Controversial dog trainer creates protest in east Austin
AUSTIN, Texas - In East Austin Sunday, a line of dog owners formed at Fair Market.
Many were searching for help from the Dog Daddy.
Augusto Deoliveira, also known as the Dog Daddy, is a dog trainer who has more than 3 million subscribers on YouTube.
He travels across the world for group training sessions.
Another group of protesters also showed up, hoping to offer a different solution to pet owners.
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"I just feel so passionate about standing up for them because they can't speak." said Taylor Cezanne.
Cezanne is a local dog trainer in Austin. She said she is protesting the Dog Daddy's training methods.
"As somebody who can read their body language, seeing the dogs come in and out of this class that we're protesting is really sad, and I just don't feel like it's fair to our dogs," said Cezanne.
After evaluating videos of the Dog Daddy's training, the American College of Veterinary Behaviors released a statement in September.
It claimed his methods are "outdated and inhumane."
The group said he hangs dogs from a slip lead, delivers physical corrections repeatedly with a prong collar, physically forces a dog to lie down or sit, and provokes aggression.
The RSPCA also recently shared similar concerns a few months prior when the Dog Daddy visited the UK.
"It's not actually addressing the root of the issue, so we're not really helping dogs," said Triztan, a protester and local dog trainer. "It looks like the dog has stopped doing the behavior, but it's not because the dog feels better, it's because the dog is in such a state of stress and fear and panic that it just chooses to give up."
The Dog Daddy sees his methods differently.
"They're already in distress, they're already in fear," Deoliveira said. "All that I'm doing is pushing them through their fear, and it's so effective that even after one training session 9 out of 10 of my clients report that the dogs are almost 100 percent better after just being with me for one training session. If anyone really has a strong opinion about what I do, I would suggest they come and see for themselves and really understand because there's a lot of context that I put into my training."
But for protesters, the Dog Daddy's methods are just a part of a bigger problem in the training industry.
"There are no regulations in the dog training industry whatsoever, and that is so harmful to people and especially our fur babies," said Cezanne.
She added that she'd like to see licenses for trainers.