By Hello

Copyright hellomagazine

Twitch streamer Hasan Piker has hit back at claims that he has placed a shock collar on his pet dog and uses her as a prop. The left-wing internet personality was streaming live when his dog Kaya, a husky mix, yelped after he shouted at her to stop walking around. Kaya was lying on a bed behind Hasan when the dog stood up and began walking off her bed. But Hasan, who saw her moving in the camera, then angrily called out: “Kaya please just [expletive] go, just stop,” after which the dog made a high-pitched cry.

Hasan then paused as he began to read comments from his live viewers, and he responded to one comment that he was “making her stressed” by adding: “She is literally so incredibly spoiled from my mom, no, she doesn’t want to come over here to see what’s up, no, she just wants to roam the house.” He also sarcastically read a comment from a viewer suggesting that he had shocked the dog, and quipped: “Yeah, in my evil villain lair.”

Hasan insisted that the dog must have clipped her foot when she was moving around, but many other YouTubers and Twitch streamers used the incident to accuse him of animal cruelty. Ethan Klein, who runs the h3h3 Production channel on YouTube, said: “Horrifying animal cruelty caught on camera by Hasan as he activates her shock collar for one tiny step off her bed. She cries in pain, poor baby. I always thought it was extremely bizarre that his young, energetic puppy never took a step off her bed. This had to be the result of some brutally strict training.”

“Hasan allegedly shocking his dog and calling it ‘spoiled’ for wanting to move off its bed. Don’t know how else you can interpret this clip, that is really [expletive] up,” said another. “Even his response, if my dog just randomly yelped then I would instantly check why.”

A shock collar is a device that delivers an electric shock to an animal’s neck as negative reinforcement to deter unwanted behaviors. Some people believe them to be effective training tools, but they may cause pain, psychological distress, fear, and aggression, making them banned in countries like the Netherlands, Austria, Scotland, Germany, Norway, and Switzerland.

Dr. Crystal Heath, a veterinarian based in California who focuses on animal welfare and behavior told HELLO! that shock collars are often marketed as “quick fixes” for unwanted behaviors like barking or pulling, but they work through punishment and fear rather than understanding the underlying cause.

“Modern behavioral science has shown that positive reinforcement is not only more humane but more effective. Reward-based training helps dogs feel safe and motivated, strengthening the bond between people and their animals rather than damaging it. That’s why shock collars are banned in many countries, including the UK and several European nations: animal welfare experts agree that the risks of psychological and physical harm outweigh any perceived training benefits,” says Dr Heath.

Annie Grossman, the author of How To Train Your Dog With Love and Science, also tells HELLO! that in the US shock collars are unregulated and often come with no instructions.

“Your dog can make the wrong association and not understand what it is being punished for,” says Annie. “There is little way to know if they are ever making the right association and may just be experiencing generalized fear, which raises their cortisol levels and ultimately can impact their health and quality of life drastically — even without prolonged use.”