Originally posted by lizbud

I can think of no medical reason for it. It's only for the convience
of the owner. Any dog that barks 24/7 has a problem. I cannot
believe a person could not find some way to treat the dog, or the
problem behavior some other way.People who de-bark their dogs
are not really solving the dog's problems, only their own.
Liz hit the nail on the head! There are many other ways of teaching a dog not to bark. They should be tried first. Someone who goes out and debarks their dog without trying training first is taking the lazy way out. Only after extensive training fails and the life of the dog is in question would this be an option for someone who really has their dogs best welfare in mind.