Should I interfere and ask my boyfriend's brother to stop spanking his dog?

Yes you should. and if telling him it's wrong doesn't work, tell him this little TRUE story about my brothers pit/lab mix.

My brother got a pit puppy, and it was the sweetest little dog in the world, and very smart. within a week I had taught it all the basic commands. But it still chewed stuff up and played too rough with the cats.

So every time it chewed on something or got near the cats, my brother would beat him with a hat.

When the puppy was little, and someone would come over wearing a hat, the pup would hide behind the couch, terrified.

But the puppy grew up, and my brother had by now moved him to the backyard on a chain for snapping at someone wearing a hat.

The puppy was 3 years old when my brother tried to give him away to one of my bro's buddys. They went to the backyard where the dog was, and my bro was wearing.. you guessed it, a hat.

The dog went crazy. He snapped a log chain trying to get at my bro. He jumped up snapping at my brothers head. He wound up biting my bro on the chin, and it needed stitches. still a scar. but the dog wasn't even trying to bite my brother. He tore the hat off his head and ripped it to shreds.

Now it's one thing for a dog to hate hats, and while a bite to the head could be serious, It wasn't.

but why don't you tell your bfs bro this story, and let him think about which head his belt is closest to. and maybe he'll think about that the next time he wants to hit the dog.

OMG! that is horrific i would never ever even think about hitting my dog let alone do to that to her. It might do one of two things if he keeps beating his dog with a belt, one: it will either make the dog scared of humans and he/she could snap because he thinks all humans will hurt him/her and it wouldn't be the dogs fault or two: he will make him/her so nasty it could go for everyone it see's and what would your brother in law do if his dog killed a child because of his actions.

The trouble is the fact that it is your boyfriends brother, are their parents still alive? could you talk to his mum or dad and see if they could help the situation?, the only other thing you can do if you have tried every other avenue you can is to make an an ominous call to someone like the RSPCA or animal welfare, someone who could warn him to change his ways or they take the dog off him.

I know that this is harsh but he is being totally unfair to the dog poor thing, I don't envy your situation and i wish i could have helped more.

Good luck and i hope you can help both of them to be happier together. XXX

If that was me i would of said at the time there are Better ways to correct your dog than hitting it ,and i would of gone into how to correct dog in a tactful way.

Going in guns blazing and saying he hit the dog is wrong ,hes not going to listen other wise he would not of hit the dog in the first place .

But by explaining to him how to solve certain problems and how that achieves more than hitting a dog he may just listen.

I don't agree with hitting any Animal but some people tend to shut off if you have a go at them so by educating him in a nice way he may just listen

You could certainly try. But do not expect him to listen. People being people think their way is the right way...even when it is really causing harm to the dog nation.

Well.....this is a touchy subject. Your boyfriend's brother likes to hit animals which means he probably likes to hit other things......

You can say something. Nobody is tapping your mouth shut. As far as too confrontational? I prefer to get straight to the subject and not muck around.

*How about I take that belt and beat the hell out of you?*

That's me. So that is what I would say. Among some other choice words......

i do belive that digs connect bad thing with bad actions, but you have to do it right after it happened, for example if a dog pees on the carpet while your not home and you come back 2 hours later you cant yell at him then because he doesnt know what he did because it wsa not an immediate reaction to his bad behavior so you should jut tell him after so long the dog forgets what he did and its no fair to punish them if they dont know why and maybe tell him that that is a little excesive and all he needs is a little smack on the butt with his hand

NO, it's not your business how someone else disciplines their pet. Just remember his short temper when you have an animal or child and think twice before letting him sit! Also, dogs aren't like humans, we can't explain to them what is good or bad behavior. Think of how the mama dog would tell the young how to behave. Maybe she wouldn't use a belt, but still, stay out of it.

Do you know for sure that this occurred, or could it be male testosterone trying to make himself appear "tough" in front of his brother? Are there welts or other marks on the dog?

If you think things happened as he claimed, *tactfully* suggest better methods to discipline the dog. Chances are that's how he was disciplined when he was a kid, so he doesn't know any better. If you approach it as a better training method rather than as a disapproving lecture, hopefully he will be more receptive. Might help to have a couple of websites he can look at for more info.

IOW, rather than criticizing him for what he did, try to show him methods that will get better results. That's what he wants in the first place, right?

EDIT:

"What should I say that will not seem like I'm accusing or being too confrontational?"

I don't have time to look up sites now, but google "how to discipline a dog" and read through several sites, picking out a couple that sound good and straightforward, without being too preachy. Print out the info. Then next time you see bf's brother, tell him you were wondering if you could find some ideas to help him with training his dog, so you looked on the 'net and came across this info you thought was really good. Play it by ear whether you just hand him the pages or briefly mention a couple of ideas they contain. Smile and say you hope you might have been of some help. Then change the subject (unless of course he wants to discuss the matter--I kind of doubt he will, though). This way you're not being confrontational or judgmental, and even if he doesn't seem receptive at the time, he might later read the info and learn from it. Good luck.

Yes you should tell him to stop hitting his dog.

But you should also inform your animal shelter and the police. Hitting your dog is illeagal.

Well it is in the UK.....

It doesn't matter if you are accusing because he is hitting his dog

It isn't right.

yes