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UK

Royal Mail asks dog owners to display door sign to protect postal workers

Royal Mail is urging dog owners to display a free printable door notice asking delivery staff to wait while the dog is secured. The "unpredictable" situation in the headlines refers to dog behaviour at the door, not delivery delays.

2 outlets · 1L · 0C · 1R First reported Account updated
Image: Daily Express
Image: Daily Mirror

1 / 2

The story, neutrally told

Mixed · 2Royal Mail is encouraging households with dogs to display a free printable notice at the front door to protect delivery staff. Mixed · 2The sign reads: "I have a dog. Please wait whilst I secure my dog before opening the door." It is available in English and Welsh. Mixed · 2Royal Mail's guidance says dogs are territorial and can become "unpredictable" if they feel they must protect their family, and asks owners to keep dogs secure and out of the way before the post person arrives.

Mixed · 2Royal Mail announced on 6 July 2026 that 2,019 dog attacks on its staff were reported in the past year, an 8% fall on the previous reporting period, and that 52% of incidents happened at the front door. Mixed · 2The company said it welcomed the drop but that attacks remain "unacceptably high", averaging 38 a week across the UK, with some causing permanent and disabling injuries. Mixed · 2Lizz Lloyd, Health & Safety Director at Royal Mail, said every attack is "one too many" and that preventing attacks "starts at the doorstep".

Right · 1The Daily Express also lists the 10 highest-risk postcode areas from Royal Mail's figures: Sheffield (S) top for the second year with 61 attacks, Doncaster (DN) and Guildford (GU) joint second with 53 each, and Newcastle (NE) and Portsmouth (PO) joint third with 50 each. Right · 1The rest of that list is Nottingham (NG) 48, Swansea (SA) 44 (up 76%), Belfast (BT) 37, Rochester (ME) 36, Kent/Sussex/Surrey (TN) and York (YO) 35 each, Leicester (LE) 34 (new entry) and Staffordshire (ST) 31.

Every sentence links to the reporting it rests on. The pill in front of each says where its sources sit: Left, Centre or Right when one side supplies at least half of them, Mixed when they are evenly split. The number is how many outlets it cites.

Left1 outlet

Framing
The Daily Mirror presents the story as a consumer tip, with a headline about an '11-word warning' to avoid post issues. It is a short piece that mostly repeats Royal Mail's guidance and statistics.
Emphasis
The sign wording, the 'unpredictable' dog warning and the headline attack figures.
Leaves out or plays down
Omits the postcode-level breakdown that the Express carries.
Charged language
“11-word warning”
For example
“Royal Mail tells customers to consider displaying an 11-word sign on their door.” — Daily Mirror

Centre0 outlets

No centre outlet in our sources has covered this story yet.

Right1 outlet

Framing
The Daily Express frames it as a safety step for households, with a teaser-style lede, and adds a long postcode league table of dog-attack hotspots.
Emphasis
Regional detail: which postcode areas are riskiest and how each changed year on year.
Leaves out or plays down
Does not say how the 'unpredictable' wording relates to the sign beyond quoting Royal Mail's guidance.
Charged language
“Don't let those deliveries be a problem”
For example
“1stThe S (Sheffield) postcode area was ranked the highest risk location for Royal Mail postal workers for the second consecutive year, with 61 dog attacks reported.” — Daily Express