Letterbox guard/cage: Should all dog owners have one?

 

James A. Oxley1, Sara Owczarczak-Garstecka1, Jamie McGovern2, Anna Baggott3 and Carri Westgarth1.

1 Department of Livestock and One health, University of Liverpool, Cheshire, UK.

2 Royal Mail/CWU Greater Mersey Branch, 47 Seymour Terrace, L3 5PE.

3 PDSA, Whitechapel Way, Telford, Shropshire, UK.

 

Why I have a letterbox guard/cage

I have witnessed my dog having letters drop next to her on the floor or being startled by the postman who has pushed a letter through the letterbox. As a result, I have recently installed a letterbox cage. It’s a common myth that only owners of aggressive dogs need one and that friendly dogs aren’t territorial. In my opinion, this is not the case. My dog is a Labrador cross German Shepherd, she is a six-year-old rescue and is very friendly towards all people I see on daily walks. In fact, I have never seen her act in an overly aggressive way towards a human when out in public. However, it is clear that she has a range of emotions, she can feel happy, calm, fearful, excited and displays these depending on the context (e.g., getting ready to go for a walk). Like many other pet dogs, as soon as there is a knock at the door, she is up and barking repeatedly, wagging her tail, breathing more rapidly with raised hackles. This could be because her instinct is telling her to protect her territory from what she may perceive as a potential threat at the door (or in the garden which is also where postal workers are frequently bitten (external letter boxes are also available to put on fences)). When I see her act in this way, I first calmly encourage her into the living room where I can close the door fully and prevent her accessing the front door. Other people use alternatives such as a baby gates to create a barrier. It is important that at this stage I am not rewarding this behaviour as this may reinforce the behaviours. I then open the door without worrying about her or having to restrain her. Securing her first also puts the delivery worker’s mind at ease knowing there is no barking dog in sight. If you are concerned that the delivery worker will disappear whilst securing your dog, an option is to put a note on the door to indicate the delayed response such as ‘I may not answer the door immediately as I am securing my dog before opening the door’.

Dog bites to delivery workers

It is common knowledge that one of the biggest risks of injury to people working in the residential delivery sector, is bites from pet dogs. Over the last 5 years the average number of letterbox bite cases reported to the Royal Mail averaged 220 per year (J. McGovern, pers. Comm. 14th June 2021). Many of these injuries occur in the context of putting a letter through the letterbox (Owczarczak-Garstecka et al., 2019). It is not uncommon for workers to have their fingers or fingertips injured or completely bitten off while posting mail through a letterbox (recent examples of bites occurring through letterboxes are highlighted here: Northampton Telegraph, 2021; Evening Express, 2021). Severe bite injuries to the hands can have potential life changing impacts on delivery workers, especially as the dominant hand is most often used to post mail and are likely to adversely affect normal day to day activities (e.g., writing, tying shoelaces, texting, driving).

Why do dogs react to post being delivered?

Dogs are our family, best friends, loyal companions and confidants. However, dogs can also have a negative impact on people’s health. All dogs can act in an aggressive manner and aggression is a normal part of a dog’s communication. Although we often talk about aggression, the term relates to a broad range of behaviours shown in very different contexts. By this we mean that aggression isn’t necessarily a trait or an inherent quality of a dog, it’s a behaviour. For example, despite a dog being friendly with people in public, they can act aggressively (i.e., barking, growling, snapping, lunging, and biting) when unfamiliar people are in or near what a dog may perceive as their territory. This is commonly known as territorial aggression (Hart et al., 2006).

Territorial aggression is defined by Lindell (2018) as: “a threatening or harmful action by a dog directed towards a person or animal that enters or approaches an area which a dog perceives as its own property, usually the home property” and is therefore particularly problematic for delivery workers. Bowen and Heath (2005) previously explained this taking the perspective of an aggressive dog in a territorial context: “delivery people who come to the door are amongst the worst problems… because they come right up to the boundary of the territory and then go away again. This heightens the need for the dog to guard against these people…” (p.131).

Dogs may injure delivery workers for reasons other than territorial aggression. For example, dogs may be more likely to wait near the front door in anticipation of an owner arriving home. Therefore, a dog could be aggressive towards delivery workers because they are startled by a letter or package put through the letterbox, frustrated by being unable to get out of the house, due to previous negative associations with the hall and so on.

Given that aggression is part of a dog natural behavioural repertoire and can be displayed for multiple reasons, should we then expect all dogs to react calmly when startled or a perceived threat is present? In our opinion, in the context of a person entering dog’s home territory, we should not expect our dogs to react calmly all the time. Just like humans, due to a combination of past experiences, things that happened earlier during the day, even dogs that typically don’t respond aggressively to delivery workers can potentially react this way at any time. It would be naive to think a dog could never bite anyone, regardless of how well behaved, trained or friendly they may be.

Interventions and prevention of dog bites to delivery workers

The Royal Mail and Communication Workers Union continue to work to reduce these incidences through various methods. One of these is ATLAS (Animal Threat Level Assessment System), a notification system that helps to inform dog owners who may be unaware of the threat posed by their animals when they are not home and advise them on how to secure their dogs, read more here: https://merseydogsafe.co.uk/atlas-hazard-reporting-system-for-dog-bites-at-work/). Other methods include special delivery pegs designed to push the letter through the letterbox to avoid fingers being exposed. Delivery suspensions are now common, and a zero-tolerance policy has been enforced over the last 5 years for addresses that identify as having a dangerously out of control dog behind letterboxes. Permanent USO (Universal Service Obligation) delivery suspensions are also now becoming more common in recent times along with both public and private prosecutions.

The MDSP (Merseyside Dog Safety Partnership), set up in 2018, is a collaboration between key stakeholder, including Communication Workers Union, Royal Mail, University of Liverpool, Dogs Trust, PDSA, Alder Hey hospital and Merseyside Police which aims to improve effectiveness of bite prevention in the region. Read more about our aims here: https://merseydogsafe.co.uk/about/

Receiving mail safely when you are not at home

When not at home, the time spent by the dog near the front door may be significantly increased. If a delivery is made a knock at the door will go unanswered. Letters, small packages or a ‘sorry we missed you’ card will be posted in the dog owner’s absence.  To ensure delivery workers are kept safe a letterbox guard/cages is recommended. These are widely available online and come in all shapes, sizes, designs, materials (e.g., wire, polyester) and cost between 10 – 20 pounds.

Dog safety – destruction or consumption of mail (and items in them!)

Products that can be delivered that can potentially be dangerous to pets (e.g., contact lens solution, flowers, chocolates and nuts). Additionally, dogs can chew through letters as a result of boredom. To avoid this from occurring a letterbox guard/cage can be used. In addition, there have been several cases that highlight further potential dangers of the most basic of postal deliveries. For example, gloss used on leaflets, when wet, can turn into glue-like substance resulting in the dog gluing its mouth shut and ultimately needing to visit a veterinarian (examples here: Mirror, 2016; BBC, 2017; Mirror, 2018; Metro, 2020).

Overall, it is important to state that bites from posting mail/leaflets through letterboxes are only a small part of the much larger picture of dog bites to postal workers. Postal workers continue to be bitten in gardens and driveways by pet dogs. The potential repercussions for the postal worker (e.g., injury – both physical and mental, missed work, medical treatment), the dog (e.g., control order, seized, and euthanised) and the owner(s) (e.g. prosecuted, fined, jailed) are too great to risk. However, the use of letterbox cages and guards is of importance and regardless of the perceived risk, it is better to ‘edge of the side of caution’ to ensure both dog and public safety.

More resources and information can be found on the MDSP website: https://merseydogsafe.co.uk/

If you are concerned about your dogs behaviour or the impact of COVID on your dogs behaviour, guidance can be found on the MDSP website: https://merseydogsafe.co.uk/help-with-your-dog/

References

BBC (2017) Dog’s mouth glued together after chewing leaflet. [www document] < https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-wiltshire-38483373 > (Accessed 10/06/2021).

Bowen, J. and Heath, S. (2005) Behaviour problems in small animals: practical advice for the veterinary team. Elsevier, UK.

Evening Express (2021) Election Day: Aberdeen councillor bitten by dog while putting SNP leaflet through letterbox. [www document]< https://www.Eveningexpress.co.uk/fp /news/local/election-day-aberdeen-councillor-bitten-by-dog-while-putting-snp-leaflet-through-letterbox/ > (Accessed 10/06/2021).

Hart, B. L., Hart, L. A., Bain, M. (2006). Canine and Feline Behavior Therapy. Willey. United Kingdom.

Lindell. E. M. (2018) Aggression/Canine: Territorial. In Horwitz, D. F. (eds). Blackwell’s Five-Minute Veterinary Consult Clinical Companion Canine and Feline Behavior. Wiley. US. p130-142.

Metro (2020) Dog’s mouth glued together when it opened parcel dropped through door.

< https://metro.co.uk/2020/11/25/dog-gets-mouth-glued-together-after-trying-to-open-parcel-13654915/ > (Accessed 10/06/2021).

Mirror (2016) Dog’s jaw glued shut by Dominoes takeaway menu for FIVE hours after he chewed on leaflet. [www document]  < https://www.mirror.co.uk/news/weird-news/dogs-jaw-glued-shut-dominoes-8293288 > (Accessed 10/06/2021).

Mirror (2018) Dog glues teeth together chomping on junk mail when it turned to ‘cement’ papier mache. [www document] < https://www.mirror.co.uk/news/uk-news/dog-glues-teeth-together-chomping-12131750 > (Accessed 10/06/2021).

Northamptonshire Telegraph (2021) Union warns dog-owner “got off lightly” after £2,000 compensation bill for attack on Rushden postie. [www document] < https://www.northants telegraph.co.uk/news/crime/warning-graphic-content-union-warns-dog-owner-got-off-lightly-after-ps2000-compensation-bill-for-attack-on-rushden-postie-3188816 > (Accessed 10/06/2021).

Owczarczak-Garstecka, S. C., Christley, R., Watkins, F., Yang, H., Bishop, B. and Westgarth, C. (2019) Dog bite safety at work: an injury prevention perspective on reported occupational dog bites in the UK. Safety Science. 118, 595-606.