Cruel and Unusual Punishment: "Debarking" Your Dog
There was a very disturbing article on the front page of today’s New York Time about an increasingly popular practice of debarking dogs by people who live in urban areas like New York City. Debarking is accomplished by severing a dog’s vocal cords. The practice may be more widespread than reported because of nuisance pet policies imposed on apartment owners by co-op boards in the city. According to the article, the surgery usually leaves the animal with something between a wheeze and a squeak in lieu of a bark.
While I am not a card carrying animal rights activist and find excessive barking annoy, I am a dog owner and a biologist who strongly believes in evolution. And, as far as I am concerned, if dogs weren’t meant to bark they wouldn’t! Taking away a dog’s only means of verbal communication (one of my dogs “whines” when she needs to go out and the doggy door is shut) is, in my opinion, detrimental to a dog’s physical and behavioral well being. As one animal behaviorist said in the article:
“Dogs are usually barking because of some frustration. It’s frustrating to be a sheepdog with no sheep. What I’d be concerned about is, if you are debarking a dog and it has an underlying happiness.”
Proponents of the procedure say that it is a harmless procedure and dogs that have been debarked don’t act any differently than they did before the operation. Luckily, many younger veterinarians have deemed that the surgery unnecessary and unethical and refuse to perform it.
My first experience with debarking was after I inadvertently purchased my two dogs from the daughter of a notorious and nefarious New Jersey-based puppy mill breeder. I learned that it is not uncommon among puppy mill owners, to silence their dogs to prevent detection by authorities by shoving metal rebar down their throats. The repeated assaults on a dog’s vocal cords caused scarring and sometimes rupture which, in turn, renders the animal unable to bark. Imagine my outrage when I read that some veterinarians knowingly and willingly perform this surgery because pet owners requested that it be done!
I think the practice of debarking is repugnant, reprehensible and not justified in any circumstances. If your dark has a barking problem, hire an animal behaviorist or call Cesar Milan, aka the Dog Whisperer. It is likely there is an underlying behavioral problem or cause of the problem that can be fixed by behavior modification or pharmacological interventions. Debarking surgery is a convenient and facile solution for pet owners who say they love their dogs but are unwilling to spend the time and effort required to solve the problems.
In conclusion, if dogs weren’t meant to bark then they would not have when they first appeared on the planet!!!
Until next time...
Good Luck and Don't Forget to Hug Your Puppy Today!!!!
Glad to see you post about this article because I had the same reaction when I read about veterinarians willingly de-barking their dogs. Shocked that the process is done so commonly. I have heard of puppy mills taking such atrocious measures - is there anyway to identify a puppy mill (and thus avoid them) when searching for a dog? Is there a certification process for more reputable breeders?
Know this is a bit off-topic but dogs are a very popular topic in this area!
I must be living in a cave, I'd never heard of this before. See below, the hippocratic oath for veterinarians:
"Being admitted to the profession of veterinary medicine,I solemnly swear to use my scientific knowledge and skills for the benefit of society through the protection of animal health, the relief of animal suffering, the conservation of livestock resources, the promotion of public health, and the advancement of medical knowledge.
I will practice my profession conscientiously, with dignity, and in keeping with the principles of veterinary medical ethics.
I accept as a lifelong obligation the continual improvement of my professional knowledge and competence."
In my opinion, this Vet has crossed over from 'Hippocratic' to hipocrite.
I think the line of thinking which people begin upon to reach the conclusion that debarking surgery is a good thing, probably begins with neutering.
In neutering we have an example of surgically altering your pet in a way that has widespread acceptance and is largely viewed as a humane act which will minimize animal suffering down the line.
So people figure if we can make our lives better, and the animal's lives better with one form of surgery, why not another.
The problem with this train of thought is that if we follow it long enough, we `can get to a point where animals are treated as living pieces of meat and vivisection easily opted for in the name of convenience.
Sorry,but I don't agree with you.What would you say to people who HAVE taken their dog to trainers and tried every method out there? What if the county was going to seize their dog for having too many complaints made by neighbors? Then it would go to the pound and surely be put to sleep!
Don't you think in extreme cases it is better to give the dog the chance at life?
I truly hate people like you who fail to see any good in things that could potentially help other people just because you disagree with it.