Anyone have a yorkie who has been debarked?
 

My Yorkie is a puppy mill rescue and one of the things they did to him was debark him. for those who don't know what this is (and I didn't!) is they cut their vocal chords so they can't bark. The rescue told me he could only squeak and when I got him he made a sort of barking sound, like he had laryngitis sort of sound. But the longer he is here, the stronger his little bark is becoming! I did read somewhere that their vocal chords can actually grow back, maybe once they start to use them again?

Be interested in hearing if others have found this too

Yup knew a hound dog that got debarked. Lasted about 6mo

Oh no! That poor baby! I wish a had 5 minutes with those greeders who did this to him. I so hope he does get his bark - his voice - back. It's so important to a dog living in domestication. They use it to warn and alert and express their wants and needs, tell us how it is. Poor sweet guy - I hope he can bark some day.

thanks ironmike. Tuppance is almost 8 now so maybe it will take longer the longer you've been debarked. I can only hope he gets it back but we're heading the right way!

he didn't try to bark at first yorkietalkjilly but lately he's been doing it whenever I'm in another part of the house with anybody. Then he stands a bit away from them but barks non stop! If I'm in the living room with him and people are elsewhere in the house, he doesn't bother with them, it's only if I am with them...it's like he doesn't want to share me! But that's fine, if using it can bring it back faster I'm all for it!!

Never heard of it, but I truly hope his grow back even if it aggravates you a little it. I'm sorry, but I just can't imagine mine (3 yoa & adopted 2 mos ago) w/o his aggravating (only a little bit) little bark. I just love him so that I cannot imagine what he would be like w/o his bark. To me, that is just the height of cruelty!

Let him bark, develop that "voice" and in time, you can teach him to stop on command and make it a fun game. You sound very caring.

My little Gracie was given to me by my former breeder. She was a gorgeous little girl with the most amazing temperament. She had been kept by her breeder because she fell in love with her personality and looks, and she hoped Gracie would get bigger. Fortunately, Gracie remained much too tiny to breed, and she asked me if I would take her. I had her two sisters already (same sire but different mothers), and she knew Gracie would be completely protected and adored. Gracie had already been debarked, and although it completely broke my heart, Gracie loved life and was such a happy little girl. Her bark was not loud, but Gracie surely had her voice. When we got her, her bark sounded like a soft sounding cough, not the raspy sound that I heard from other dogs who were debarked. Gracie was able to develop her bark, and although it was much softer than my other two, she barked nonstop a lot of the time. I think I was so happy to hear her bark that I didn't do much to correct her from barking. Gracie had terrible tracheal issues from the time she was little, but there wasn't much in life that stopped Gracie. Still, I always wondered if the de barking caused her trachea issues. I'll never know the answer to that. Despite all of this, Gracie was a true gift, a very, very special little girl like no other. I would never choose to debark my pup, but the day Gracie entered our lives was a precious and life altering one for us. I hope your pup brings you the happiness, love, and laughter that Gracie brought to us. She was simply amazing.

FWIW
Debarking (Bark Softening) - Myths and Facts | National Animal Interest Alliance

YES. My very Rescue I adopted was a Puppy Mill Girl. She was 8 years old when I adopted her. Her Vocal Cords were cut and she made this horrible sound when she tried to bark. The first time I ever heard it was about 2 months after I adopted her. I hear this awful groaning, raspy sound and went looking for what it was and it was my Sweet Audrey. I think I cried for almost a month after hearing that noise.

I had my Audrey for only 4 short years as she had several medical problems. But I made sure those were happy years for her.

Yes it is true that some can grow back, it all depends on the method that those horrible Millers used to de-bark.

With my Audrey the best the Vet could determine was that a metal rod was shoved down her throat and her vocal cords were cut that way. She had so much scar tissue.

Bless you for adopting a Sweet Older Mill Baby, they are such a joy and pleasure to have and have so much love to give.

This made me cry, I remember when I first heard about debarking and still it makes me cry...it really crushes me...for them...Thank you for saving this baby, pleas take good care of him, he has had a very hard life...((((((hugs))))))

Whobdoes this? Do vets do this?? What kind of vet would 'debark' a puppy?? Shame on them!

Yes and I asked my vet(s) if they perform this, they do not. I would not, no matter what patronize a vet who did.

about 28 years ago I had this done to my first yorkie. That was long before the internet and Yorkie Talk. I had a barker that drove the neighbors crazy. I also had a very expensive greedy vet who made light of the operation. He told me "we just take a few biopsy type punches in is vocal cords that lowers the bark to a whisper". He was right that is what happened but it also sounded like he was choking so anyone that heard his bark would get very worried. But the worst part was how hard the surgery was on my little guy, even though I had plenty of pain meds for him he spent a good week under the bed gulping in pain:(. I feel of all the surgeries I have had on any of my dogs this was by far the most traumatic. While I guess in one respect we were happy to not bother the neighbors with his barking the recovery was so heartbreaking we would never ever consider doing this again. His bark did get stronger as the years passed but was never 100% what happens is the holes they punch in the vocal cords grow closed. What made me think it would be ok, is the vet say, "biopsy type punches" in my mind a small biopsy type snip would be Ok, after all lots of people and animals have biopsies. I never went back to that vet again:mad:

Not all debating is done by vets. Millers sometimes do it themselves using the method TxVicki described above. That breaks my heart to think people do this. :(

Oh more to the subject of the thread, I really do not think my dog understood or was frustrated that he only had a small part of his bark left. he still barked at everything he did before and once he was fully healed it really was not something he seemed bothered by or hurt him when he barked. However even though I guess the results were what we were after I still would never put another dog though the operation and recover part of it.

One our new neighbors has a beautiful white german shephard that has been debarked. It is the most pitiful sounding little bark. Makes me want to cry every time I hear it trying to bark. Kyra has a very very soft tiny bark but she is louder than this poor boy.

I really had no clue this was being done! How horrid! I know I can't be the only person who has ever joked about having a dog debarked, but I didn't realize that people actually did it! :eek: The thought of that terrible squeaky sound or choking sound instead of a bark just turns my stomach and makes me want to cry:cry8:

Wonder if the person who wrote this breeds Shelties.
I've had several collies and being so smart they were the easiest dogs to teach not to bark. Our worst barker was a black lab and that was only when family parked in the drive and he couldn't contain his excitement.

It sounds barbaric to debark a dog.

A lot of people, including vets asked me if Jess was debarked as she sounded like she had laryngitis. She was almost a year when we got her. You should have seen the looks when they asked, it was like I tortured her. I said "I don't think she was", she was in a show breeders home but I doubt she did that. Anyway over time the laryngitis bark got stronger so I wonder if she did and didn't tell me??????????????????? Its still pretty mild and high pitched but could they tell when she has surgery? She is getting the big snip next week (spay) could the dr tell?

Yep !!!! 5 minutes !!! Im afraid i would not be able to control myself if i got my hands on one of those @^%$#$% !

So sad to hear all your stories of pups being debarked. It did seem to bother Tuppance when he first started barking here, like he was frustrated it wasn't coming out like he wanted it to. But now he's getting louder he actually seems pleased with himself for talking to me!! I would never ever do that to a dog, no matter how loud they were :(

I would think a vet could tell kimp5, Tuppance's adoption papers show the vet who treated him when he was rescued found out he was debarked, worth asking when you go there.

That's the sad truth, that some show breeders "debark". Especially if they live in town. That's a reason among others that I'm nervous about recommending the YTCA breeders list in general.
I've bought 3 Show dogs from different show breeders and when they came to me, they were already debarked. It was never mentioned prior to my purchase, because I think they feel it is a normal thing to do. I'm not sure I would have bought them, because I worry about scar tissue and future problems. But so far, so good. Still breaks my heart when I see them barking and nothing comes out.
I think it's barbaric, and never would do that. None of the 3 have gotten their bark back. :(

I am literally in tears reading this, and the way that it's done.. that is so shameful. These poor babies :(

I cant imagine ever having that done to a dog for any reason. Its just so inhumane and terribly sad.

Just want to reasure people that debarking isn't the norm among YTCA breeders. When you say you bought dogs from show breeders do you mean that they were also members of the YTCA? In any account, I hope you shared your thoughts with these breeders, and I would hope you would ask this question when purchasing a dog from now on. As purchasers, we do have power.

Can you even show a dog that has been debarked or do they do it after they're through showing? Unforunately we get a lot of mill dogs. Some are debarked but some just don't bark at all. Wonder if it's like some of my foster babies who have learned that crying , or barking, doesn't get a response so what's the point.

Some people who debark their dogs do it out of desperation they either debark or rehome I think I dog would rather be debarked than rehomed. Also because of the area they live in and ordinances some show breeders may have to debark or dont breed that their choice. I dont judge people who choose because of desperate circumstances to debark as long as a vet is doing it it is just another surgical procedure

Dear Lord. Yorkie Show Breeders.

It's more common than you think. I did share my thoughts, and I do ask now.

Oh, I agree, I would rather that than the pound! But to do it routinely is hard for me to fathom. I'm real sure that they use a Vet, the other way described is cruelty!