DOG owners are being urged to keep their pets secured following a surge in serious bites and other incidents, as Australia Post's posties and drivers deliver record volumes of parcels amid increased pet ownership across the country.

Australia Post is calling on dog owners to help keep posties safe with the launch of a new awareness campaign entitled ‘Even Good Dogs Have Bad Days’.

On average, five Australia Post team members are involved in dog incidents every workday, with more than 1173 incidents to date in this financial year alone.

That’s almost 400 more than the same time last year and represents a steep increase on the 957 incidents recorded in total last financial year.

Casterton postie, Dean Hornibrook said he was pleased to note the majority of local dogs were either contained – away from his legs and bike wheels – and well-behaved, but he had suffered three dog bites in nearly four years he’d been on the job – thankfully, none severe.

“The last dog that bit me was a reasonably big one and I was concerned about schoolkids or other members of the public (who are) more vulnerable,” he said.

“Luckily, the dog was just probably giving me a love bite – it didn’t mean hospitalisation.”

Australia Post executive, Rod Barnes said shocking images of injuries and confronting footage of incidents captured around the country as posties carried out their daily deliveries, served as a graphic reminder for dog owners of the dangers of leaving their dogs unsecured.

“It can sometimes be difficult to imagine that an otherwise friendly family pet might pose a risk to others, but the reality is that our people are being hurt or placed in danger on a daily basis,” Mr Barnes said.

“These incidents can be traumatic for our team members and have lasting effects not only in terms of physical injury but also their mental health and they may no longer feel safe delivering to locations where incidents have occurred.” 

Penalties imposed by the Glenelg Shire Council have meant dogs do not roam the area at large, reducing the risk of attacks.

While attacks do happen at front doors, letterboxes and in front yards, around half also take place on footpaths or on the road.

Mr Hornibrook said incidents with dogs could divert posties’ from not only their job, but also traffic.

“If you’re trying to evade the dog and there’s traffic around, you possibly could get hit,” he says.

Mr Barnes noted traffic did not only pose a risk to posties.

“Even if a dog doesn’t bite it can cause a serious accident by running in front of a postie or driver in an electric delivery vehicle and that can also result in an injury to your pet,” he said.

“We’re really asking that people remember to shut their gates, keep their pets secured and help make sure our people can deliver their parcels and mail to them safely.”

Mr Hornibrook said while locals were predominantly doing the right thing to secure their dogs, there were further ways dog owners could help keep posties safe.

“If you’re walking the dogs, make sure their leads are in good condition so they don’t break, make sure there’s no chance of slipping their collar,” he said.

Dog owners who are unable to secure their dogs can nominate a place to leave items that is safe for both the parcel and the posties through the Australia Post app or choose a free parcel locker to collect parcels away from home.