A "De-Barked" Dog??? - Page 1

I was wondering if a dog has been de-barked can he still be shown? I have a chance to get a very nice male with style and drive but his previous owner had him de-barked. My question is does anyone know if this dog can compete in Schutzhund classes if he can only "squeek"? Thanks for your time! Leo

who debarks their dog!?

Many Collie and Shetland Shepdog owners in the USA do. The Collie Nationals were held 3 miles from my house one year so I went to take a look. I was stunned by how many of the show Collies had been debarked. Maybe something like 5 - 10%. I guess if it keeps the neighbors off your back, it maybe worth it. Some of the American towns and suburbs have barking dog laws so the debarking may have been done to avoid losing their dogs. Yes, it does not make sense to debark with guradeing ability. A man who works at a big New Jersey shelter said they are seeing Akita and Chow crosses that have been debarked. They are coming from the New York City urban area and are called Chiquitas. I assume the cross is made to get a nasty, larger dog that they can use as booby traps. I hope this particular fad dies out quickly.

Lots of Sheltie and Papillon people debark their dogs but I don't understand why... they still make noise and it sounds more like a dog in respiratory distress, which is not a terribly consoling sound... I actually alerted people whose dog was crated that it sounded terrible and was it all right?? Silly me, I'd rather use a bark collar if I have to or crateout in my vehicle....... I bet a GSD still makes a pretty good noise but as far as the question on whether it is legal or not, I don;t know..... Debarked dogs are shown in AKC competitive events. The only place he would HAVE to bark is in the blind after the blind search, he could do an out stare on any other guard....... what was this person thinking??? Sorry wish I could be more helpful

You could compete but you would lose the points for the hold and bark in the blind 5p? I don't think a judge would make an allowance if you told them - other than a comment of "why are you competing with a dog that can't bark". You might lose another 5 points for overall impression but if all the other work was strong you would be in the high 80s. That would be the best you can do.

If silent guarding is OK, then a debarked dog could do it. Barking is barking. It's the behavior that that's being judged. Still sad, though. I'd rather debark one of my neighbors, except that they don't make bark collars for snakes, do they?

What I¿m about to write have got nothing to do with your problem.Sorry but I have to get this of my chest. I have heard and read about this messed up methid of controling ones dogs behaviour. The first question that popped into my mind was WHY?. Why would anyone do this? The answer is quite simple ,when one lookes at the fact surronding the issue. The persons that hav this procedure done are downright lazy and/or ignorant.There is no dog in the world that is impossible to train to make less noice. When one takes on another living thing one emedialty become responsible for this creatures wellbeing. The option that will most increase this wellbeing can never be mutulation. Sure there are many people out there who have no interest in a dog as a dog but these people have no busines having the responsability of another creature. These people would have no interest in learning how to take care of and train their dog and it would without the nessesary changes taken by the owner not be possible to change the dog. The question is in many of these cases if it would¿nt be more humane to put the animal to sleep since it is obviusely not happy and would not have the chanse to become so. Before you take this dog on;carefully assess this dogs mental state since the owner was not able or interested in helping it adapt.Naturally the animal can be wunderful despite its past,sometimes the genetics are strong enough to override bad experiences,just be extre careful. good luck Zoe

let's examine from the dog's point of view, do dogs derive more gratification from: 1) the barking action with no sound (debarking)? or 2) get an electric shock everytime they bark (e-collar)? or Whilst I do not agree with debarking a dog, I feel that it is equally inhumane to silent a dog with e-collar or other methods such as training. If we agree that it is the dog's nature to bark, then any method of silencing the dog's natural behaviour is inhumane. The reality is that we have to respect the rights of our neighbours, even though I disagree with interferring with the dogs' natural behaviour. I had to face reality and restrain my dog from barking by calling her into the house everytime she barks, and keeping her in the house at night so that she won't bark at other dogs or cats. Laris

I have met some dogs that had it performed (debarking) and they still behaved the same. It doesnt modify the dogs behavior, it modifies the decible level that can be evacuated I personally would not debark as I WANT my dogs to alarm me at odd presence outdoors were I cant see and hear. But I refraine from judging others and dont know if it breaches on in humane treatment...dogs of course are not human anyhow. You can show and perform...a good judge should be watching the dogs *behavior* not the loudness of the bark...but that differ from judge to judge. D.L. Sherman www.sherman-ranch.com

I sold an older puppy that barked incessantly because she didn't want to be in a kennel, and the bark collar made her scream. The new owners were aware of this, and tried their best, and lots of different techniques, but the neighbors called Animal Control, AND the POLICE all the time, and the owners were given an ultimatum to shut the dog up or euthanize her! As they had tried everything, of course they felt that debarking was the only option left.