Warning - may cause distress: Lancashire dog trainer jailed after ‘deep holes’ found in dogs’ necks

An RSPCA investigation found Kevin the boxer had deep lesions around his neck after being placed by his owner on a two-week training course with Peter Hargreaves in November 2019. Similar injuries were also found on a golden retriever, called Monty, who stayed with the defendant between the end of December 2021 and January 2022.

62-year-old Hargreaves, of no fixed abode, but previously of Elmers Green, Skelmersdale, pleaded guilty to two offences under the Animal Welfare Act 2006 when he appeared before Liverpool Magistrates’ Court on March 27.

The defendant had previously been convicted after a trial of two other animal welfare offences at Tameside Magistrates’ Court on March 11, 2022, but he failed to appear for a sentencing hearing. Four years later he was sentenced for all four offences at the Liverpool court, where he was also dealt with for a bail offence and a driving offence.

The court heard that Kevin’s owner paid Hargreaves, who then lived in Skelmersdale, so that her dog could attend his training course, during which time he stayed with the defendant. But when she picked the dog up on November 30, 2019 she noticed there were sores around his neck and he had lost weight, so she took him straight to a vets.

When the owner sent Hargreaves a photograph of Kevin’s injury, the trainer insisted he had only used a slip lead to prevent the dog from pulling. The owner later found a YouTube video of the defendant walking a dog in which it was stated a prong collar was being used. But when he was interviewed by the RSPCA Hargreaves claimed that he only used prong collars when training long-haired German Shepherd dogs.

An initial vet’s report stated that Kevin’s injuries were “deep holes” that could have been caused by the incorrect use of a prong collar or from thermal burns and insect bites. The injuries were deep and there was discharge from them with the vet estimating they had been caused during the time the canine was in the trainer’s care.

A forensic vet who reviewed the evidence ruled out the other causes and said the painful injuries were consistent with the use of a prong collar, with one of them being at least three days old.

The magistrates imposed a six-month prison sentence on Hargreaves and disqualified him from owning dogs for five years. He was also ordered to pay £500 costs towards the animal charity’s prosecution.

Prong collars are made up of metal links with prongs that rest against the skin of a dog and are designed to produce discomfort around the neck when they are being walked to discourage pulling behaviour. They are not illegal in the UK, although it is advised they are used with caution because of the potential for injuries and the RSPCA would like to see a ban in place.