The Australian government is facing calls to ban a dog trainer known as the “Dog Daddy” from entering the country amid claims his techniques – which include physical punishment using a prong collar – promote animal cruelty.
A Change.org petition that has gained more than 6,000 signatures is urging the government to prevent Augusto Deoliveira, who is due to run training sessions in Sydney at the end of September, from entering Australia.
Deoliveira, who is from Brazil and based in the US, told Guardian Australia he helps dogs with severe aggression and anxiety, where “people have tried everything else” and may have otherwise given the dog up to an animal shelter because they can’t control behaviour.
His methods include the use of a prong collar, a metal collar with spikes that pinches a dog’s neck when pulled.
“I teach the dog to respond again to the sensation of the collar and the collar is not designed to cause pain,” he said.
But RSPCA Australia said Deoliveira’s methods, which revolve around aversive training such as correcting a dog’s behaviour through punishment rather than reward, were dangerous.
“These methods are cruel, ineffective and dangerous for both animals and people,” an RSPCA spokesperson said. They said evidence showed inflicting pain and fear could interfere with learning and affected dogs’ relationships with people.
“We have written to [Deoliveira] to express our concerns,” the RSPCA spokesperson said.
The Association of Pet Dog Trainers Australia has also raised concerns about Deoliveira’s visit.
The organisation’s treasurer, Mark Ehrman, did not say Deoliveira should be banned from Australia.
But, as Deoliveira’s methods gain traction on social media, Ehrman called on people to realise what he promotes is outdated and cruel.
“It causes a lot of stress and we get into this kind of Jekyll and Hyde scenario where the dog sees a human hand coming towards it, it isn’t sure whether it’s going to be a reward or punishment,” he said.
Deoliveira, who has 3 million subscribers on his YouTube channel and travels around the world to deliver the training sessions – worth US$1,500 (A$2,300) for a private sessions and US$400 for a group class – has been facing increasing backlash internationally.
His planned visit to the UK earlier this month, which he later cancelled then rescheduled to January, was met with a petition calling for his visit to be stopped. The petition gained more than 28,000 signatures, and outcry from RSPCA UK and the British Veterinary Association who condemned the promotion of aversive training.
Deoliveira said he cancelled this trip, and another in Italy, due to the personal toll of the backlash.
“There’s a big thing right now with competition that comes from mostly other dog trainers,” he said. “They have manipulated a lot of the things that I do.”
Deoliveira had also planned to run training workshops in Australia last year, but he was deported after it was found he was not on the correct business visa.
Last week in the New South Wales parliament, the Animal Justice party MP Emma Hurst raised concerns her party had received about Deoliveira’s upcoming visit.
Hurst told parliament it was “concerning to think” Deoliveira may have chosen to hold his training sessions in NSW because of the state’s “lax animal cruelty laws”. She put forward a notice of motion for the state to strengthen its laws.
“Unlike other states, such as Victoria, prong collars are legal in NSW, we have no restrictions on training a dog to be dangerous and our animal cruelty laws remain woefully out of date,” she said.
Mary Croker, a University of Sydney law expert, said the government does have the power to deny or cancel a visa on character grounds or in the public interest.
“The powers are there, but it’s whether the political will is there,” she said, adding the cancellation of tennis player Novak Djokovic last year showed it was possible.
A spokesperson for the minister of immigration, Andrew Giles, said the government was unable to comment on individual cases for privacy reasons.
Ehrman, who also trains aggressive dogs, said the modern style of dog training backs positive reinforcement, which rewards good behaviour rather than punishing bad behaviour.
“It’s backed by science [and] behaviour modification,” he said. “We encourage people to do their research and find trainers with qualifications that are using methods that resonate with them.”
