Luke James Ruane Maloney, 34, bought American bulldogs Compton and Mystik for $3000 when they were just a few weeks old.
"They’re like my kids. I’d give the world for them, to be honest," he told the Dunedin District Court yesterday.
But between November and March, Maloney’s voice echoed through his North East Valley street as he yelled and swore at the dogs, threatening to give them a "hiding" or break their jaw.
Recordings made by neighbours, which were played during this week’s judge-alone trial, captured the sounds of something being struck and the yelping of the pets.
SPCA vet Lyndell Olley examined both Compton and Mystik and found them calm, compliant and in good health.
But, after considering the audio of Maloney’s outbursts and the dogs’ reactions, she believed the defendant’s actions were inappropriate.
"I think they’re terrified, they’re repeated yelping," Ms Olley said.
"Dogs don’t yelp like that normally. You don’t hear that unless there’s extreme pain or extreme fear."
Maloney opted to give evidence in his defence and stressed he had never beaten the animals.
"Unfortunately I have no filter. I’m very loud, very boisterous," he said.
"I don’t hit my dogs physically. I’ll pick up a stick or my scuff [sandal] and hit the ground with it. It’s my way of showing my dogs I’m the alpha, I’m the boss."
The court heard the SPCA first visited Maloney’s home in November, there was confrontation in which he bluntly ordered them to leave.
But the complaints continued to roll in.
Maloney told the court much of his frustration was with the dogs escaping the property and his fear they would be shot by a neighbouring farmer.
But Judge Jim Large said that was not apparent from the recordings.
During cross-examination by police prosecutor James Collins, the defendant accepted the footage did not paint a complimentary picture.
"I would think the same thing. If you heard those noises in the video. You’d think this guy was beating the c... out of the dogs," he said.
While he denied physical violence, he accepted his disciplinary methods were inappropriate.
"Everyone makes mistakes, I’m not perfect," Maloney said.
"I would agree my yelling and excessive hitting the kennel ... could be the wrong way of doing things."
However, he refused to concede the sound of the dogs yelping was them voicing distress.
"The difference is I know my dogs. They’ve always yelped at me when I growl them. I’m the alpha male," Maloney said.
He also told the court he did not believe he had done any long-term harm to the animals, pointing to a recent visit to the SPCA kennels in which Compton greeted him enthusiastically.
Witnesses this week said the defendant’s yelling happened as often as weekly at its peak but he vehemently disputed that.
"The neighbours were more likely to hear me and my partner having dramas than [with] those dogs," Maloney said.
"I don’t actually think I’ve done anything wrong other than being a bit excessive and yelling and hitting things around them."
Judge Large disagreed.
"Mr Maloney really dominated the animals in his care for them. He used the expression ‘alpha male’, in that he was the alpha male and the dogs were basically being dominated by him and had to do what he wanted when he wanted," he said.
"Had there been one yelp it might be difficult to find them under stress but given the nature of the circumstances surrounding the yelping I’m very clearly of the view the dogs were under stress and that stress was caused by Mr Maloney."
Maloney will be sentenced in December.
Given the lack of physical abuse, the judge said a term of imprisonment was unlikely.
