What is De-Barking???

Hey everyone! I'm Christa! I'm usually on the cat side, so some of you may not know me . . . BUT I had a "dog question" . . . where else would I come, but the dog side? :)

We have been walking our neighbor's dog while they are away . . . he's a miniature collie & beautiful dog! Anyway, he has a real low & quiet bark and we asked our neighbor why his bark is like that and he said something about them "de-barking" him . . .

So I'm sure you can guess my question . . . what does it mean to de-bark a dog?

Is it bad? Painful? I want all the details! ;)

Imagine someone cutting away a portion of your vocal chords. Yup. It's that. It is done under anesthesia. "This is a surgical procedure to reduce tissue in the vocal chords. Some vets use a punch to remove tissue. Other surgeons make cuts of varying sizes and I have heard of some using a laser. The goal of the surgery is to lower the volume of the dog's bark and the ability of the bark to carry over a wide area."

It is a painful surgery. The dog is put under anesthetic and the vet cuts triangular pieces off of the dogs vocal chords, which causes the bark to be very rhaspy. . I think its just gross laziness that makes people want to do this to their dogs. 99% of the time dogs bark because they're bored, anxious, or untrained. . and the owner doesn't want to spend the time and effort solving these issues, so they just cut up their vocal chords :(. There are tons of lethal complications involved with the surgery which is why a lot of good vets (including ours) refuse to do it and why its banned in some states.

I feel bad for the poor Sheltie pup. . . yes, Shelties are prone to bark when they're startled or anxious. The pups owners should've read up on Shelties BEFORE buying one, and they would've known that T_T. Have you asked them why they did it? If they were really facing having to give up their dog because it barked incessently and neighbors were complaining, it might be understandable. . but to do it just because they're annoyed by the dog, is just sick.

It never fails to amaze me the lack of research people put into a breed. :( If someone doesn't like barking, they certianly should not get a sheltie!

:( :( :( :( :( :( :( :(
so sad

You've gotten some good explanations on the surgery already.. it's a very touchy subject for dog owners (kind of like the de-clawing issue for cats), and most of us are against it.

Oh, and there is no such breed called a "Miniature Collie". ;) You're probably thinking of a Sheltie. Shelties are very prone to barking and it angers me that people don't take the time to research the breed they choose before just going out and getting one.

Quote:

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Originally posted by GoldenRetrLuver
Oh, and there is no such breed called a "Miniature Collie". ;) You're probably thinking of a Sheltie.

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I have two pure bred collies . . . he looks like a miniture version of my Abby & Maggie . . . sorry I got it wrong.

As for our neighbors . . . what's done is done . . . Mark is well taken care of and I don't plan to stir up trouble by questioning their motives.

Sorry to get everyone riled up . . . I just wanted to know what it meant. Thanks for the explanations.

Poor Mark . . . :(

yuck - there was just a big bad thread on this not too long ago. I'm against it. If I didn't want barking I'd get a cat. But I have 2 vocally active dalmatians and the neighbor has a beagle who loves howling behind our house - Its hilarious! He makes the funniest little "howls" :) I could never imagine living without barking, howling, play growls, etc...