Debarking dogs!

[scooterbug44]

I just saw this in the news - apparently some people feel the solution to barking dogs is to surgically cut their vocal cords so they cannot make noise.

While I am certainly not a fan of incessantly barking dogs, this seems rather extreme and permanent - especially when training or a "bark collar" (that sprays something or shocks the dog) can accomplish the same thing.

One of the Scooterhounds had a bark collar that he wore when we weren't home - it let him bark a certain number of times, then if he continued he got a zap. Seemed to be a very effective solution. (And it was freaking hilarious to see my mother test it for charge by holding it to her throat and barking.)

NYT: Debarking to quiet noisy dogs losing favor - The New York Times- msnbc.com

 

[Lynnie]

I don't believe in removing vocal chords. A bark collar only the most dire situation....and, then only for training.

I had a friend who brought his sheepdog to town and she was very jealous of The General (who had a deep bark). She barked incessantly. The sheepdog had a very high pitched bark that sounded like fingernails on a chalkboard..........it was rough when they were in town.

 

[Teresa]

I haven't read the article and don't want to! but I shall just to be better informed about this awful thing! Permanently & surgically taking away a dog's ability to bark (talk) is so wrong on so many levels. I feel sick just thinking about the possiblity of this happening to any dog. and I can't imagine not hearing any pup of mine talk to me with all the many little noises they make to communicate their affection, love, hunger, desperate need to go out, etc.

 

[Beach Runner]

Debarking is just plain cruelty to animals.

Scooty, you mom did what?

 

[scooterbug44]

You had to charge the collar (sort of like a cell phone) - so she would "test" it to see if it needed to be charged - by holding it up to her throat and "barking" to see if it shocked her. :rofl:

See, the insanity is genetic.

 

[Beach Runner]

OMC! Insanity or that woman has a set.

That being said, I'll have to admit that I have always wanted to feel what Pepper might feel if she got shocked by the invisible fence that was installed but has never used because I am afraid she'll get shocked.

 

[Beachbummette]

You had to charge the collar (sort of like a cell phone) - so she would "test" it to see if it needed to be charged - by holding it up to her throat and "barking" to see if it shocked her. :rofl:

See, the insanity is genetic.

Well?! How'd it feel?

Seriously, this is the lazy persons solution. If you don't have to time to work with your dog and train it not to bark, you don't need one.

 

[sunspotbaby]

[ame="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hDqk8i8o6YQ&feature=related"]YouTube- Doritos® - Crash the Super Bowl 2010 Finalist - Underdog[/ame]

 

[Red Dawg]

YouTube- Doritos® - Crash the Super Bowl 2010 Finalist - Underdog

That is a great commercial. But I have wondered about the little yappy dogs and might be tempted to debark them. Drive me wild!

 

[Matt J]

YouTube- Doritos® - Crash the Super Bowl 2010 Finalist - Underdog

Somebody at PETA is laughing their arse off.

Debarking is wrong, this is one of the dogs defense, alert, and communication methods.