social media

Morgan Hill Dog Training Facility Defends Against Cruelty Accusations

Complaints of animal abuse bombarded a dog training facility in the South Bay after someone posted an accusation on social media.

Local Animal Control investigators are looking into complaints aimed at Primal Canine in Morgan Hill, which was forced to defend itself after what it called a misunderstanding.

Primal Canine trains dogs in personal protection, including for law enforcement, the military and general dog owners. And at first glance, the training might shock and scare some people. But perhaps not as much if one thinks of the man in the padded suit as a potential robber or worse.

Recently someone driving by the facility saw an outdoor training session and posted on social media the dog was being abused, in that particular case slammed against a vehicle.

Primal Canine owner Mike Jones was stunned by the feedback.

"People saying never take your dogs to our facility. That we should go to jail," Jones said. "someone said we should be shot for abusing dogs."

Morgan Hill police acknowledge it has received calls .mainly concerned about the dogs’ safety and whether they’re being trained to fight other dogs. But police emphasize its own Animal Control officers have investigated and say Jones is doing everything he should to protect the dogs and make them behave around people and other dogs.

"It’s all about relationship building," Jones said. "So we want to create that positive relationship between the owner and the handler."

Animal training experts from various agencies examined the training video. They point out the dog’s head never hits the vehicle and that the trainer controls the dog’s body at all times.

Customers we talked to also say Primal Canine helps rescue aggressive dogs.

"I think that they’re really helping a lot of animals that would probably end up in a bad place," dog owner Jessica Siegert said.

Primal Canine says it hopes it can educate the public, starting with an open house at its facility this Saturday.

Contact Us