£750 TO BEAT YOUR DOG
Scottish SPCA warns pet owners about American expert’s seminars
A CRUEL American pet guru who smacks dogs on the head is staging a £750-a-head training seminar in Scotland.
Jeff Gellman uses a rolled-up towel on pets but the Scots SPCA has urged people not to attend.
PET owners are being urged to avoid seminars by one of America’s most controversial dog trainers.
Animal behaviour expert Jeff Gellman, who has been slammed for hitting animals on the head with rolled-up towels and using electric shock collars, is coming to Scotland.
In one video, the dad of seven, from Rhode Island, is seen punishing a calm-looking dog at a seminar with a tightly rolled-up towel – which he calls “the bonker”.
Last year, the disturbing clip went viral, prompting more than 100 calls from across the US to local animal welfare charities.
Gellman, who owns Solid K-9
Training, is hosting a two-day seminar in Braco, Perthshire, in August, which will cost punters a whopping £750 to attend.
Last night, Mike Flynn, chief superintendent of the Scottish SPCA, urged people to think twice about attending.
He said: “There’s nothing to stop him coming to Scotland but I wouldn’t encourage people to go to him.
“I wouldn’t waste £750 to go and learn to be cruel to my dog, thinking I was helping it.”
Gellman was forced to defend himself last December when the video of his Las Vegas seminar was leaked.
He is seen slamming the truncheon-like towel on to the head of a white Pyrenean mountain dog.
The animal immediately yelps and seeks comfort from its owner.
At the time, Joe Warzycha, president of Rhode Island SPCA, said: “It’s heartbreaking to see it. The dog responds in a manner that’s indicative of pain.”
But speaking to a local TV station last year, Gellman claimed the video was taken out of context.
He said the owner of the dog came to the seminar because it kept pulling her out of her wheelchair and he used his “bonking” technique to stop the behaviour. He added: “It looks like I’m hitting a dog that’s doing a perfect sit.
“So it’s a service dog in training. We have to stop this or she can’t use her dog any more.
“People who come here are really struggling.”
He added: “To stop them from doing something, you can’t reward that. You have to make it quick, unemotional, matter-of-fact.”
On his website, Gellman claims to specialise in dogs with aggression and behavioural issues and says he considers “helping people” one of his most “enjoyable hobbies”.
He adds: “The greatest gift you can offer your dog is inclusion in your life.”