A dog owner has called for urgent tightening of regulations and checks on home boarding businesses after her puppy was fitted with an anti-bark collar without her knowledge.
Maria Corrigan from Co Antrim said she was left distressed and concerned for her pup's health after learning Shiloh had been subjected to behaviour modification efforts using the battery powered collar.
The one-year-old Cocker Spaniel, Poodle mix, was in the care of Orla and Damien Purcell of Chez Purcell The Dog Hotel, in Newtownabbey, whose home boarding business claims to offer "a normal family setting" for pets.
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Maria said: “I still feel sick at the thought of my pup being subjected to that type of treatment. I would never have trusted Shiloh with them if I’d had any idea they would put a collar like that on him.
“When I questioned it they said he had been barking at 6.15am and put the collar on him. So I can only presume at that time in the morning they had it already in their possession. He was wearing it in a video that was sent to me about 10.30am.
“I believe these collars should not be used by home boarding businesses and the Department of Agriculture and the local councils should have much stricter checks on these places."
Tim Kirby, one of Ireland's leading vets says anti-bark collars should be outlawed. He said: "There is no place in modern society for anti-bark collars. Dogs express their emotions and thoughts by barking and other innate means of communication.
"Freedom to express normal behaviour is one of the five freedoms which make up the foundation of animal welfare globally. Use of such collars is in complete contravention of the five freedoms and absolutely disregards an animal's welfare."
The Five Freedoms :
- Freedom from hunger and thirst,
- Freedom from discomfort,
- Freedom from pain, injury or disease,
- Freedom to express normal behaviour,
- Freedom from rear and distress.
And leading dog trainer Joanne Doonan from Saintfield, a member of the Institute of Modern Dog Trainers, concurred. She said: "There's always a reason for the barking and just suppressing it doesn't address the underlying reason.
"Some people will argue that it just buzzes or vibrates and that it's not an electric shock in a bid to justify their use, however a sudden noise or vibration can be highly aversive for most dogs. I would never use or recommend their use."
Maria said unlicensed home boarding facilities should not be open and licensed ones should not be using anti-bark collars on any dog without the knowledge or permission of the owner.
She told DogsLive “He should never have been subjected to this collar, let alone without my knowing about it. Shiloh is still just a puppy and he’s being trained through positive reinforcement not a collar that emits noise and vibrates."
Maria said she was shocked when she discovered what had happened to her dog. She explained: “I had been looking for reliable, caring and professional home boarding for a while to help me with Shiloh and I reached out to Chez Purcell and decided to get Shiloh in for an afternoon to see how he got on.
“My family normally looks after him when I’m away, which isn’t very often but this time we went away together. By then I’d taken Shiloh for a few day stays at Chez Purcell and made further bookings. Everything seemed OK and the house was well secured.
“I checked in with Orla Purcell while I was away and she didn't mention anything about him barking at all.
"But then as I was coming home from Spain I received a video from her which showed Shiloh, who is still being trained using positive reinforcement techniques, wearing a big black collar with some type of unit on it.
“I responded to the video and said he had someone else’s collar on. Orla l got back to me on WhatsApp and said it was a ‘barking collar’.
“She said if Shiloh barked three times in a row it emitted a high pitched sound and later she confirmed that it also vibrated on his neck.
“The WhatsApps I got said, ‘I put that on him this morning because he was barking incessantly. It’s a barking collar and when they bark more than three times in a row it gives off a high pitched sound which doesn’t hurt but gives them the idea.
'He has been doing a fair bit of barking in the mornings and setting the others off. It’s probably the fact that there are so many dogs here and the excitement of it all.
‘We do not normally use this and on this occasion it was sadly necessary as it was 6.15am and you were abroad on holiday.’
At the time the Purcells were running their ‘dog hotel’ from their kitchen in Newtownabbey. They describe their business as a “home from home dog boarding and doggie day care” and pets in their charge sleep in the kitchen for a rate of £30 per night per dog and £25 per day per dog.
Maria said: “Shiloh was booked in for seven nights from April 14 and I trusted Chez Purcell would look after him as I expected. I have since found out that the boarding facility should have been licensed and DAERA has confirmed that it was not when Shiloh was there.
“But worse than that, I found Shiloh quite changed after he was brought home. He was subdued, withdrawn and not his normal self. He’s not an overly vocal dog but after two days of absolute silence from him and his mood change, I took him to the vet because I thought he was sick and I was worried the collar may have injured him.
“My vet said he may have suffered psychological harm from the experience and we’d have to give him time to see how things worked out. They said his silence and withdrawn behaviour could have been a result of being too afraid to bark.
“I was told there was likely no physical harm. He is just a pup and he’d have had no way to understand what was going on. In the end it took him two weeks to get back to his old self.
“If I’m paying for my dog to be looked after in a home environment I'd expect barking to be handled in another way. Dogs bark for a reason, to try to communicate something. Just slapping a collar on them to shock them into stopping barking is not good enough and doing it without permission is even worse.
“I was not given the opportunity to make an informed decision about equipment used on my pup that was expected to modify his behaviour, and it’s my personal belief that the use of these collars is unethical.
“Shiloh was collected from Chez Purcell The Dog Hotel and I cancelled every other appointment he had with them. I will never know exactly what happened. All I can do is ensure it never happens to Shiloh again.”
Belfast Live contacted Chez Purcell The Dog Hotel about the claims. Orla Purcell responded: “Miss Corrigan and I had a disagreement about a single use of a Masbrill training collar which emits a beep and vibration. I regret not seeking her permission for which I apologised.
“It was in the very early hours of the morning and Miss Corrigan was in Spain. We take animal welfare very seriously here and would never use or do something to cause harm.
“Dogs frequently miss the company of other dogs when they leave here as they are off lead and free to play under supervision.”
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At the time of the incident, DAERA confirmed in writing to Maria about the licensing status of the business. They said: “DAERA can advise that Chez Purcell is not currently licensed. The welfare of animals is the responsibility of District Councils. DAERA will address the licensing issue.”
DAERA has been asked for further comment on regulations on pet boarding in Northern Ireland.
Boarding requirements in Northern Ireland:
An animal boarding establishment is a business that provides accommodation for other people’s dogs or cats. This refers to kennels and catteries only.
Owners have to pay a fee for an animal boarding establishment licence. The licence needs to be renewed every year.
Requirements
Establishments must prove they have suitable qualifications or experience to run an animal boarding establishment on application.
Establishments must show that the animals being looked after are:
- kept in suitable accommodation
- provided with adequate food, drink and bedding
- regularly exercised
- safeguarded in an emergency
- protected from infectious disease – this includes providing isolation facilities
Inspection
DARD may inspect premises before giving issuing licence, and any time after the licence is granted, check that establishments meeting health, safety and animal welfare standards.
Fines and penalties
Establishments can be fined up to £500 if you stop or delay an inspection or fined up £2,500 or imprisoned for up to three months, or both, if they run an animal boarding establishment without a licence, or don’t follow the conditions of the licence.
