I agree with Bama. I have heard of people debarking their dog...heck the poodle that lives behind us has been debarked. We have one vet here that does this procedure. It's done with a laser and during the healing period, you have to try to not allow your animal to bark or else it can make the original bark worse.

Dogs are still able to bark...just more muted and they can eat the same day as the surgery.

I'm not for it or against it...just if someone is considering it, they need to read up on it and find the best vet to perform the surgery. IMO

I couldn't do that to my dog - I think it's cruel and it is VERY sad to watch a debarked dog try to bark. Would I like it if someone removed my vocal cords because I talked too much?? I'm sure there are times when my husband has thought about it, since his training methods haven't worked, but so far I'm safe. :)

It would saden me to have my dog try to bark and only have air come out:( that would be like us having to whisper all the time, my hubby loves that are babies bark, lets us know if there is something out there we should be aware of;)

:thumbup: :thumbup: :thumbup: Well said!!!!!!

Maybe she would decide against it if you gave her some information about how cruel it is?

I honestly just think some people aren't smart enough (and/or to lazy) to do research about such a procedure. I had someone over the weekend ask me why I didn't declaw my cat. :eek:

I think there are times debarking can be a benefit to a dog. Some just are neurotic barkers and nothing works.
I would much rather see a dog debarked by a vet than passed from shelter to shelter or on meds that it doesn't really need or even PTS.

If done by a vet it certainly isn't any harder on a dog than spaying or neutering or even dew claw and tail removal. These are all procedures done by owners choice as well. I'm sure no male thinks he needs his family jewels removed. ;)

I don't believe it should be used on a whim but won't condemn everyone who does it as being inhumane.

......oh.......my........god.....! Please, someone tell me debarking isnt what it sounds like. I have never heard of this before.....

I don't agree with debarking either. They slice their vocal cords. :(

As for Chis, I've heard that a lot are pretty neurotic. To me if a dog doesn't have it's bark to put fear into other dogs, the Chi will get even more neurotic and maybe vicious. :( I hope she rethinks it and does research on the net. She'll come across a lot of negative info on debarking that will hopefully change her mind. Or...let her see this thread! ;)

Maybe send your cousin an e-mail with numerous links and info on the subject and kindly ask her if this is what she intended to have done to her beloved family pet.

Maybe if they spent more time with the dog and not in front of the TV the dog would stop barking?

I am certainly not singling you out, but just wanted you to read this excerpt from another thread regarding a dog that is suffering the consequences of being debarked. http://www.yorkietalk.com/forums/sho...d.php?t=109704

I had forgotten about health consequences. If the dog ever needs to be intubated, that might not be possible due to scar tissue from being debarked. This was from a thread in another section about a rescue dog that had been debarked and had to have surgery:

Today was the first knee surgery. The right knee was done as planned.
Tweedle incase you did not know has been debarked by her former owner(s).
Debarking is done frequently by breeders and those who want to hoard dogs
but as not to have neighbors notice etc. It is a delicate procedure where
the vocal cords are notched in order to deal with 'volume control'. There is
not a way to do this with precision. You will not know if the dog will be
able to make some sound or none at all. You need to be very careful that
only a tiny amount of cord be removed as not to cause a lot of scar tissue
build up over the years. Tweedle can make no noise, this means that she had
a real butcher job done on her vocal cords; she has extreme scar tissue
which made it almost impossible to intubate her for the surgery. When she
was finally Intubated she was completely purple due to lack of oxygen! Very
scary for just the beginning of the procedure. During the surgery she did
great!!!! She is resting comfortably on medication and the more we keep her
off the leg the better.