A man who was identified as a dog handler was seen smacking a dog while taking them out on a group walk.
As seen in a video, he had raised his hand and hit a dog on the side of its snout once.
Source: @sgfollowsall.backup on Instagram
The company said the handler’s actions were part of “corrective measures” and the dog’s owner is aware of them.
The video of the handler hitting the dog was posted by @sgfollowsall.backup on Instagram on Friday (5 April).
The 22-second clip showed a group of five handlers taking about 12 dogs on a pack walk at an unspecified green space.
Source: @sgfollowsall.backup on Instagram
On the far left of the video, a yellow Labrador was being held on a leash by a male handler, who was also holding another brown-and-white on a leash.
After a pause, the male handler raised his right hand and brought it down firmly on the right side of the yellow Labrador’s muzzle.
The dog let out a bark and cowered back for a bit.
The man subsequently pointed a finger at the dog, as if reprimanding it.
Source: @sgfollowsall.backup on Instagram
The other trainers didn’t seem to notice or react to what the man did, and the group proceeded on their walk.
After the video went viral, gaining close to 700 reactions on Instagram, netizens identified the handlers as team members of K9 Matters.
The company, whose founder says he has more than 10 years of experience in training both working and pet dogs, addressed the issue in an Instagram story posted on Friday night.
Acknowledging that their team member’s actions towards a dog had raised concerns, they described the smack as part of “corrective measures”.
Source: K9 Matters on Instagram
K9 Matters explained that the yellow Labrador had “started to display signs of redirected aggression (growling)” at its handler.
The dog was also reacting to the presence of another passing dog that wasn’t in the video, the company said.
As the “intensity was building up”, the team member had to resort to “punitive measures”, it added. These were taken to prevent “any harm whatsoever”.
That said, the company’s policy is to never smack a dog unless they are threatening to attack other dogs and/or humans, including their handler.
That’s because it believes that “different types of aggression require tailored corrections”.
What’s more, the yellow Labrador’s owner is “fully aware” and supportive of its methods, K9 Matters said.
As the dog is still undergoing rehabilitative training, its handler was assigned only two dogs, it added.
This was so that he could better handle them and because the Labrador would react only when its handler had multiple dogs.
K9 Matters said it sincerely appreciates the concerns raised by the public, adding:
We stand by our commitment to balanced training methods that prioritise the necessary correction while also addressing specific challenging behaviours effectively.
The company also strives to ensure the well-being and rehabilitation of all dogs under its care.
However, the Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (SPCA) has rebutted K9 Matters’ statement.
In a Facebook post on Friday night, SPCA Singapore said punitive measures “have no place in animal training”.
Source: SPCA Singapore on Facebook
In fact, this is “especially critical” in rehabilitative training as the dog might have existing fears that could be exacerbated by the infliction of pain and distress, the animal welfare organisation added.
It recommended that trainers and owners “take steps to set their dog up for success from the outset” by using only science-based and force-free training methods.
They should also “ensure that their interventions appropriately target the source of any behavioural challenges”, it noted.
In this case, the yellow Labrador’s handler should have increased the distance between the dog and the other dog, SPCA said.
Hitting the dog and continuing to walk as normal would risk another reaction, it added.
SPCA will follow up on this case by escalating it to the authorities, it said.
It will work with them to probe suspected cases of animal cruelty or animal welfare, gathering evidence to build up a case.
SPCA also called for anybody who has had negative experiences with K9 Matters to contact them at depinspector@spca.org.sg. All information will be treated confidentially.
MS News has reached out to K9 Matters for comments.
In July 2022, a video of a dog being struck with a metal bowl at a training and daycare centre was circulated online. The man who did this was allegedly a licensee of the centre, named K9 Connection.
The facility was later suspended from a list of accredited dog trainers and the trainer was charged in court with animal cruelty in November 2023.
Also read: Dog Trainers Handle Canines Roughly At Telok Blangah Playground, Get Suspended
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Featured image adapted from @sgfollowsall.backup on Instagram.
The issue was resolved amicably.
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