Hard enough as it is for inter-species communication, why remove one of the few tools available for that from the poor animal?

A good example of people who should not be allowed to have a dog.

this has been going on for years. at least since the 1980's. my sister had a cockel spanish she got around 1995 from the dog pound that had it done.

Yeah, that's not a nice thing to do to the poor puppies. declawing cats is still okay though.

I think I'm going to have to join some people.

If you train your dog to bark, you can then train it not to bark.
/got nothin

In Before someone else posts :



/wait, if you say "in before" but then post something relevant, isn't that at the same time so it can't be "in before" so you fail??

You know who else cut out vocal cords....

When I see those little dogs I think of Carl Spackler as Mr. Cinderella Story.

how are they gonna ask for steak?

Sadly, this is not new. Back in the '90s someone we knew had their cocker spaniels "debarked" because they didn't like them waking them up with occasional nighttime barks. I consider it cruel and unnecessary.


Just don't have a farking pet of any kind if you can't adapt to and train for their normal animal tendencies.

Or get a plastic fish.

whoops-spaniel... kinda funny...

abhorrent1: declawing cats

Declawing cats is a farked up practice.

As someone who has to listen to a dog howl from the other side of the neighborhood, I don't have too much of a problem with this.

Can we do this to children, too?

abhorrent1: Yeah, that's not a nice thing to do to the poor puppies. declawing cats is still okay though.

No, no it's not.

Glenn Beck debarked a cocker spaniel sometime in the 90's.

Unavailable for comment:

We adopted a dachshund... 7 years old, and barks constantly... Annoying as hell. I would never take that from her. Some days, I've thought about it.

How will Lassie save Timmy from the quicksand?

A couple of years ago we were annexed into an area where it is against the law for a dog to bark for more than ten minutes at a time regardless of the time of day. I thought that was sick.
I wonder how long it will be before the helpful folks that pushed that through point out that if debarking were required of all the dogs in the city, no one would ever have to hear a dog bark? Why is that the people who made us all completely miserable in high school always seem to end up running things one way or another?

abhorrent1: Yeah, that's not a nice thing to do to the poor puppies. declawing cats is still okay though.

Indoor cats, sure. Cat doesn't get yelled at for destroying furniture, human doesn't have to yell at cat, furniture doesn't get destroyed, and cat doesn't need to hunt for food or protect itself.

It's ok to hack their balls off, but this is bad? Where to we draw the line at what parts of an animal we can remove?

My uncle's family had a dog that developed some sort of throat cancer/infection and had to have part of its voicebox removed. Poor thing sounded so pathetic when it tried to bark, I can't imagine anyone voluntarily doing that to an animal.

I'm not saying I agree with debarking, I know I wouldn't do that to a dog I had control over - but come on!
If I was in the market for a used dog and the shelter had a dog that couldn't bark that would totally be the one I'd get.

I don't need an animal to give me a facsimile of love and affection, and I am a light sleeper with asshole neighbors who put their big dogs out overnight in the winter so I get to listen to the dog equivalent of, "I'm cold! I'm cold!" all night.

Silence them, one way or another.

Kaymon: Where to we draw the line at what parts of an animal we can remove?

How about we draw it at "when the only reason you're doing it is because you're not competent enough or too lazy to properly control the animal as per the basic responsibilities of pet ownership".

You really shouldn't have to have that explained to you.

Most people buy a dog, put it in a cage, take it out once a day to walk it (if it's lucky, otherwise it gets let out in the yard) and hope the kids play with it.

The dog is bored, ignored, alone and generally feels valueless. Nicer dogs tend to withdraw and/or die young, but more attention-needy dogs tend to bark a lot until the neighbors poison them with antifreeze.

This is what I've seen in America's suburbs.

Lunaville: Why is that the people who made us all completely miserable in high school always seem to end up running things one way or another?

Sadly, because you cannot hunt them for sport.

RatMaster999: Can we do this to children, too?

No, we should get to hear children scream in pain when their anti-bark collar shocks them.

starlost: this has been going on for years. at least since the 1980's. my sister had a cockel spanish she got around 1995 from the dog pound that had it done.

I have a Cocker Spaniel, and sometimes that seems like viable option, but I wouldn't do that, nor would I declaw my cats.

Devocalizing dogs is inhumane? Then what is living next to some constantly barking little poopfactories?

If I wouldn't own this condo, I'd have long since moved

What the hell is the point of a dog that doesn't bark?

CSB moment: I had to go to Boston for a wedding; this was one of the first time me and the missus had been away on a trip without bringing our dog. We stayed at a friends place. That friend had some roomies, and they were cool. But dealing with people walking around in the middle of the night or past his first floor apartment without the dog taking notice, growling or barking was dissarming to say the least.

Having a dog is like having an alarm system - my dog is basically marshmellow fluff, love, and fur. I'm not counting on it to kill any intruders - that's what I'm for. So it just boggles my mind that you'd remove that ability from one of natures greatest sentries.

This is beyond the pale for me.

ChipNASA

In Before someone else posts :

/wait, if you say "in before" but then post something relevant, isn't that at the same time so it can't be "in before" so you fail??


You answered your own question: when you say "in before [whatever]", the "someone else" is implied.

RatMaster999: Can we do this to children, too?

And wives, girlfriends.

This complete ruins the story of Sherlock Holmes in Silver Blaze.

We were looking in to this. My neighbor is complaining about my dogs. They're just three doxies who learned to bark at everything. But I can't seem find a reputable vet who will cut out the vocal chords of my neighbor.

The one guy that I found wanted the patient's permission to perform the operations. I brought him in unconscious. Now you want me to wake him up. Chloroform doesn't grow on trees, Doc. The guy on Craigslist wasn't really a vet but agreed to make a house call. Too bad we were outside the range of his ankle bracelet.

lucksi: Devocalizing dogs is inhumane? Then what is living next to some constantly barking little poopfactories?

If I wouldn't own this condo, I'd have long since moved

Removing the bones in your inner ear might help.

Snarfangel: This complete ruins the story of Sherlock Holmes in Silver Blaze.

Completely, even.

Devocalization is such a big word.
It's been around since Richard the Third.

If I could I'd replace the vocal cords of barky dogs with vuvuzelas.

abhorrent1: Yeah, that's not a nice thing to do to the poor puppies. declawing cats is still okay though.

22 shell is a lot cheaper.
Or a cold wet sack.

Here's a compromise: don't get a dog

abhorrent1: Yeah, that's not a nice thing to do to the poor puppies. declawing cats is still okay though.

I can't say I haven't considered it when my dog barks for no reason in the middle of the night; I could never do that to him though. It's his one way of communicating with us (except maybe tail wagging?), I don't want to take it away from him.

Why have a dog if you're going to take away one of the things that makes them a dog?

Don't talk about relentlessly barking dogs until you've lived with shelties.

They're still awesome dogs though.

GORDON: I don't need an animal to give me a facsimile of love and affection, and I am a light sleeper with asshole neighbors who put their big dogs out overnight in the winter so I get to listen to the dog equivalent of, "I'm cold! I'm cold!" all night.

Silence them, one way or another.

The really sad part is that the dog is probably saying "I'm lonely! I'm lonely!".

Unless it is really cold, I'm not denying that dogs get cold but what most dogs want more than ANYTHING is to be with their owners.

Dogs who bark:
1. First you have to completely ignore the barking. If you yell, your dog is like 'okay! bob is barking too- I'm on to something!'.
2. If you give your dog something really delicious to eat like a kong (you can fill them with plain dog food or other healthy things) or a bully stick or an antler (for extreme chewers) then they are getting rewarded for not barking (because a dog has a hard time having a full mouth and barking).
3. If your dog is so tired from a 2 mile walk and 15 m training session that they are sleeping, they can't be barking.
4. If your dog likes to look out the window/door and bark at anything that passes by, block his view (with cardboard or whatever) at least until you start getting barking under control.

I have a German Shepherd and he barks:
a) when someone is in my front yard at night
b) when he is over the top excited because it is time to play ball...

iheartscotch: You know who else cut out vocal cords....

The owners of Motel Hell.

"It takes all types of critters, to make Farmer Vincent's fritters"

Ventriculocordectomy: It's not just for drug dealers anymore.