Bernd Settnik / EPA

Postwoman Anneliese Knop interacts with dog 'Liesbeth' during her round in Mahlow, Germany, on Monday. Employees of the post office regularly attend training sessions because, according to the postal service, about 1,800 mail carriers per year are involved in incidents with dogs.

BERLIN -- Aid workers, journalists and embassy employees often undergo so-called Hostile Environment Training. But what about the threats that your ordinary postman faces on any given day?

Mailmen at the German Postal Service (Deutsche Post) are taking classes in dog defense so that they can learn how to behave when entering a dog's territory -- and to avoid any accompanying injuries.

Around 1,800 incidents involving dogs occur every year with roughly a third resulting in bites or more serious injuries, spokesman for Deutsche Post Rolf Schulz told NBC News. Mailmen in rural areas particularly benefit from the program because dogs often roam freely in people's front yards in smaller German towns, he said.

Letter-deliverers are more endangered "because the dog sees them every day," whereas package deliverymen are less vulnerable to the threat, Schulz said.

The classes, which are voluntary, advise mailmen not to shout at the dogs and to avoid sudden movements.

"For the worst-case scenario, we sometimes equip our delivery personnel with pepper spray," Schulz said.

But using the spray incorrectly can accelerate the dog's aggressive behavior. "We caution to be very careful with the use of the devices because you have to spray directly into the dog's nose to achieve an effect."

Deutsche Post has seen a decrease in numbers of dangerous encounters with dogs over the past decade and says the training is key for a safer working environment.

It is all about strict German health and safety regulations, officials say.

The employer of Germany's 86,000 mailmen hopes to save costs by reducing the amount of sick days for stress and injuries caused by encounters with territorial dachshunds, snarling pugs or aggressive German shepherds.

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LONDON -- An American self-defense expert -- who teaches people how to deal with "kill-or-be-killed" situations -- has been banned from entering Britain. Officials say Tim Larkin's presence "was not conducive to the public good."

Larkin attempted to board a flight to the U.K. from Las Vegas, but was given a letter from the U.K. Border Agency saying he would not be allowed in, according to BBC News.

"The home secretary [the U.K. government's interior minister] will seek to exclude an individual if she considers that his or her presence in the U.K. is not conducive to the public good," a government spokesperson told the BBC, confirming Larkin was subject to an exclusion order.

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Larkin, who runs a company called Target Focus Training, previously came to the U.K. in 2009, when he taught a class to teach people how to "maim and kill in self-defense," the BBC reported.

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According to his firm's website, Larkin is "the guy operations like the US Navy SEALs, Army Special Forces and the U.S. Border Patrol call in behind-the-scenes to teach them when it’s 'kill-or-be-killed.' The truth is … your best self defense in a life-or-death confrontation is injuring the other guy. And it’s the one thing that makes us so different."

Larkin has spoken to government officials and business people in more 40 countries about surviving life-or-death violence, according to the website. He also co-authored a book called How To Survive The Most Critical 5 Seconds Of Your Life and writes an online newsletter, Secrets For Staying Alive When Rules Don’t Apply.

The U.K.'s Guardian newspaper ran an online poll about the decision to prevent Larkin from coming to Britain. At 10:15 a.m. ET, more than 72 percent of those choosing to vote said he should have not have been banned.

The BBC said Larkin had been invited to speak at "The Martial Arts Show" conference in Birmingham on May 12 and 13, and to hold a seminar in the Tottenham area of London. Both places experienced rioting during widespread disorder in the U.K. in August last year.

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Larkin told the BBC that he thought he had been banned for arguing that U.K. law should be changed to allow people to defend themselves without fear of criminal charges being brought against them.

"You are sitting in your house and you're being attacked, or you're attacked out in the street... There's an awful lot of martial arts and self-defense being taught there right now that gives no instruction on [how to hurt] the human body," he said.

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"There are those rare, rare black swan occasions -- like the [August] riots -- where law-abiding citizens are put in situations where they are facing grievous bodily harm and they hesitate because they are afraid of being prosecuted. That is a very real thing," he added.

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