Please help someone im sitting here feeling sick where im so angry, im shaking like a leaf!!! Ive had a letter of complaint about my dog from royal mail saying that they will stop my letters if my dogs continue to bark when the postman is here. I will give you some background

My dog in question is a 6 year old rescue traditional shar-pei, she is a natural guard dog and barks like mad when there is someone at my door. She has never ever bitten anyone but looks like a meany. The postman is scared of dogs and knowing this if he ever knocks on my door she gets shut in the kitchen or if he turns up unexpectedly i only open the door a fraction as i have a 6month samoyed who will run away, then i tell him to hang on while i shut the doors on them.

As the weather has been nice my back door is constantly open (i have 3 boys too who are always in and out) my garden is in full view of my neighbours front door and when the postman comes there my dogs naturally bark. My pup will run to the wall to say hello but the shar-pei will just stand back and bark. The postman on occasions has stroked my pup and seems to like her so there is no problem there. When Kya (shar-pei) does bark I DO tell her to come in and she generally does, she just likes to alert us there is someone there.

Basically im at a loss as to what to do, we've had Kya for 4 years now and theres never been a problem or an incident before and the postman has been the same man for all this time so why now?? What am i supposed to do?? keep my doors shut from 9-12 incase the postmans next door?? im so angry and feel as if my dog is being punished just because she is alerting us there is someone there!! Or am i in the wrong for having a verbal dog???

Please help someone, i've tried ringing to give them a piece of my mind but no-one is answering!!!!

I had the same with my postman, my dogs are very large and even dog lovers are sometimes wary.

To be honest i dont want strangers on my property so i came out next time i saw him and just explained that i would be putting a mailbox on my gate so he didnt need to come on the property. He was happy and so was i.

Dont get too upset, some people just dont like dogs and are just scared. Its easily solved.

I have heard this is something they are doing now.

I dont blame them to be honest as there are circumstance where going into a property where there are dogs loose can be quite daunting if you do not know what the dogs are like or if you are afraid or nervous of dogs. We are not all dog lovers so we have to accept that there are people who dont want to be put into a situation where they feel uncomfortable.

Have you thought of a lockable post box mounted on a gate or wall on the outside of your property ?

Ditto to the mailbox. I did this. My problem was the other way around -our postman was NOT scared of dogs but it worried ME that at times he'd walk into our front garden (our front is as large as the back if not bigger so used by dogs also) when there were Malinois in there. (Or sometimes I'd not see the post van arrive and open the door and let the dogs out just as the postman turned up.) Fair enough when he walked in and the garden was full of Papillons (as long as he shut the gate) but I would never guarantee a Malinois would not guard, so realised it was not sensible to expect the postman to walk to the door. I bought a postbox and put it on our gate, problem solved. The postman actually told my husband he thought it was such a great idea he'd recommend it to other households with dogs.

I would write back and tell them that the dog has no physical access to the postman, and only does what dogs are supposed to do, barks when people come close to it's territory.

The thing is they dont need to come anywhere near my back garden to deliver my mail and very rarely are the dogs behind my door when they deliver mine, they like the kitchen area. I think the problem is when he delivers my neighbours mail which is in full view of my garden. Its really winding me up that i cant get through to the phone number they gave me!!! :(

Is the fence between the neighbour and your garden tall enough for the postman's safety, if so then there is no issue.

The wall is approx 5 metres tall with a trellis......but my shar-pei never jumps at the wall as she is quite overweight (we are getting it off slowly haha)  with constant sore paws (an allergy) and is just generally a lazy lump, she just lays in the garden or stands at my back door and barks at him

Do you mean 5 foot? A 5 metre fence would be about 16 foot high! Hope you get through to royal mail soon

As the next poster we have an american style post box so they need not come onto the property. Mine are really quiet at home but here in the office Whistler sounds like a demon dog, as he is sitting on my lap I add.

Dont fret, just sort it out and accept that you have a number 1 wossey postman.

Hahaha oops yes 5 foot sorry

If you have an address, write them a letter explaining the situation exactly as you have here.  Be polite and courteous and ask why the barking has suddenly become an issue.

If there hasn't been a problem up to now I think the onus is on Royal Mail to justify its stance.

Good luck !

There is no need to worry or get angry, you are not the one at risk of being bitten, the postmen are; and they DO get bitten regularly.  It may be that a colleague has recently been bitten or a dog of the same breed has bitten recently hence the letter.

Just put an outside mailbox up as the others have suggested, or a letter cage and/or make sure that your dogs are NEVER visibile to delivery men.

I speak to delivery men through the back garden gate, I never open the front door when parcels are delivered.  Each home has a different layout but I think if you were to ring up to give them a piece of your mind, they may decide to stop post altogether immediately!

Tohme, my dogs have never grabbed anything through the letterbox, they just bark as alot of dogs do, the issue I think is when he delivers the neighbours post, where he's an unreliable postie we never know when he's going to be here so I can't shut my dogs in all morning. The postman is never near my dogs and they are ALWAYS shut away if someone I don't know knocks on my door and most certainly if I'm expecting parcels etc not for the sake of the postman more for the sake of my pup not getting out!!

My side gate is about 4 ft from the front door and it's a 6 ft wrought iron one so completly see through. Anyone coming to the front door is obviously in full view of the girlies and they do bark....and some!! I too would be horrified if I had a letter of complaint after all not only are the girls my family they are also my protectors (Self made) They cannot get to anyone at the gate, It's padlocked too... but they can and do make thier presance heard...I cannot see that the RM can make you shut your dogs in if they are safely contained. As long as it is  impossible for them to reach the postie then I do not see the problem. After all the lions in a zoo are only the other side of a fence...they can charge at you but not GET at you! Like OP I shut them in another room or outside if the postie knocks so 100% safe. Granted some people are stupid and do not allow safe acces to the front door. I do believe every front door should be accesable to anyone. But the back is another matter alltogether. I seem to recall that the law somewhere states thet you cannot restrict access to a front door, so you can be served with a writ if needed...
Aileen

how ridiculous.
what will they moan about next? i can see a world like logans run, where everyone over 30 is killed and they all do as they are told by computers.
i have a mail cage at my door so no way anyone would get bitten. i would get an outside post box and ignore the letter

In fairness we have to see things from the other persons view point, the postman is scared and that is not part of his job description, Put a box on the gate and that will be the end of the matter.

Write a letter and tell them what you propose to do and say how sorry you are the your dogs barking has upset your postman, but dogs do bark at strangers on their property but that yours have never bitten.

Jackie unfortunately its not that easy. My front garden has no gate or fence, the dogs are never out there anyway which is why i dont think its the postman coming to mine but the neighbours door which is seen by the dogs. I do understand that some people are scared of dogs but dogs barking from a distance shouldnt be a problem when they know the dogs cant get at them. I just dont know how i can stop my dogs from barking when they see someone approaching either doors, mine or the neighbours???  Im just generally upset that ive not had the postman say anything to me when he's been friendly before and even strokes my pup when he glimpses her when she is in the garden alone (i watch from my door) My shar-pei is very verbal but not aggresive by any means!!

I would contact the post office anyway but we have a similar garden to yours ie no fence or gates and have a post box on the house wall. I know it still means the dogs may see him but no way can they be of any threat to him.
My 2 go potty when people walk past if they can see out the windows they are fine if they cant see anyone but that isnt always possible , this seems to be ridulous if its only because your dogs are barking and are behind safe gates walls or whatever

ive not had the postman say anything to me when he's been friendly before

But to be fair it may not have been the same postie that reported the issue :-) Posties have holidays too and we have one who is petrified of our dogs and the dogs know it,. I would contact the PO and explain the situation & go from there.

It may just be a blanket letter sent out to all houses that are known to have dogs present. If your dogs have never caused a problem you probably won't hear anything more about it - but if there is a problem in the future they can stop delivering straight away as you have already received a letter informing you of their policy on houses with dogs.

Many years ago I had a letter from the council telling me my front wall had overhanging vegetation which needed to be cut back or else the council would do it for me and send me a bill for the cost and tht if anyone was injured by the offending trees I could be taken to court. I do regularly trim the trees and shrubs at the front of my garden and when I went out to see what the problem was all I could see was that the leaves of one shrub were protruding about two inches over the wall - whereas a  house along the road had huge branches overhanging the footpath. I rang the council to query the letter and was told that letters had been delivered to all houses in my local area and in a lot of cases they wouldn't be applicable but if there were any future problems the council had fulfilled their obligation to make householders aware of the need to ensure they were not creating a danger for people using the footpaths.

A phone call to the address on the letterhead might be a good idea as they could then explain the reasoning behind the letter.

I would keep ringing, I can fully understand some postmen being afraid, if a dog is at the door where they post letters and a dog is grabbing post being put through, or is loose and can get to them whilst doing their job, don't blame them in these cases not wishing to come onto the property.

But, am I right in this letter just talked of barking? That the post won't be delivered if your dog barks, just barks? ***scratching my head*** is it just me or does this make no sense. Your dog can't bark! Nope, I'm saying it and it still makes no sense, do they also send these letters to say if your child screams, or if the cat meows, or if the car is running, goodness what about a motorbike? They surely can't not deliver letters because of a noise.

Going back in my box, the world is going mad.

We have a totally different 'problem' our postie likes dogs so much he carries doggie treats with him and feeds them all as he does his rounds! They all sit waiting for him to arrive and if they see him when we are out walking they all want to go and say hello! If we are out he posts treats through the door.

Having had a part time job a good few years ago which involved delivering leaflets, I can sympathise with the posties, as some dogs would be loose in the garden and would follow me growling the whole while, others would grab at my fingers when I was posting the leaflets through the doors.

One of my dogs would shred the post if she got to the door mat before us, never bothered about the postie but was hell bent on shredding to tiny confetti like pieces all our post. So in the end we put a post box up with a lock on it, in case we missed seeing the post arriving.

Thanks for this thread - it's what I needed to persuade my elderly mum she really must have the postbox put back on the house wall!!!!

I've been on at her for ages, as my dog will snatch the post through the letterbox and I've seen postmen/leaflet deliverers being very cautious and worried about their fingers. She used to have one as her old dog (now gone) did the same. But she hasn't listened to me til now about the risk, and how the postmen will view it from their angle. I already have a blot on my dog's copybook from when he nipped a cyclist on the pavement; although the police let us off, it would only need something extra like a postman to report him, to get a control order put on.

My job tomorrow is to reinstall the postbox, after a spit & polish - luckily the holes are still in the wall, just need rawlplugs and a screwdriver.

is it possible to put some bamboo which comes in a roll to cover the area the dogs can see through...it may not stop the barking but it would stop the postmans view of the dogs and make him feel safer.

Tasha, my next door neighbours dogs are right by the 5 foot fence facing my front door, five feet from my front door which is on the side of the property, so the postie visiting me gets an ear bashing, but they certainly have had nothing from the Post Office, and wouldn't expect to, as the dogs, as yours are, are confined behind the fence.

Simply explain the situation that the dogs are safely behind a decent fence, and the only thing the postie has to deal with is barking if they happen to be out in the garden.

Thanks guys alot of reassuring posts, and yes it purely is just the barking, none of my dogs are letter snatchers. The bamboo cane is quite a good idea although she would still see him from my back door as my house is about 2 foot from the ground which gives us perfect view of our neighbours door :s

Thanks again and i shall be giving them a ring when i have taken the kids to school xx

dont buy bamboo, mine can still see through it

Right rung them up and they said it was a generic letter to all homes in my area with nusience dogs. Kind of relieved but still a bit miffed as they think my barking dog is a potential threat. The lady i spoke to said that this letter was a bit harsh and said it did make it sound like my dog was a danger. I explained to her all my concerns and she agreed that my dog posed no threat due to the fact the dog cannot access the postman and does generally what a dog does!

So thanks again for some reassuring posts. I will keep you updated if anything more comes of this.

The people who write these letters.......................

Anyhow, glad that is all it was and you can relax again. :-)