Case ReportSevere brain damage after punitive training technique with a choke chain collar in a German shepherd dog
Section snippets
Case description
A 1-year-old, male intact, German shepherd dog (weight 40 kg) with incoordination and circling to the left was presented at our small animal clinic. Four hours before presentation, the dog had been disciplined by the owner because of misbehavior during training. The dog was suspended a few feet in the air by its choke chain collar, a common form of punishment among dog handlers (Miller, 2008). By the owners' reckoning, the action was terminated after approximately 60 seconds when the dog
Imaging
Magnetic resonance (MR) tomography was performed with a 1.0 Tesla system (Gyroscan Phillips, Hamburg, Germany) and a knee coil. The T2-weighted scans showed (Figure 1A-C) (sagittal, field of view [FOV]: 222 mm, 15 slices, slice thickness: 4.0 mm, GAP: 0.3 mm, repetition time [TR]: 1756 milliseconds, echo time [TE]: 108 milliseconds, matrix: 360 × 360 and dorsal: FOV: 222 mm, 18 slices, slice thickness: 3.5 mm, GAP: 0.3 mm, TR: 1969 milliseconds, TE: 108 milliseconds, matrix: 320 × 320) a
Discussion
Swinging or lifting a dog off the ground by the collar (helicoptering or hanging) is a highly controversial form of punitive training technique occasionally applied by dog handlers or trainers (Miller, 2008). Dog handlers in favor of this technique still believe that its correct application “takes the drive and fight out of the dog” and does not cause any pain (Leerburg, 2010). It has been widely recognized by most veterinary behavior specialists that this form of punishment should be avoided
References (35)
- et al.
Good trainers: how to identify one and why this is important to your practice of veterinary medicine
J. Vet. Behav.: Clin. Appl. Res.
(2006) - et al.
Fatal and non-fatal bilateral delayed carotid artery dissection after manual strangulation
Forensic. Sci. Int.
(2005) - et al.
Can MRI of the neck compete with clinical findings in assessing danger to life for survivors of manual strangulation? A statistical analysis
Leg. Med.
(2010) Pressure on the neck calculated for any point along the ligature
Forensic Sci. Int.
(2001)- et al.
Delayed bilateral internal carotid artery thrombosis following accidental strangulation
Br. J. Anaesth
(2000) - et al.
Comparison of two methods of predicting outcome in perinatal asphyxia
Lancet
(1986) - et al.
Predicting neurological outcome following cardiac arrest
J. Neurol. Sci.
(2007) - et al.
Post-anesthetic cortical blindness in cats: twenty cases
Vet. J.
(2012) - American Veterinary Society of Animal Behavior (AVSAB) Position Statement. The use of punishment for behavior...
- et al.
Diffusion-weighted MR imaging of global cerebral anoxia
AJNR Am. J. Neuroradiol.
(1999)