What do you think about de-barking?

This question has been asked a number of times on here.

If it's a matter of an owner losing their home or having to get rid of the dog/kill the dog or getting the dog debarked, I am for the debarking every single time.

No, the person in question shouldn't have gotten a vocal dog, but the fact is that they have the dog. It's not like finding new homes for unwanted untrained barky dogs is easy.

I'm with you. Debarking is a lazy, inhumane remedy for a symptom of a greater problem.

Anyone who can do this, and then claim to be "all positive" can get stuffed. Its a mutilation.

If you have a dog that barks excessively - work it. If you have so many dogs they cannot be given attention - then reduce your zoo - rather than mutilate them and encourage hoarding and narcissism.

I NEVER use bark collars - and never punish my dogs for being in my back yard alone - barking. I realize dogs bark - and accept responsibility for their nature. Instead of letting them bark, I call them in. Its convenient for those that do to claim "you don't understand" .

Yes, it is as cruel and inhumane to mutilate as it is to put a dog in a yard with a bark collar and then watch it get zapped.

This is another example of "small dog syndrome" - its a myth

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And Cookie - how many dogs do you own? Admit it - your rescue dogs are debarked because you you cannot win a ribbon with them, they are stuck in the yard and don't get the attention and time they need.

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I don't buy the dog can't learn. When I hear someone spent thousands on a trainer - I have to ask - what was the trainer trying to accomplish. BEcause if you put my dogs outside in a yard all day alone - they WILL bark. No trainer could train my dogs not to - its like making the earth flat. The difference between me -and presumably that person - is I don't expect a dog to NOT be a dog. .

Dogs have a range of vocalizations - mine have happy bark (we are going out!), prey bark (there's a wabbit!), warning bark (someones lurking in the yard), etc etc. Its cruel and unnecessary to silence them.

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Apparently its now a criminal offense in some places (see link below)

http://healthypets.mercola.com/sites/healthypets/a...

And quote: it is not individual dog owners who want their pets devocalized.

It is dog breeders, sled dog racers, show dog exhibitors and people who collect dogs for profit or hobby. Coalition volunteers have been involved with hundreds of devocalized dogs and cats, and all but a handful of the procedures were arranged by breeders. One animal was devocalized at the request of a hoarder. (unquote)

Shame on you.

I have no problem with debarking, especially if it's going to keep a dog in its home.

BTW, you are aware that dogs do not have vocal chordes. They have vocal flaps. Under anesthesia, a veterinarian simply puts a nick int he flap, which lower the tone of the bark. It does not eliminate the bark completely and within a few days the dog can bark again, just a lower pitch.

Heck spay/neuter is a much more invasive surgery.

Sorry, I don't bother reading yoru article, it's slanted POV without facts to support it.

Some dogs love the sound of their own voice and no matter how much training you do, they will still bark. So, is it better for these dogs to be removed from their family and placed at a shelter where they WILL be euthanized, rather than having a simple surgery under aesthesia that will keep them in their home.

To me, it's simple. Surgery and the dog stays in the home.

edit: the last dog I had was debarked by its original owner. You could still hear it bark from behind the door. It did not affect her life in anyway or her ability to communicate.

You are absolutely right. It is cruel and inhumane.

Dogs communicate primarily through body language, not barking.

I train my dogs not to bark, but I had one dog who was debarked before I got him, and he didn't know the difference. He still barked, he just didn't make much noise.

So I don't care one way or the other.

It is illegal where I live and I'd never even heard of it (or de-clawing) until I was in my late 20s. To say I was shocked was an understatement.

I have heard the arguments that it is better to de-bark or de-claw instead of putting a pet down, but I have to admit that I think it is nonsense and an excuse for surgically trying to correct what should be a training issue.

So yes, I think it is cruel and inhumane.

i am okay with it as a last resort ... if it were a choice between a yapper dropped off at the pound or surgically de-barked and remain in it's own home, i am for de-barking ... and let's face it, people can't even train their dogs to walk on a leash so it is not a stretch some might not be able to train a dog not to excessively bark ... death or no voice, i would opt for no voice ... and the dogs still bark their asses off, it is just severely muted ... my friend got a sheltie from a backyard breeder ... the dog was past her breeding prime and he was going to have the dog put to sleep ... my friend took the dog but the barking was extreme ... shelties can be yappers and this dog for its entire life was never told not to bark ... so there was no training the dog not to bark at that point ... my friend had the dog surgically de-barked ... the dog still barked, other dogs treated the dog normally, it was only the judgmental humans that could not shut up about it ... and i also walk two de-barked dogs (again, only humans have an issue, not the dogs themselves or any other dogs they come across), and i thank god every single walk they are de-barked cuz they never shut up ... the owners tried everything to train these two yappers to stop barking ... from expensive professional trainers to citronella no-bark collars, and even e-collars even though they are little dogs ... they paid over four thousand dollars in fines to their strata council for the barking of their dogs ... de-barked them both and they are no longer annoying little yappers ... and when i bring the two yappers i walk to the dog park, they still bark their asses off and the other dogs could not care less and treat then no differently than other dogs with voices ... but i would have to say it should be an absolute last resort to keep a dog in it's home and out of the shelters ... and i don't know about your dogs, but i have never had a dog that used their voice to communicate with me ... i have always trained my dogs not to be barkers ...

I have two Shelties that are rescues and both have been de-barked. They still make a "huffing" sound and are not seemingly aware that their bark has been quieted. I see nothing wrong with this procedure. Using prong collars and electronic collars to train a dog is far more painful to a dog than de-barking.

You simply don't understand ........my dogs still think they are barking.

It is not a black and white issue. Of course I think that training the dog is the best option. And I also think the sound of a debarked dog is a bit sad. But that is my own anthromorphizising .However, some dogs are genetically predisposed to constant barking and it is extremely difficult if not nearly impossible to get them to stop. Though the owner may be able to deal with it, the neighbors should not have to and there are laws against excessive barking. So if an owner must choose giving up the dog (most like likely killing it ) and debarking then they need to have that option. I have never debarked a dog myself, but the ones I have seen don't seem any unhappier for it. In fact they seem to joyfully make their new little noises without getting corrected for it every 2 minutes. In reality dogs communicate mostly with body language anyway. And barking is usually reserved for warnings, getting attention from humans or a nervous outlet from exessive energy. So it does not hinder a dogs ability to communicate.

In many cases the only choice is...

Debarked dog or dead dog? You choose.