Dog Daddy. Yet another controversial showman dog trainer making money.

The Dog Daddy aka Augusto DeOliveira, is yet another in a long list of showman dog trainers who pop up from time to time and court controversy in order to gain celebrity and at the same time make huge sums of money out of gullible dog owners and followers. Dog training is big business and very lucrative and totally unregulated in most countries. Wherever their is money to be made there will always be someone to take advantage of it.

Dog training is big business and lucrative.

He is young, good looking, has chosen a catchy moniker, knows how to capitalise social media, surround himself with hype and garner millions of followers worldwide, particularly the young. He swaggers about in designer clothes and sunglasses having photographs with the usual celebrity clients and poses outside designer shops. He will be a multi-millionaire in no time, if not already. It is just about presentation and hype. Basically the dogs are just props for his huge marketing campaign.

Like other controversial trainers before Dog Daddy there are moves to ban him from the U.K. and there is a Change.org petition with this intent at the moment. He was due to hold training sessions at secret locations recently but these were cancelled probably partly because of protests from the RSPCA, the British Veterinary Association, The Kennel Club and many others.

Dog clicker training v Dog Daddy methods

But what of Dog Daddy methods.

His methods are nothing new particularly in America: using prong collars, stringing up dogs, yanking and dragging them harshly and poking them. Despite his suspect methods owners willingly to offer up their sacrificial dogs for punishment.

Celebrity trainers come and go. Back in the 1970’s and 1980’s we had the highly celebrated Barbara Woodhouse in the U.K. and across the world, probably the mother of this brand of dog trainers. She made a good living and fame from her TV programmes, books and documentaries about her methods. This was mainly because of her perceived eccentricity which always makes good TV. She was regarded by many dog owners as a saviour and by others as heavy handed and cruel with her domineering methods.

Another more recent example was American showman dog trainer Jeff Gellman who was accused of hitting dogs with a rolled up towel and uses prong collars and remote control shock collars to keep dogs in line. The use of such instruments of torture are much used in North America and are readily available on the internet in the U.K. His YouTube videos and live appearances garnered him wealth and fame and followers who queued up willing to pay large sums of money for a session with him.

The argument over negative and positive reinforcement.

We now live in a world of dog behaviourists, clinical animal behaviourists, psychiatrists, counsellors and a variety of trainers to make dogs compliant and contented with our modern lifestyles. All because as owners we have made them nervous wrecks in one way or another.

The methods used by Dog Daddy and his ilk highlight the great division that still exists after decades of research and debate regarding the best and most humane way of training a dog to fit in with our modern lifestyles. Every self proclaimed dog behaviourist and trainer has their own ideas. But then everybody likes to think they are a dog expert.

“Experts” have long disagreed over the two main variants of training: “Aversive” or “negative reinforcement” training favoured by most showman trainers utilises brute force but is viewed as counter productive and stresses dogs, compared with “positive reinforcement” where dogs are bribed with treats and praised to toe the line. Whether any of this is scientifically sound or not, common sense dictates that hitting, yanking and electrocuting dogs is probably not the most humane course of action.

You can beat humans and enslave or make them submissive with the right methods but it doesn’t mean the method is right or acceptable.

Genuine and sincere dog trainer or another showman – you to decide.

Criticise dog owners at your peril.

Increasingly it seems that dog owners are not aware of or care about the dangers, etiquette or protocol of walking their dog.

One of the worst crimes you can commit against dog owners is to dare to criticise them or try to offer advice on how they should control or care for their dog. Most owners immediately take offence or become hostile perhaps out of arrogance, embarrassment or guilt. Increasingly it seems that dog owners are not aware of or care about the dangers, etiquette or protocol of walking their dog(s).

Once a person acquires a dog many believe they automatically assume the status of an expert on dog care and behaviour. But many have little idea of the legislation that surrounds responsibilities of dog ownership and the risks their dog could pose to themselves and others. A fatal recent incident in the U.K. where a young woman dog walker was killed by a pack of eight dogs she was exercising highlights this lack of understanding.

dog walker with pack of dogs
An fatal accident waiting to happen and one that recently did.

This attitude manifests itself in many situations such as when facing an out-of-control dog hurtling towards you growling and with hackles raised. This has happened to me on three occasions recently while out on countryside walks and in each case the owner has taken umbrage when asked politely to keep their dog under control. One incident involved a dog than ran up snarling with hackles raised and circled behind us while we stood stock still. The owner some 50 yards away sauntered up and just remarked “he won’t harm you”.

Any attempt to point out their responsibilities under the U.K. Dangerous Dog Act 1991 in not allowing their dog to cause fear and/or apprehension to others is met with being petty-minded. This also includes allowing a dog to jump up at you.

dog owners not clearing up after their dog. animalrightsandwrongs.uk

Dog owners do not take kindly to be given advice.

Pointing out to an owner that they haven’t cleaned up after their dog or have left full poo bags hanging from a branch or dumped by the side of the path causes instant offence and anger and it is a brave person to even consider it.

Then there is the problem of what to do when you see a dog being needlessly mishandled or ill-treated. It takes an even braver person indeed to intervene these days. I once saw a woman violently yanking her dog’s lead so violently every few yards as she walked along that she was pulling it off its feet. All because he wasn’t adequately trained on a lead. She did not take any advice calmly when I intervened.

The ultimate insult.

The ultimate insult to a dog owner, or any other pet owner for that matter, is to be accused of animal abuse or infringing byelaws such as not cleaning up after their dog. Like parking wardens, officials like RSPCA Inspectors and council staff issuing fines often find themselves in altercations. The problem in the case of dogs lies in that most owners righteously believe they are all experts on canine care and ownership and can do no wrong and act as they want.

Most dog owners are thankfully considerate to other people and their dogs, but there does seem to be an increasing number who do not understand their duty to others, and it is the dogs that may suffer in the end from their indifference or selfish behaviour.

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