Debarking

is it me or does this seem barbaric?

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/35219154/ns/health-the_new_york_times/?GT1=43001

"“I think that in certain cases it can certainly save a dog from ending up being euthanized."

so is she saying that because a dog has the problem of excessive barking, they risk being put to sleep???

Bottom line, barking is a training issue and if not a training issue then a management issue. I think debarking is unnecessary at best.

I understand that some dog become barkers due to health issues--deaf dogs often become barkers as do some blind dogs--and I understand that people can't always rearrange their lives to accommodate a barker, but I really think debarking is an extreme measure. If you've ever heard the noise that a debarked dog makes, it's God Awful

I once bought a Belgian Sheepdog (I know, wrong breed for me who likes the laid back dogs!) and she had been debarked THREE times. I was appalled but the owner said this is not uncommon with the breed. Her bark was a strangled bark, sounded awful, and while she was a good 'pet', I didn't have enough time to properly exercise her, which in her case would be about 20 hours a day. Simple 2-3 mile walks, plenty for Pugs and Bostons, would be nothing to her. She was tested to be a scent dog but she failed at that too. An intern at the University of Illinois, whom we met while taking Lulu Pug there for her many visits, said his folks would take her for their farm. They did and she was promptly run over - twice. First time didn't convince them to keep her safe, second time was the end. Tiki didn't deserve this but she just was not happy at our house. She was a lousy 29 lbs. when I got her, a robust 60 lbs. when she left here. Her former owners were dog owning dummies......

Please delete second post.

I think it is an unnecessary and extreme measure - and I formed that opinion before I got Kimchi. As you may remember, Kimchi was debarked in South Korea. She makes a sound, but it is a very strange and strangled squeek. When she barks in the store, people often say "what an odd little bark" or "what a cute bark" until I tell them she was de-barked. It is a "normal" sound for us now and I can usually read her barks for what they mean, but it does limit her vocabulary. There are not growls, no question marks (when they sound like a cartoon character asking a question), no upset that I'm leaving whines and not much in the range of emotion that I get from Thurston. However, she does often fart when she barks which make us laugh, then feel bad because we laugh. We call that noise "Farking".

There was a debarked Pom in our complex for a while. It would stand on its porch and make strange noises at Penny every time we walked by. I felt so sorry for the poor little thing. A dog's bark is often their first line of defense, and I so appreciate Penny's barking as my little doorbell.

To me, a debarked dog sound is worse than a bark..... It is horrible sounding.

I don't understand why people get dogs if they don't want the whole package.
I thought my foster didn't bark, it was so odd when my guys were going nuts over something and she didn't react, then she found her voice, it comforts me to know she has one.
It's is a training issues that I have failed miserable but I don't care, their barking does not bother me in the least.
I think it should be illegal, it's not right to take away something that is a natural thing to do.

Donna wrote:I think it should be illegal, it's not right to take away something that is a natural thing to do.

That's heavy... and I COMPLETELY AGREE!

Donna wrote:I don't understand why people get dogs if they don't want the whole package.
I thought my foster didn't bark, it was so odd when my guys were going nuts over something and she didn't react, then she found her voice, it comforts me to know she has one.
It's is a training issues that I have failed miserable but I don't care, their barking does not bother me in the least.
I think it should be illegal, it's not right to take away something that is a natural thing to do.

I agree, they're dogs, what do you think they are going to do? Granted, barking is a hard habit to train out of them, but it's managable without resorting to debarking. That's just cruel. People do a lot of cruel things in the name of pet ownership though.

Is it possible to just install some kind of mute button..... I'm just sayin....

I've mostly learned to put up with human babies crying in restaurants (or wherever) because I realized that that's what babies do. Dogs bark! It's what they do. Would we remove a baby's vocal chords because it screams all the time?

I was at a dog show right by the ring they were showing min pins in. Many of them were debarked so there were all these dogs making this strange coughing sound, they weren't any quieter, it was just a different sound.

My sister had a retired show Cardigan Welsh corgi who had been debarked and again, it was still loud, the bark came from lower in her throat.

De-barking doesn't work.

pugdad michael wrote:I've mostly learned to put up with human babies crying in restaurants (or wherever) because I realized that that's what babies do. Dogs bark! It's what they do. Would we remove a baby's vocal chords because it screams all the time?

I'd go for the mute button for kids!

pugdad michael wrote:I've mostly learned to put up with human babies crying in restaurants (or wherever) because I realized that that's what babies do. Dogs bark! It's what they do. Would we remove a baby's vocal chords because it screams all the time?

Don't tempt me....

pugdad michael wrote: Would we remove a baby's vocal chords because it screams all the time?

Now there is a heck of an idea. Let's de-scream kids. I think it's long overdue

training should be done..not some surgery. poor dogs.... :\

This is a thorny issue.

I am in principle opposed to any surgery on animals unless it is a medical necessity.

However, if somebody is really and truly in a position where the choice is between de-barking or death then I suppose de-barking is better. But they would have to have exhusted all other options.

Otherwise, I think de-barking is a particularly unpleasant practice. I was watching a documentary recently exploring the relationship between man and dogs. One of the things they were saying is that wolves and wild dogs don't naturally bark all that much, if at all. They will howl, as we know. Their theory was that dogs developed the ability to bark as a better means of communication with us. (Presumably what also happened is that we found warning barks useful and deliberately bred more vocal dogs.) They recorded the barks of dogs in different situations such as play, being left by the owner, protecting territory and so on and then played these barks to people who did not know the dogs in question. The dog owners were remarkably accurate in their assessment of what type of bark the dog was making. So having been instrumental in creating animals that make a noise to communicate with us we then seek to take it away.