VANCOUVER – Houdini, a 10-year-old Siberian husky, cannot go out in public without wearing a muzzle. The City of Vancouver designated him as an “aggressive” animal after he bit another dog several years ago.

His owner, Pamela Steen, wonders if Houdini’s outcome would’ve turned out differently if she didn’t put him in the hands of a trainer who’s now facing animal abuse allegations.

Steen is speaking out after learning dog trainer Glen Affenzeller’s own four dogs were recently seized following an SPCA investigation.

Houdini was just a puppy, less than three months old, when he started Affenzeller’s training program about four to five times a week.

Steen said Affenzeller told her that she “wasn’t strict enough on [Houdini]” and she needed to be “tougher and stronger.”

The young husky was always placed in the back of the pack among the other dogs in Affenzeller's care, Steen said, and soon after she noticed some changes in his behaviour.

“Houdini started to become a little bit more aggressive around other dogs," she said. "If he had a chance to run up to a younger dog or smaller dog, he would."

Steen said the major red flag was when Houdini refused to leave the home to go with Affenzeller.

“He was hiding and I thought that was weird...I’ve never known a dog (who didn't) want to go on a walk.”

Houdini continued to be trained by Affenzeller until a neighbour, whom Steen did not know very well, “went out of her way” to report what she allegedly saw.

“I had a neighbour tell me that she saw [Affenzeller] be very tough and manhandle and force [Houdini] and not be kind to him getting into the van,” Steen said.

She believes Houdini was “traumatized” by Affenzeller.

“Glen would always wear black shorts or black pants, and every time Houdini would go anywhere where a man was wearing black shorts and pants, he would cry and sing and bark. He was terrified,” she said, adding this behaviour lasted for a couple of years after he had stopped receiving trainer from Affenzeller.

42 complaints against the dog trainer

Over the span of 13 years, from 2006 to 2019, the SPCA received 42 complaints about Affenzeller, many of which included rough handling and yelling at dogs.

"We have investigated a number of other complaints in the past in regards to his training and methods," Marcie Moriarty, the SPCA's chief prevention and enforcement officer, told CTV News.

Moriarty said experts now advocate for positive-reinforcement training but rough handling dogs is not considered illegal, therefore the SPCA did not take any action against Affenzeller until this past summer when it found the trainer had allegedly abused a client’s dog.

The video that triggered the investigation was recorded on Aug. 1, while Affenzeller was walking six dogs tethered together in pairs. A client's dog, Dawson, began barking aggressively, then bit one of Affenzeller’s dogs on the ear.

The trainer allegedly reacted by punching Dawson three times – a response he said was necessary in an emergency situation, according to a recent B.C. Farm Industry Review Board decision.

The video allegedly shows a man "lifting a dog from the ground, briefly suspending it in the air, then forcefully driving the left side of the dog's skull onto the street," according to a description from the board decision.

"The individual then strikes the dog on the right side of his face twice in rapid succession and five seconds later strikes the dog again in the face with a closed fist," the decision reads.

Following the SPCA’s investigation, Affenzeller’s own four dogs were seized after they were allegedly neglected. The dogs were suffering from various levels of distress, had untreated medication conditions, had scarring and were found in “unsatisfactory” living conditions, according to Moriarty.

CTV News has contacted Affenzeller about the board’s decision and the allegations against him multiple times, but has not received a response. The trainer brought 11 clients to defend his techniques to the review board, including a veterinarian who said Affenzeller was successful at turning a rambunctious pitbull into a "perfect family dog."

‘I think it could’ve been avoided’

After learning about the board’s decision, Steen believes Houdini could’ve turned out to be a different dog.

“I think it could’ve been avoided had he not been treated that way during his formative months,” she said.

After Houdini attacked another dog, Steen fought to save his life in court.

“I paid $10,000 in legal fees so my dog wouldn’t get put down and now as a result, he has to wear a muzzle for the rest of his life,” she said.

She said she never witnessed Affenzeller mistreat Houdini but she knows her dog started to act differently after he began the training.

“I feel terrible. It breaks my heart that a dog can’t tell me what happened and can’t defend himself properly against a big man,” she said.

Last Thursday, the District of North Vancouver suspended Affenzeller’s business licence and permit for commercial dog walking in its parks.

A spokesperson said the decision was made “in light of the seriousness” of the B.C. Farm Industry Review Board’s decision.

The SPCA said it's planning to recommend animal cruelty charges to Crown counsel this week.