Dog owners hit puppies and yelled, “Do you want to be hit again?”

A “cruel” dog owner was banned from keeping animals for a decade after repeatedly hitting his Labrador puppy and yelling, “Do you want to be hit again?”

James Spencer, 33, was filmed punching Budd before picking him up and “throwing” him into his van, where he rained down more punches, a court heard.

Witnesses saw five separate and similar incidents outside his home on Lindon Road in Brownhills, West Midlands.

A judge concluded that Spencer, who allegedly had learning disabilities, did not have the “skills to handle or deal with a young animal,” and acknowledged the defendant’s “vulnerabilities.”

But he described his attacks as “appalling, cruel and violent”.

Spencer pleaded guilty to causing unnecessary suffering to a protected animal in Birmingham Magistrates’ Court.

He was sentenced on Monday to 12 weeks in prison, a year’s probation and a 10-year animal ban.

Spencer was also ordered to attend 20 days of rehabilitation and pay £500 in expenses.

The incidents happened between June 1 and July 25 last year, typically in the parking lot near his home, the court was told.

Prosecutor Sara Pratt said a witness saw Spencer hit the dog on three separate occasions and filmed the third.

Ms Pratt added: “The defendant was seen calling Budd, who did not come to him. He only approached when the accused was on the ground.

“This defendant picked up the dog, hit it and then repeatedly hit it in the van.

“The dog was thrown into the van and he was seen hitting the dog repeatedly. The footage was sent to the RSPCA.

The defendant was heard saying, “You want to be hit again, don’t you? Do you want to be hit again?”

Spencer volunteered the Budd, who was examined in September and found to be “bright, alert and friendly.”

However, the pup was observed to be “passive” when admitted, possibly due to a “history of negative encounters,” the prosecutor said.

Spencer initially claimed he would only slap Budd in the nose once when he was “naughty,” before confessing to the full extent of his abuse.

District Judge Jonathan Straw said: “I looked at the video. There was obvious inadequacy on the part of the defendant.

“Initially he was seen using conventional methods to call and persuade the dog.

“Then, unsurprisingly, when the dog disobeyed his commands, he became frustrated which escalated to anger, and he was subjected to corporal punishment in the form of beatings.

‘It wasn’t cruelty to begin with. It was a result of simply not having the skills or ability to handle a puppy or any other dog and becoming angry and frustrated because the dog was not obeying him.

Pallo Bailey mitigated that Spencer was having a number of “difficulties” and was unable to work after falling off a ladder.

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