DeBarking - Page 1

I am wondering when and if it is ok to debark a dog for non-medical issuses. Is this something many breeders do to keep things on the quiet side? I have heard of this a few times in talks with breeders i have met and talked with and now it has me wondering if this is more on the common side or something on the rarer side.

I have only heard of one breeder that did that with all his dog's, because of his neighbor's complaining. I personally don't like the idea and would never do it. That is why we are on 5 acres in a rural area. The dog just doesn't sound normal anymore.

Ok, speaking from experience... I know of many breeders outside the GSD that debark for the sole purpose of their neighbors. I would take other actions first if you own one or two dogs. I say this because, I debarked one of my Corgis because I could not keep her quiet in the house. This was not a neighbor issue. I tried several bark collars but each time they shocked her(set on the lowest level), it would scare her so bad that she would become depressed and hide under a bed, shiver and not come out. I felt that putting my dog in that state of emotion was not far so I elected to debark her. My Vet at the time, was and is very good at this. So debark it was. I had to "drug" her so bad to keep her quiet in the two week recovery period that she couldn't even walk to use the bathroom. I had to back off the "drugs"...needless to say, she began barking again. When this occures, they build back scar tissue, thus "making" vocal coreds again. She now barks almost like before and because of that scar tissue, her throat is restricted. She is a 19 pound Corgi and when she had to be knocked out for a surgery they could only fit a tube made for a toy poodle because of the scar tissue. Tri-tronics makes an excellent bark collar- PLEASE try that first before debarking. Brandi

I don't like it, however, I am willing to think about it, if it is available for spouses :) Seriously though. Find the dog a home with someone who is deaf (just a quick idea off the top of my head:), or some other way to solve the problem. Humans always want the easy way to do things. Take some powder to gain weight, take a pill to lose weight, etc. etc. Any dog can be taught when it is okay to bark and when it is not. Some just require a LOT of work. Next thing you know, someone will be suggesting that we sew up their butts so they can't poop, and when they get full, we get another (you know, disposable dogs). Paris Hilton may steal that idea from me :)

Brandi sorry to hear you had such a problem with your corgi. I have debarked a couple of our dogs that are excessively noisey. It was not 'the easy way out' as we live in an area designated for kennels but sometimes you have a dog that does not shut up no matter what. The dogs are sedated and only one side if done at a time to prevent the problem Brandi had with her corgi. If needed the other can be done later. We have never needed a day recovery time let alone two weeks and all eat their tea that night. This is a last ditch resort when all else has failed including the bark collars. I found that sometimes using the collars caused unwanted behaviour. Our male Dobe a chronic barker would just spin in a constant circle when the collar was on. Once debarked no more spinning.

Do right, Once again you crack me up with your suggestions about what people might do in the future (re: sew up the butt so they cannot poop). Sadly, you are all too much on the right track. People are lazy. TEACH the damn dog NOT to bark just for no reason. It can be done. It is very, very rare that a dog cannot be taught not to bark. On the other hand, if there is a REASON to bark, then this is why this breed was bred....one of its' jobs is to be naturally protective and alert you that someone or thing is there. I have 25 GSDs here. If you walk in here or somewhere on the property and are unexpected, I guarantee you I will know it and they will bark. But once they know it is ok, they will stop. They are taught they are NOT allowed simply to bark for the hell of it. Bark collars, if they are good ones, often can be used as a TOOL, but there is no substitute for teaching a dog not to bark in the first place. Debarking should only be done if there is simply NO other choice and it means the dog is going to be put down because it is a nuisance barker. Almost always, if a dog is nuisance barking, it is because it has not been given enough stimulation and exercise and attention early on to teach it not to bark and to help it distinguish correct times to vocalize vs not.

If you have to resort to this type of surgery to control your dogs you should probably get out of dogs and into something like tropical fish.

I have a dog that is so mouthy you can't even let her loose out of the house without wearing ear protection, it is gettting so bad, I hate to even let her out the door. Have tried bark collars of 5 brands, a tritronics, shock collar which didn't even faze her and alot of yelling and screaming, to NO avail. She is still barking. SHe has been here almost 6 months and I love her as a dog, but her voice is so awful, she is wearing on a nerve. I am home most all the time, so i stay on top of her the moment she out. If anyone has a contructive and humane way of stopping it, please feel free to email me. vomveiderheiss@nemont.net Kari

Hi Hodie very interested in how you teach your dogs not to bark - much better than debarking - black rooster you don't walk in my shoes so please don't judge me and BTW I do have tropical fish LOL

I challenge anyone here to teach a bassett hound or a corgi to not bark LOL. I've only had to debark one dog in 50 years and that was a bassett. Would I do it again, you betcha. I don't think it's fair to suggest that anyone who has to debark a dog should not have one. I have had success using a citronella collar on Blitz. It not only stops him from barking when he's wearing it, it also helped me teach him what "no bark" means.