Devocalizing Animals

United States
October 25, 2012 12:37pm CST
I'm sure this has been going for quiet sometimes,but to me this would be considered to be animal cruelty! http://pictures-of-cats.org/devocalization-of-cats-and-dogs.html What is your opinion of devocalizing an animal? My husband and I have a dog and we have trained her so that she only barks we she feels her territory is being invaded. We even use hand signals as well as voice commands.. There are people where we live that the person who owns their animal is louder yelling at their animal than the animal itself. Do they think of devocalizing the dog owner instead of the dog? No, that would be considered inhumane, well, it's inhumane to a dog too!
3 people like this
12 responses
@NailTech (6874)
• United States
25 Oct 12
I consider devocalizing an animal to be inhumane cause they don't even have much of a voice to be heard anyways. their only way of communication is through either meowing or barking. Perhaps if the dog barks way too much at night or something but that would be in a rare case anyways. I just think it is wrong, and I do think some people should be de-vocalized you are right there! Especially when all they do is yell, be angry, critisize and complain half the time or more!
2 people like this
• United States
25 Oct 12
Exactly! Either barking or meowing is their only ways of communication to their owner. Kind of like when you have a baby, and they cry. You have to check on them to see if they need changed, fed or just need cuddling.
1 person likes this
@jillhill (37354)
• United States
25 Oct 12
I don't like it one bit. I think that its cruel to take away their voices so to speak. My dog used to talk to me....in his own way of course...but I would never have dreampt of taking away his voice....it was part of his personality. And there are so many ways of controling that instead of going this far!
2 people like this
@carmelanirel (20942)
• United States
25 Oct 12
That is cruel and this comes from someone whose dogs bark. I have never of devocalizing and I think it sounds like a procedure that should be banned..
@anklesmash (1412)
26 Oct 12
I think devocalizing animals is cruel and should be illegal and I'm glad to say that in my country it is classed as animal cruelty and is against the law.From all the reading I have done its only illegal in a few US states.I don't know why any animal owner would want to remove an animals ability to show its personality. No animal lover would ever do this to their animals its just inhumane.Though I don't know why people call it being inhumane as its only humans that are capable of being this cruel animals wouldn't.
1 person likes this
@jenny1015 (13366)
• Philippines
26 Oct 12
Debarking minipins are the usual breed of dogs that have been treated this way. I have a friend who are breeders of this kind of dog. And since they have lots of dogs in the house, they have debarked all of them. I think in a way, it is something that should be done to eliminate too much noise within their community, but on the other hand, I feel real bad for the dogs as well. It is like a dog is not a dog unless you hear them bark, right? It is like taking something from them that makes them stand out as to what they really are.
1 person likes this
• United States
25 Oct 12
I think it is absolutely awful when a pet owner has their animal devocalized. It is just plain inhumane! it would be like taking a babies ability to speak and cry away from them. This is how animals express when they are hurting or when they need something, or when they are trying to protect you and their home.
2 people like this
@shaggin (72021)
• United States
27 Oct 12
I cant stand hearing dogs barking all the time all hours of the night. It is really annoying but I dont think I would ever approve of devocalizing cats or dogs. Its just kind of crazy really. Its natural for animals to make noise and for anyone to put them through surgery is unnatural and unnecessary.
• United States
27 Oct 12
Totally agree with you! Today our neighbor's dog has been outside all day (during this cold weather) barking and howling. It's not the dogs fault that the owner doesn't have sense enough to bring the dog inside when it's very cold outside. The reason an animal barks or meows is because it needs attention.
@julyteen (13252)
• Davao, Philippines
25 Oct 12
I won't agree devocalizing the animals, like you it's unhumane act to our animals
1 person likes this
@blue65packer (11826)
• United States
26 Oct 12
Never heard of this before. I think it is cruel! I also think people probaly do it because they are to lazy to properly train their dog! If a person doesn't want that,then they should not own a pet in the first placce!
@jaiho2009 (39141)
• Philippines
25 Oct 12
What's wrong with these people Are they still sane for doing so? I agree with you, if devocalizing the owner who speaks more loudly than their pets is called inhumane- then devocalizing a pet is also not a human thing.
1 person likes this
@Octav1 (1419)
• Romania
9 Nov 12
I think it should exist a law to forbid devocalizing pets. The guilty persons should be punished to be devocalized themselves. Wouldn't that be correct? There are other ways of making a dog to be quiet. Dog training helps but some dog owners are too lazy to spend the time to teach their dog to be quiet.
• United States
9 Nov 12
Definitely agree with you! There is usually a reason the dog is barking and usually because the owner does not go out and check to see why their dog is barking! Our dog doesn't bark a lot but when she does you better go out and see what she is barking for and give her praise that whatever she is barking at was a good reason for her barking. It all comes down to training your dog. Thanks for joining in on this discussion!
@koopharper (7601)
• Canada
25 Oct 12
I would say that devocalizing your animals is a lazy solution to the problem. I find that most pet problems boil down to owner problems. Yes, I think that would be cruel.
• United States
25 Oct 12
I totally agree with you! It's laziness on the part of the owner in training of the animals. That's why I signed this petition http://www.change.org/petitions/tell-ny-vets-stop-devocalizing-dogs-and-cats. My husband also signed it and pretty much said what you said!
1 person likes this