Posties have been accosted or attacked by dogs more than 1400 times over the past six months as Australia Post urges owners to secure their pets.
Video released by Australia Post on Monday showed a number of incidents where posties were chased and bitten by dogs while on duty.
According to the service, they have recorded an alarming 11 incidents per working day over the pas six months.
Australia Post said it was increasingly seeing smaller dogs showing aggressive behaviour towards its drivers.
It said over a third of cases were happening on the street, including cases of dogs having jumped a fence or escaped the property.
As well, 15 per cent of incidents involved posties being bitten or confronted while placing mail in letterboxes.
Queensland (466) recorded the highest number of dog-related incidents, followed by NSW (408) and Western Australia (215).
“Australia Post is calling on dog owners to take responsibility for their pets,” Australia Post’s general manager of safety and wellbeing Rod Maule said.
“Customers must understand that for many posties, it can be stressful or triggering knowing that your delivery round may involve a dog that shows aggressive behaviour.
“Our team members just want to be able to deliver for our customers, without being attacked, harassed, or chased by dogs.”
Australian Post says it will not make deliveries if an address is unsafe and won’t resume until the problem is fixed.
It asks customers to keep front gates closed and where possible to secure their dogs in the back garden rather than the front.
It also says that if securing your dog is not possible, consider using a parcel locker.