Law to ban debarking comes up in Mass.

http://wbztv.com/local/dogs.devocalization.surgery.2.1079195.html

Hear Hear!,

and I mean it.

I have met a lot of dogs in the 5 years I took my dogs to The Field, but I only ever met debarked dogs at dog sports matches- owned by 'dog people." Shelties mostly. Friends and I went to watch a flyball meet held at an indoor soccer facility nearby. Since there really wasn't anyone there just to watch except us, we were allowed to get quite close to the tracks and people would come and talk with us, explain it all. One woman had her sheltie near us watching, and the poor thing seemed to bark but this aborting kind of cough came out.

I am a Yankee, and we're not intrusive, and there's loads I don;t know, so even thoguh I looked a bit quizzically at the woman when the sound came out of her dog, I didnt say anything and she smiled and sheepishly moved away. The second dog I heard bark that way had a much more brazen owner- "Is your dog okay?" I asked. "Oh, yeah, she is."
"She barks strange"
"well, yeah, I slit her throat."
?!?!!?
"Removed her vocal cords."
???
"I have six of these things and they're all barkers, and I have neighbors, you know!"
I saw stunned and couldn't think of anything to say before she strode off, cheering for a friend's dog.

So, if you have neighbors and don't want barking dogs, why did you get a sheltie of all things? or 6 shelties? or any dogs? so YOU can do flyball? this is SO very cart-before-the-horse, and cruel I can't stand it. I wish people's conscience and ethics were up to par so we didn't need to make laws about it.

I don't understand how these people can say they love dogs, or are even In Dogs. I imagine she may also breed (hence 6 of them) and show them, but I'd imagine a judge would expect any sheltie worth being deemed "The Sheltiest" to be a spirited barker, so maybe she doesn't.

This just makes me so mad. Last year we banned greyhound racing, so creating awareness of debarking is a good thing. GO, Massachusetts!

Comments

  • edited November -1
    I think that if someone wants to do that to their dog they should have to be lombotimzed and sterilized first. So that they can't pass their genetic level stupidity onto the next generation. My explination would be "Well I'm going to have kids and I don't want them to be stuck on a world full of idiots like you." She should just get a pet rock.
  • edited July 2009
    So my sister is loud, annoying, and 'barks' all the time. Can I have her throat slit, and her vocal cords taken out, I mean she is starting to annoy the neighbors and we have gotten some complaints. Heck, even the dogs are starting to complain about all the noise.


    I've always hated de-barking, it just shows lack of training skills and not caring that much for the dog (no matter how much they say they love them). To me, a barking dog either equals a jobless dog or a happy dog. Petey (my mom's shih tzu) has to most annoying, ear shattering bark; but we would never even thing of going the surgical route to 'shut him up'.

    You'd figure that the cost of this sort of surgery can be quite pricey (as it is a delicate procedure working on the throat even without and incision), so if they feel that their dog barking will annoy the neighbors then why not spend that money on soundproofing. Get the soundproofing insulation to the house, I bet it would actually be cheaper and they could spend the left over money on actually training their dogs to be quiet.

    Heck, my guys and my family's dogs (this would make it 5 total) will all of the sudden go into an all out howling/barking fit and do what they can to be louder than the others. Teddy the schipperke gives loud squeaks, Petey has his annoying bark, Femy the Chihuahua sounds like she's meowing, Tikaani whines and Tetsu howls like he's being stepped on. We let them go at it for a few minutes, let them get it out of their system a little, then we tell them 'quiet' and guess what, their sounds fizzle and stop. That is much better and cheaper than stupid de-barking.

    Heck, a friend of a friend adopted a chinese crested who was on the show 'Ugly Betty'. Poor thing was de-barked for barking when excited/happy on the set. How screwed up is that! Now it makes sort of a rasping, wheezing sound when it tries to bark.


    "Speak, Fido, speak...Oh, wait, you can't"
  • edited November -1
    Shelties can be spirited barkers, but they should also be smart enough to learn to control themselves a little with good training. That said, a group of dogs gathering together would be expected to vocalize especially at an exciting event like agility or flyball. However, it's extremely annoying/distracting when I have 2 very well behaved dogs with me waiting quietly in crates for their turns to shine, and they are surrounded by rows of crates full of the herding breeds and terriers who are mindlessly or obsessively yapping. Their owners need to spend more time on "quiet" and "thank you" training, but I know some would rather debark because the training takes "too much time".

    If it came down to a dog being euthanized for being an excessive yapper, I would rather have the procedure be available, but only to be performed under anesthetic by a board approved veterinary surgeon. Otherwise I think people will take it to the streets and do it back alley style, which does happen. If not, the procedure should definately be illegal. Ideally, all owners would take the time to do proper training and this type of surgery would not even exist.
  • edited November -1
    I saw this on the news too Chrystal and I let out a cheer of joy! I know A LOT of vets won't even do the procedure because it's A)risky and B)stupid and un-necessary.

    Miso and Sake bark like crazy at things passing in front of the house but I also have them trained to stop when I say "thank you". Plus, they are my guardians and warn me if someone is coming near my house and I would be scared shitless if they didn't have that ability. THey also bark at our neighbors but not at 2am or anything crazy and it usually lasts for about half a minute.

    Dumb people...

    I know a few people I would like "debarked".
  • edited November -1
    I just finished reading the article a little more closely. One of my dogs was debarked before I got him (there were a lot of complicating circumstances around his birth and multiple homes) and both myself and the breeder regret that this happened as he is definately not a barker. As a result, he does wheeze when running especially in warmer weather and I have had to remove lodged pieces of jerky from the back of his throat with my fingers many times due to the scar tissue that has formed so I only give him small pieces of treats now. He doesn't cough, which is great. He may need revision of the tissue as he ages which is scary to think about because that's his airway.
  • edited November -1
    I never understood debarking dogs, just as much as I never understood grinding their teeth down to "teach" them not to bite..

    Not to get into the controversies of ear cropping, but even that's something our AAHA evaluated veterinary practice won't do anymore.. I'd be shocked if they did 'de-barking' surgeries, de-nailing surgeries, or teeth grinding. If you really wanted a dog that wouldn't bark, get an Aibou or something. But I think those are programmed to bark, too.
  • edited November -1
    This all could be prevented at the dog-choosing stage. Not only which kind, with what attributes, but if you live in conditions suitable to having a dog in your home at all.

    Manage, train, educate, have a conscious relationship with your dogs.
  • edited November -1
    Another problem with debarking is that sometimes one surgery isnt enough and you have to repeat the whole procedure

    As I already told you before some owner/breeder have more practical/less timeabsorbing/moneyrelated relationship to there dogs than we have. Its more like a rancher and his lifestock or a prestigeobject, its not a lifeparnter.

    Im hope that law will spread around the world soon!!!
  • edited November -1
    I didn't even realise this was something that people do, it's ridiculous. Why not buy a hamster or a cat if you don't want a barking pet?
    I hope this is something that ends, soon.
  • edited July 2009
    I have seen before but at first did not realize why the dog has such a strange bark until we asked. It seems rather lazy and thoughtless to do an invasive surgical procedure for something that appears to be able to be corrected through training. I don't know though, I have never had a barker. If our dogs bark too much we bring them inside.

    Snf
  • edited November -1
    Ugh, debarking is so sad. I have this classmate who's family had adopted a retired show beagle and had it debarked because it always made that special sound hounds make when they've found something. I asked her why? and she just said "Oh, it was getting really annoying." I had a few other choice words but I regret not saying them...
  • edited November -1
    This is one of those situations where it seems that people get dogs without realising that they don't actually want a dog. Can't stand the sound of barking? Don't get a dog. Or get one that's known to be very quiet. Or rescue an adult that's already proven that it hardly makes a peep.

    That being said, I keep reminding myself to never say never, because I'm sure there's a situation somewhere in the world where debarking seems like the best or only solution. It's better than euthanising the dog, but there are numerous training and prevention options that can be used first.
  • edited November -1
    Actually,

    My sister's shelter adopted Maine Coon CAT has been de-meowed.

    Now, I just don't understand people at all.......... -_-



    Honestly? A cat who is way too loud that you needed to get it surgically altered??? O_O
  • edited November -1
    What???? It's not even a Siamese and she had it de meowed? I didn't even know they did that!
  • edited November -1
    No no, my sister adopted it and it already had its vocals 'fixed'.. now whenever it tries to meow this... weird, gasping noise comes out...
  • edited November -1
    Lol if you ever want to debunk the siamese = meowing thing you should meet Sassy. She rarely ever meows. It's beneath her to do so lmao.
  • edited November -1
    That's such a sad story. What they owner did was horrible! I am a new puppy owner, and I already know my dog communicates to me with his voice, just like how a baby would cry if he's food or a new diaper. If the owner doesn't want barkers, get a different breed. I feel so bad for those 6 shelties.
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