Would you hire this man to train your dog?

We would like to make it clear that this case in no way relates to Stephen G. King, a dog trainer based in Romford, Essex.   

Obey or be Corrected Part 2 

CASUALTIES:  OOZE is in possession of numerous cruelty reports and videotape of Stephen Barry King in action from the Animal Legal Defence Fund in America and documented reports from here in England. Below are  reports of four incidents which took place in Britain from pet owners who felt they had to speak out.


INCIDENT ONE: In March 2000 Dawn Scantlebury, the owner of 11 month old Mitch, a Bichon Frise, hired King after seeing his advert in her local newspaper, because her dog was pulling on the lead. “He arrived with a massive choke chain and began to train him on the pavement. During the training he yanked the dog very sharply on the choke chain and Mitch went flying through the air like a toy dog.”

After the lesson Mitch could not jump onto the sofa, had open wounds on his groin and leg, his neck was red raw and his movement impaired for two or three days. Dawn took him to the vet and the vet nurse on hearing the story was shocked and commented that  “King could have killed him.”

Dawn has subsequently had vet’s bills for £1500 for treatment which she feels was caused by King’s actions. (Mitch’s oesophagus has been damaged and his tonsils had to be removed.) Dawn also feels her dog has been traumatised which shows as mood swings and uncharacteristic growling when anyone attempts to stroke his back end.

King also offered at the same session to train her other small dog to stop attacking the post; his methods were to yank the dog hard, again using a choke chain. Dawn was also told the best method for getting a dog to lie down was to “kick the front legs from under it.”  Dawn reported King to the RSPCA and commented that Stephen King  “is evil.” She paid King £50 cash and got no receipt.
 King at work

INCIDENT TWO:  In February 2000, Beryl Brand, a local councillor hired King to train Jack, her collie cross, who chased joggers and bikes. During the first lesson King went through the basics outside her home and for lesson two, King took the dog to the woods where he suspended Jack up in the air on a choke  chain.  Jack in response to this bit King on the hand. Beryl and her husband who was also present were, to say the least, not impressed by King’s training methods. Beryl reported King to the local dog warden, and to Trading Standards officers.

INCIDENT THREE: May 2000 Carol Gargaro  booked Stephen King to train her German Shepherd. The idea was to stop Zara barking at people when they walked past  her house. During the first lesson King conducted general obedience training which Carol says “was a bit harsh.” Carol left King alone briefly with her dog and her neighbour was horrified to see him “yank the dog off the ground with the lead”. 

Lesson  two was more obedience training  but after this lesson Zara seemed to have some difficulty breathing.  Carol said  Zara’s breathing “ sounded like asthma”. When King arrived at her home for the third lesson,  Zara hid from him and when he put on the choke chain she wet herself (this was normally a bold,  confident dog).  Carol told King she was worried about the breathing difficulty that Zara had had after the previous lesson and asked him not to be so harsh this time; reassured by King, Carol allowed the training to continue on the green in front of her house.

King insisted that the dog had to go down in response to hand signals only and when the dog failed to do so, he stamped on her lead to force her head down. King then marched Zara some 30 metres from her owner and ‘helicoptered’ the dog, swinging her back and forth three times off his knee. Carol rushed over to stop him and paid King to get rid of him. Carol then reported King to the RSPCA.

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King uses his leg to physically restrain the dog while jerking him hard on the choke chain. This ensures maximum discomfort for the dog.

INCIDENT FOUR:  March 2001, Sharon Ellis was walking with her mother, young children and several dogs in the local park when she noticed two men and a woman with two German Shepherd dogs.  Sharon saw King pick up a  six month old puppy and fling it to the ground; with his knee on the dog’s neck, he pinned it to the floor and proceeded to beat the puppy with a leather lead. Sharon could hear the pup screaming! Sharon was so upset she shouted at King to stop and was rewarded with two fingers stuck up at her. King shouted some obscenity at her and the puppy wriggled free and ran off.

Sharon said to King “Don’t hit the dog, you didn’t need to do that.”  King’s response was to approach her saying “You shut your mouth, you know nothing.” He continued to walk right up to her, put his face in hers and slapped her around the back of the head twice.  Sharon was frightened but hit him back on the shoulder using her own dog lead. Sharon reported this incident to the police and to the RSPCA.

SECRET FILMING

We went undercover to film one of Mr King’s training sessions which took place in a park in full view of mothers and children and other dog walkers; the resulting video shows scenes of:

a. A small dog being kicked.

b. The dog being constantly corrected with a harsh jerk using a choke chain and lead. The jerks are so powerful that the dog screams virtually every time. At one point the dog was corrected so violently that Mr King managed to break the metal choke chain around the dog’s neck and send the broken chain flying across the grass!

c. The dog forced violently towards the ground using the choke chain to initiate a down position. Each time the dog failed to obey, the power of the correction was increased.

d. The dog again corrected for failing to obey the signal for a down position. In this instance, Mr King stood in front of the dog and forced it into the down by repeatedly stamping and pulling violently on the lead. Each time the dog screamed  as he was jerked forward and down to the ground and the violence and power of the corrections increased whenever the dog failed to obey. 

  Foot is raised on lead prior to bringing it back, hard and fast, to force the dog into the down. The next picture shows the dog immediately after this correction was administered. Does this dog look happy?               

 

e. Most distressing of all, the dog was literally hung in the air several times, its body suspended in midair, eyes bulging while it gasped for air. 
 
f. We saw Mr King’s assistant, Lotte Stagg, use the same training methods. She is seen on the video jerking the dog violently into the down position, causing it to scream. 

The dog concerned was a small terrier cross who at no time showed any signs of aggression or retaliation, rather the reverse, he was terrified.

We contacted Stephen King and Lotte Stagg to ask about their training methods and below are their responses to our questions.

 
Friday, September 14 2001, 22:09
Phone interview with Stephen King 

Ooze Online: Hello my name is Addie, I am a journalist investigating your dog training methods and concerning allegations that you abuse dogs.

King: Who told you that?

Ooze Online: We are in possession of undercover video footage of one of your training sessions during which you are seen to kick, violently pull and hang the dog.

King: What do you mean by hang?

Ooze Online: Hanging the same as with a rope on a person , but in this case using a lead and choke chain to vertically pull, or very nearly, all of the dog’s feet off the floor.

King: Well what's this dogs case history, is it aggressive? How can I defend myself if I don't know the dog’s history?

Ooze Online: Does the dog’s history make a difference to the method of abuse?

King: My training is the oldest and most effective method. It’s what happens in nature and until we start hugging every tree and saving every whale, it’s what stops the dogs getting into trouble and getting put down. These f***ing people who say I don't want to cause my dog any discomfort are the ones who are inhumane. Thousands of dogs die each year because they have behavioural problems that are f***ing solvable. That's as bad as what's just happened in New York.  Chew on that!!!

King put the phone down. (N.B. This conversation took place just three days after September 11)

DATE   Fri September 14 2001, 18:07
Phone interview with Lotte Stagg

Ooze Online: Hello, my name is Frances, I am a journalist working on an investigation into Stephen King’s training methods.  Do you train with Stephen King?
 
Lotte: I'm not answering that question
 
Ooze: We know you train with Stephen King, we have seen you on video. Do you approve of his training methods?
 
Lottie: I wouldn't train with him if I didn't.
 
Ooze Online: Are you aware that some people would see his training methods as abusing the dog?
 
Lotte: Some people may find them unacceptable but abuse is when you over feed a dog and let it get run over. We train a dog to keep it safe. It has to be corrected or be run over.

Ooze Online: So you think it's acceptable to hang a dog?
 
Lotte: What do you mean hang?
 
Ooze Online: Suspend the dog in midair, all four feet off the ground, or very nearly?
 
Lotte: When did you see that?
 
Ooze Online: We have video evidence of King doing that to a dog and you were there.

Lotte: When, what client?

Ooze Online:  I'm sorry I can’t give you that information.

Lotte: I'm not prepared to answer any more questions.

Lotte put the phone down.

COMPLETE FALSEHOOD

We also checked Stephen King’s claim that he trained dogs for the Portland Police Force in Oregon, something he proudly boasts in his promotional literature. This is the response from Ray Turney, Senior Trainer of the Portland Police K-9 Division and President of the Oregon Police K-9 Association.

Ray Turney wrote  via email  Sept. 2001

“In the mid 80's, King attended a few training sessions with the Portland Police Bureau. At NO TIME did Mr. King work with, or assist us in any manner with our dogs. His only role was as an observer. Any  representation other than that is a complete  falsehood.”

Finally we showed Ann DeRizzio the video and asked for her comments.  Ann is President of the Federation of Dog Trainers and Canine Behaviourists and a lecturer on Canine Studies.  She said,“I was shocked and appalled by the way that poor little dog was treated. To see a small dog hung in the air several times, kicked and terrified was horrible. The fear in the dog’s eyes and body language was plain to see; one wonders how those administering this treatment dare call themselves dog trainers; they are not at all.  They are vicious, violent bullies with no understanding of canine communication or how the dog learns. Dog training has moved away from these archaic, unprofessional, inhumane handling methods.” 

If you want to view messages on the subject of Stephen Barry King then click here. This will link you to our old message board where you can read but no longer post messages.

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