Cutting your dog's vocal cords???

Thank for the br

Wow...that's just lousy! I don't think anyone should take a dog's voice away from them. That woman sounds like she has a screw loose! How would she like for some to cage her up and take her voice away?!

I'm sorry I didn't make it clear. I'm against it also. My own dog barks quite a bit and sometimes is quite annoying, but I would never do this to him. He's a dog, dogs bark. Cats meow, kids whine, etc, etc.

Hmmm...well, successful or not, in my opinion it is a cruel thing to do.

Agreed

I could not imagine doing such a thing to a dog or any other animal.

Oh my God! I agree with you, smaller dogs (we called them 'yippy dogs') tend to bark more--maybe that's where the term, "Their bark is worse than their bite" came from? It sounds terribly cruel--hopefully that went out of fashion like the lobotomy!

Yes, I think it sounds cruel too. "....and I've only seen it justified once or twice." What exactly do you feel justifies it, even on rare occassion? Just curious.

The one situation that I believe it was totally justified was a person we knew. She bred the occasional litter and had about nine dogs (all well kept, not hoarding, and all very nice dogs). One of the dogs was an obsessive barker. He barked and barked and barked because he liked it -- basically, each time he barked, it was a reward for barking. It started bothering her dogs, and they'd turn on him after a couple of hours of barking. A few dog fights later, she decided to place him. The new owner was an experienced dog owner, aware of the issues, and this was her only dog so he got tons of attention, exercise, behavior training, etc. And he still barked. It was driving her crazy, and she got a notice from the city saying that it had to stop. She couldn't get it to stop and she gave him back to the breeder. She spent a year going through behavior modification classes and each trainer (except some nutsoid doggie chiropractor) said that it would be nearly impossible to fix. Bark collars, homeopathic treatments, she tried just about everything, even some stuff I wouldn't try. Basically, it came down to either putting him down or debarking him, so debarking won. He was debarked and he stopped doing the even 'hooff!' bark sound they make after the procedure when he realized that it wasn't getting anywhere. A couple of months after the procedure, he was readily assimilated back into his 'pack'. It wasn't a convenience or cosmetic thing, by the time he was debarked, and it had a very positive outcome.

Second to last paragraph: she being the original owner/breeder :)

Most dogs can be trained not to bark so much. There may be certain dogs who can not be trained not to bark, but I think if one is going to own a dog, they shouldn't make the decision as to what dog to get lightly. If barking, or excessive barking as the case may be, is going to be an issue, then they should first be sure that they are getting a dog which can be trained not to bark excessively, and then second. they should make sure that they are willing able to take the time necessary to train the dog not to bark, or at least spend the expense necessary to have a professional dog trainer do it for them if they are not sure how. If they are not willing to do this, then they should not own a dog in the first place! A dog's bark is their communication and taking it away from them would be the same as someone taking your voice from you.

A friend of mine dog barks constantly. One day this friend told me that nothing works to make his dog stop barking, short of debarking, (cutting his vocal cords), which he refuses to have done. I asked him if some people seriously do that and he said, yes, some people do. That is where I heard it. I agree, a dog was meant to bark because that is how they communicate. Debarking sounds cruel to me.

Yes, I think some people do some cruel things to their pets.