LFT Reporter Lex Talamo told him that vetting of information - including possible misinformation - should not be done before a live audience and again invited Gellman to respond via phone call or email. Gellman told Lady Freethinker (LFT) that the only way he would speak with us for this story was via a live broadcast through his podcast, prior to publication. We reached out to Gellman and invited him to respond to our questions and concerns via phone or email - two standard ways that journalists connect with sources prior to the publication of a story - and also invited him to connect us to his clients. Other studies have shown that aversive techniques can be dangerous because they do not change a dog’s behavior in the long-term and also can teach dogs to suppress warning signals - such as growling or whining - while increasing fear or aggression, which can lead to serious attacks against people. Numerous studies have shown that a heavy reliance on aversive methods - or techniques that use force or pain to make a dog comply with a command - can cause physical harm or fear when used at the required intensity for learning to occur and also can damage the relationship between dog and owner. “We agree this is not an appropriate way to train dogs. “We are aware of the issue,” Newman said.
Special Agent Earl Newman told Lady Freethinker he’s received numerous complaints about Gellman over the years and described Gellman’s methods as “cruel.”īut dog training is an unregulated industry in the state, and Newman added that a number of factors - including how the state’s animal cruelty laws are written and that people are paying Gellman to train their dogs this way - have made pursuing animal cruelty charges difficult. Gellman’s name is well known to the Rhode Island SPCA (RISPCA), one of the agencies tasked with investigating animal cruelty complaints. He’s made a hefty profit in the process, according to a Dun & Bradstreet profile for Gellman’s business that reports an annual sales income of $548,235. He’s also sold those methods to his substantial network of followers - including more than 106,000 subscribers to his YouTube channel more than 52,000 followers on Facebook and more than 36,500 followers on Instagram - many of whom swear by his methods and are eager to speak out publicly on his behalf.
Gellman has publicly stood by his use of bonking and electronic collars to correct both aggressive and fear-based behaviors. Gellman - who is director of dog training facility Solid K9 Training, Inc, in Providence - has never been charged with animal cruelty in his home state of Rhode Island, according to a public records search of court documents.īut public concern has followed him from the United States to New Zealand, Australia, England, and Scotland - with the New Zealand Herald, The Courier Mail, The Manchester Daily News, the BBC, and The Daily Mail only some of the publications documenting canceled seminar venues and controversy.Īs of Aug.3, six grassroots petitions alone opposing Gellman’s methods in the United States and abroad had cumulatively gathered more than 339,000 signatures. The footage of the technique, known as “bonking,” resulted in public outrage, alleged death threats, and increased scrutiny over his other highly publicized methods including routine use of electronic collars, according to the Providence Journal and international news sources. Rhode Island dog trainer Jeff Gellman made international headlines after video footage from one of his training seminars that showed him hitting a dog with a rolled-up towel leaked onto the internet in December 2019. Editor’s Note: Lady Freethinker is choosing not to name Jeff Gellman’s clients out of an abundance of caution for their safety.