported to the police. Hopefully a cage round your letter box and a stairgate will be enough to prevent it from happening again and you will still be able to get your mail delivered. Would it be worth considering contacting your nearest depot to tell them what happened? To demonstrate that you are aware this was quite serious and you're taking steps to prevent it from happening again. The postie will need a tetanus shot and antibiotics as well. Good luck!

[Heismyopendoor]

@Lilmissmissy you are funny!

[Letmegetthisrightasawoman]

@CherryPavlova

I’m afraid the dog has done something wrong; he but someone. In the eyes of the law, he might well be considered a dangerous dog and action can be taken against you, if the postie reports it.

I’m sure swift action to prevent a recurrence would count in your/his favour. I think more importantly, you need to consider whether you want a dog that attacks in a house with a baby or young child.

I think the OP is quite aware her dog did something wrong. Her dog would likely be considered dangerously out of control (as it injured someone), but AFAIK it would only be considered a dangerous dog if it was one of four specifically mentioned banned breeds.

[CherryPavlova]

[quote BluebellsareBlue]@CherryPavlova seriously? He may be considered a dangerous dog? In what capacity? Don't be so ridiculous. [/quote]
Ridiculous? RSPCA and law wouldn’t think so.

www.rspca.org.uk/getinvolved/campaign/bsl/dda

Or indeed the Blue Cross.
www.bluecross.org.uk/dangerous-dogs-act-1991-what-it

Sadly people think it’s only pit pulls who attack cattle or people in the street that are dangerous dogs under the Act. They are wrong. If a dog bites someone it may be considered out of control. The very worst case scenario is destruction.

Dogs biting posties and nurses are dangerous dogs, I’m afraid. Owners risk a significant fine or worse. Get the dog under control before it does real harm.

[TimeWastingButFun]

I would be terrified of having a 57k dog that has attacked someone and caused a lot of blood in the same house as a new baby.

[SteelyPanther]

You need a cage over the letterbox, on the inside.
Yes, it might be because of the baby, but at 10 years old he might be starting to get sight and hearing loss, and he might be starting with a bit of doggy dementia.

To be fair, he was silly to put his fingers in. I thought all posties had training on this.
I’ve seen a guy using kitchen tongues to put leaflets through letterboxes. I thought it was genious.

[CherryPavlova]

@Letmegetthisrightasawoman No since the Act was amended all breeds can be considered dangerous if they attack. Even Pekingese, retrievers or Cockapoos.

[BluebellsareBlue]

@CherryPavlova as a police officer I can tell you that your comment is ridiculous. Your dog will be considered dangerous... catch yourself on. If a person puts their hand into someone else's property and a dog bites them it is not the dogs fault. If I saw a hand coming through my letter box and I slapped it then I would not be charged with assault.

[CherryPavlova]

[quote BluebellsareBlue]@CherryPavlova as a police officer I can tell you that your comment is ridiculous. Your dog will be considered dangerous... catch yourself on. If a person puts their hand into someone else's property and a dog bites them it is not the dogs fault. If I saw a hand coming through my letter box and I slapped it then I would not be charged with assault. [/quote]
So a Police Officer that doesn’t uphold the current laws? The law is clear about the Act being applicable on private property. You might not enforce but the law is how dangerous dogs are determined.

[flibbertmygibbert]

You don’t even know the dog bit the postie. He could have just assumed he was grabbing the actual post out of the box. He hasn’t encountered fingers for 10 years so far. I’ve been bitten by my dog once (no blood). She hates post and we have a cage and an internal door blocking it so she never gets close. I bought the post in and dropped a letter, bent to pick it up just as she leapt on it to shred it and she caught my finger. No malice intended, just a very bad naughty dog. We’ve worked hard with her and are militant about the children not touching the post as a result.

[Farheatarse]

That’s not my experience. As I said unthread, my dog bit a woman’s hand when she posted something through my letterbox. We had a visit from the police, and ended up at a magistrates court with a dog control order imposed. We could have been prosecuted under the dangerous dogs act.

[Littlemeadow123]

@CherryPavlova

It didn't attack the positive out of aggression, it was trying to protect it's territory, which the postman intruded on (or part of his anatomy did anyway). It is why my dad's company provides tongs so they can push flyers through without sticking their fingers in. If they get nipped, they are pretty much told it's their own fault. My dad has been nipped before but he didn't take it anywhere because he appreciated that he shouldn't have had his fingers in the dog's safe haven, (his home). My friend's dog always snaps at the post man's fingers when he delivers letters. So far she has always missed thankfully. But if she meets the postie in the street, she is a big softie and rolls over on her back for tummy tickles. If this issue did get reported to police, all they'd probably do is insist that the OP keeps a cage on the letter box or keep the dog in another room when the postman comes, which is what plenty of well informed people on here have suggested.

It is clear that you don't know anything about canine behaviour, you just think any pooch who looks at someone the wrong way is dangerous.

[tabulahrasa]

“I was bitten by a dog when I was walking down the road with DS in the pushchair”

That’s not the same though, you’d hope the police would take that seriously!

But with posties and delivery people, they’re effectively invading the dogs house...

[Littlemeadow123]

@TimeWastingButFun
That is an overreaction. It didn't attack the postie. It was trying to defend it's home from this strange man who pushed his fingers into their home, ala their safe haven. It hasn't acted like this before and it is common for dogs to be very defensive of new babies, it could have been trying to protect it. My parent had a website who was a huge softie, but when I was born, she would snarl at anyone who came near my pram and stand guard over me at times when I was able to crawl etc.