A man who bashed a dog with a pole and suspended it on a clothesline has been jailed for animal cruelty offences.

Hally Jade James French, 21, pleaded guilty to ill treatment of an animal and causing serious harm.

The Adelaide Magistrates Court heard he used a pole to repeatedly hit a Jack Russell cross named Buddy, then put the dog on a clothesline and struck it again.

The court was told a neighbour heard the dog yelping and saw the attack from over the fence.

When police and RSPCA inspectors arrived the dog was lying motionless in a pool of blood and was taken to an emergency vet clinic in a critical condition.

The dog suffered rib fractures and head trauma as well as shock and stress, but made a full recovery.

The court heard French suffered post traumatic stress syndrome as a result of his disadvantaged and traumatic childhood, and could not cope with the dog when it was in his care.

Magistrate Paul Foley imposed a three-month jail sentence for the violent crimes.

"This serious offending involved violence towards a defenceless animal who you were charged with looking after at the time," Magistrate Foley said.

"While I have sympathy for your position I take the view that on this occasion there is no basis for me to suspend that term of imprisonment. I will require you to serve that sentence."

He also revoked a three-month suspended sentence for an assault on a taxi driver, as French had breached a good behaviour bond for that offence by committing the animal cruelty crimes.

He was therefore ordered to spend a total of six months imprisonment.

Outside court RSPCA inspector Simon Richards welcomed the sentence.

"It's a good result, it's very much a positive step forward. It was a heinous crime against this little Jack Russell, it's what we were pursuing and we got the result we wanted," he said.

“It does send a signal that the community takes animal welfare seriously and we will be there to ensure that's upheld.

"It's an extraordinarily lucky story for the dog, I mean clearly it's sad that he had to go through this but the fact that we were able to get there in a timely fashion and provide the treatment ultimately resulted in the dog making a full recovery."

Mr Richards said Buddy has since been given a new home.

"I can tell you he's happy, healthy and living a happy life," he said.

Magistrate Foley banned French from having custody of any animal until further order.