A self-styled canine psychologist's 6st 3lbs shepherd dog is set to be put down after it savaged a policeman, biting into his bottom and leaving his boxer shorts in tatters.

PC Michael Obern screamed out in agony as the large Carpathian Shepherd Dog chomped straight through his trousers and underwear and into his left buttock, a court heard.

The female dog, named Shroom, had previously attacked a woman on a glamping site.

The dog’s owner, Gemma Sankey, has now been convicted of two counts of failing to control a dangerous animal.

Sankey, 51, of Amesbury, told the court she had worked as a dog psychologist with a special knowledge of “canine aggression” for over 35 years, but prosecutors said she had no formal qualifications, and should not be considered “an expert.”

In October 2021, police constable Michael Obern was helping Sankey move some items into a Travelodge in Devizes when the dog turned on him, prosecutors said.

The officer revealed he had been warned by Sankey in a previous meeting not to wear high-vis clothing as this would make the dog 'react.'

The Wiltshire Police officer, who knew Sankey from his time as a community support officer, told magistrates he therefore chose to wear a black police vest in a bid to appease the animal.

But, he told Salisbury Magistrates Court that when he approached the dog it almost immediately attacked him.

PC Obern said: “I managed to pet her but she then bit my left buttock. It ripped my trousers, ripped my boxer shorts and broke the skin.”

The court was shown bodycam footage captured by PC Obern in which he could be seen petting the dog.

Moments later, the police officer was heard screaming in pain as the dog bit him in the buttock off camera.

Magistrates heard that two months previously, in July 2021, Sankey had been staying in a tent on a 'glamping site' when Shroom bit the owners’ daughter, Michelle Vincent, as she was helping her mother clean tents.

Sankey, offered bizarre defences and denied both attacks.

She said: "When Shroom gets terribly excited she jumps up occasionally.

"She knows over 300 commands in Latin, so you could say she's very long in the tooth.

"The picture of Mrs Vincent's injury looks like a 'spotty bum,' not like a dog bite.

"PC Obern gave Shroom a slap hit and then he turned away.

"His injuries were not caused by a bite from Shroom - a Chihuahua would have made more bite marks."

She told the hearing she was an expert in animal behaviour and had previously owned “four dogs and 15 horses.”

However, prosecutor Natalie Cheesman told the court there was no evidence Sankey was an expert in canine aggression, and that she had no relevant qualifications.

The court heard Shroom has been kept in police custody since biting PC Obern and that the CPS would now be applying for a destruction order.