De- Barking???

[LoudLou]

I met someone the other day who shows dogs and she told me that "Show Dogs" are often De- Barked. Do they really?? WHY?????


Louie barks A LOT, but the thought has never crossed my mind to de-bark him!!

[anna_66]

What the heck is de-bark? I've never heard of this.

[Karen]

It's a surgical procudure - and I cannot believe they would do it to show dogs.

Debarking - This procedure involves the removal of 2 folds of tissue located on either side of the larynx or voice box in the dog. The so called vocal folds
actually function to come together in order for the dog to make an audible sound with pitch. When removed, the sound made by the dog is much like that of a
whisper, or a bark heard from far away when the dog is right next to you. The effect of debarking can be explained much like an individual trying to whistle while
the lips are apart. In order for sound to occur, air must travel through a narrow opening in either the voice box for a bark, or the lips for a whistle to occur.

I imagine not only does it hurt initially, it probably confuses the heck out of the dog when he's trying to sound the alarm and be helpful to you, but he can't!

I would never de-bark a dog, and doubt that folks who love dogs enough to show them would either.

[kobieeli]

I was under the impression that the AKC does not allow ANY surgical alteration of a conformation dog aside from the usual ear cropping and tail docking. That's part of the reason a neutered or spayed dog isn't allowed to compete in AKC conformation too--the surgery has rendered it an unnatural specimen of the breed....Don't get me started on how inconsistent I think the AKC rules seem to be about this stuff! I can't stand that it's okay to cut off tails and ears, but neutering is forbidden. Aaarrrrgh.

Maybe surgeries like debarking are allowed for obedience, agility, or other competitions?? Still, I think it's a nasty, drastic thing to do to a dog and I doubt people who show dogs would have to resort to such a thing.

[LoudLou]

Originally posted by Karen


I would never de-bark a dog, and doubt that folks who love dogs enough to show them would either.

I would NEVER Debark a dog either!!! I just wanted to know if it was true or not. Thanks for helping to put my mind at ease.

[Dixieland Dancer]

De Barking is a terrible thing to do to a dog. I have been involved in Dog Shows from the obedience side for 25 years and I have never heard of anyone debarking their dogs. In the last 4 years I have been getting more interested and involved in the breed side of Dog Shows too and have met many wonderful people who love their dogs. I have NEVER come across any dog who is debarked! And if I ever do, I will tell them exactly what I think of them doing that to their dog.

I understand that it is something people do, but I think it is animal abuse!

[anna_66]

Oh, I agree with you, that is such a terrible thing! If a dog was meant to be quiet, god would have made them that way!

[aly]

I've been to some shows in Houston where a few of the people had their show dogs debarked. It was disgusting and cruel and pretty much the reason I stopped going to dog shows. The only reason I went in the first place was to try to give them a chance. I don't really agree with a lot of AKC crud, but decided to go with an open mind. Blah. I'll take a mutt show any day

***Note: I am not saying a majority of people who show dogs have theirs debarked. It was just a bad experience for me seeing the ones who had done it. I have no clue on the statistics. Hopefully they are low.***

[Gio]

but I think it is animal abuse!

I fully agree. I think it's illegal to de bart a dog over here