The Dog G8 Company, supplier of the concertina dog safety gate, is lending support to National Dog Awareness Week (3-9 July), a campaign conducted each year to raise awareness of the number of dog attacks on postal and delivery workers by the Royal Mail and the Communication Workers Union. 

The company is collaborating with the University of Liverpool and Merseyside Dog Safety Partnership (MDSP) and developing products to prevent dog attacks at the front door.

Even the most docile dog can lash out when feeling frightened, startled, hurt, confused, or provoked, leading to a nightmare scenario for the injured party, the pet owner and canine companion. 

Over the past 12 months there were more than 3,300 dog attacks on postmen and women across the UK.Over 30,000 postmen and women have been attacked by dogs in the last decade! Over 80% at the front door. 36 postal workers are attacked by dogs every week, 6 every day, 2000 to 3000 every year and 1000 postmen and women have had a finger bitten off or severely injured whilst delivering the mail through the letterbox in the last 5 years. Over the last 12 months the number of recorded dog attacks rose by 15%.  (Statistics provided by the Royal Mail.)

These people were simply carrying out their jobs, trying to deliver mail to customers. The effect of some of these attacks have in some instances led to devastating and life changing injuries with some workers unable to return to work. The rise in the number of fatalities because of dog bites is also concerning for postal and delivery workers. (19 in the last three years). It costs the NHS and UK taxpayers over £75 million a year, treating more than 10,000 patients, including innocent postal worker victims.

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The Key Objectives of Dog Awareness Week are firstly and primarily to remind the public to be aware of their legal and moral responsibilities to control their dogs and prevent dog attacks on postal workers and a reminder to all postal workers to be vigilant, keep safe and take no risks. The public need to be aware that if their dog attacks a postal worker, they will be prosecuted either by the Police, Local Authority or by Royal Mail via a private prosecution under the agreement between Royal Mail and the CWU.

There is a whole host of reasons why dogs may bite. It can be to do with behaviour fallout resulting from a lack of early positive exposure, experience, and comfort of being handled. 

Dr Carri Westgarth, Professor in Human-Animal Interaction - a Senior Lecturer in Human-Animal Interaction at the University of Liverpool department of Epidemiology and Population Health, Institute of Infection and Global Health and author of the book 'The Happy Dog Owner' (2021) Welbeck, has been working in collaboration with The Dog G8 Company and one thing she has noticed recently is the number of dog attacks from dogs rescued from countries where they have spent most of their lives living rough on the streets with little human contact. This is something that dog owners who adopt these dogs must think about when it comes to preventing dog attacks and should take necessary precautions.

Other reasons a dog may bite could be to so with possessive guarding of items such as bowl, toy, or bed. A dog may also be sensitive to handling or could be suffering with pain. Some dogs are fearful or are easily startled. Inappropriate handling especially from children can make a dog agitated. Some dogs are also easily redirected where a dog can become agitated on the leash and will bite the first thing that comes to hand, and this can then happen in the home environment leading to dog attacks.

The Dog-G8 Company from Horsham who were recently offered a £50K investment from Dragon, Deborah Meaden on BBC One’s Dragons’ Den, has created a range of highly versatile, concertina gates that aid dog owners with training, prevent dogs from escaping, and reduce the potential risk of an attack on postal and delivery workers coming to the house.

The Dog-G8 gate was the inspiration of Peter Maxted, the founder of the company who has been a pet sitter for over 20 years and a dog owner for the same amount of time. He was very aware of the risks associated with dogs at front doors e.g., escapes, attacks, thefts and although there were other gates on the market, he felt they were inadequate and ineffective enough to work for all breeds. He therefore decided to design and sell his own version so he could keep his and clients’ dogs safer at the front door. 

The Dog-G8 product is British made and features a concertina, modular and retractable design. The product is incredibly versatile and can be used on multiple configurations ranging from the front door to stairways, hallways and many more. The gates modular design enables it to be spanned to any width, allowing the gate to be fitted to the widest of configurations such as patio doors where standard, conventional gates cannot fit.

The gate is made from mild steel, coated in chrome or white powder coat, bolted together with bespoke, customised clips which give the gate strength and durability.

When the gate is not in use it sits flat and compact to one side it’s neat, unobtrusive, and out of the way. Finally, it is removable, enabling it to be easily stored away or docked to other configurations such as the Stairway to the Doorway (if extra brackets are purchased).

The Dog-G8 can also be used in horse boxes, mobile homes, and caravans. When the gate is spanned across the entrance, this allows any motor home or caravan user to have their habitation door open, without the risk of their dog dashing out. The gate will provide dogs with much needed ventilation and offers great visibility.

The gate is excellent for when you are parked up at campsites or beaches where perimeters cannot be formed but you wish to have the door open. 

Since launch the company has seen massive growth and now sells directly to customer in the UK, Canada, United States, and Europe. The product went viral on Tiktok and Facebook attracting over 100 million organic views across all videos. The Dog-G8 Company was the Theo Paphitis' Small Business Sunday Winner in March 2021 and recently made the finals of the Pet Industry Federation Best Product Innovation Award.

For more information www.dog-g8.com