Heel. Sit. Whisper. Good dog.
Inhumane or protective? Debarking surgery for noisy pups stirs debate.
By Sam Dolnick
updated 12:53 p.m. CT, Wed., Feb. 3, 2010
Nestlé barks when Mike Marder and his wife come home, and he barks when they leave. He barks at delivery boys, he barks at the doorbell, and he barks at the Marders’ new puppy, Truffle.
But for all that effort, the only sound Nestlé makes is a raspy squeak.
Dr. Marder, a veterinarian, tells those who are curious that Nestlé, a dachshund-terrier mix, is hoarse from too much barking.
But that is not true. The Marders had Nestlé’s vocal cords cut by a veterinary surgeon after a neighbor in the family’s apartment building on the Upper East Side threatened to complain to the co-op board about the noisy dog.
Although there is no reliable estimate as to how many dogs have had their vocal cords cut, veterinarians and other animal experts say that dogs with no bark can readily be found - but not necessarily heard - in private homes, on the show-dog circuit, and even on the turf of drug dealers, who are said to prefer their attack dogs silent.
The surgery usually leaves the animal with something between a wheeze and a squeak. The procedure, commonly referred to as debarking, has been around for decades, but has fallen out of favor, especially among younger veterinarians and animal-rights advocates.
Keeping pets in New York City, of course, has always required delicate negotiations between neighbors and species. The city’s 311 line fielded 6,622 complaints about barking dogs last year, while housing officials banned pit bulls, Rottweilers and other large dogs from public housing projects. Real estate experts say that co-op boards large and small always wrestle with pet policies, many of them tied to barking dogs.
Critics of the debarking procedure say it is outdated and inhumane, one that destroys an animal’s central means of communication merely for the owner’s convenience. Many veterinarians refuse to do the surgery on ethical grounds. Those who do rarely advertise it.
New Jersey bans devocalization surgery except for medical or therapeutic reasons, as do Britain and other European countries. Similar legislation is pending in Massachusetts, while Ohio restricts the surgery to nonviolent dogs.
But there are still those who perform the operation, and they and other advocates defend the surgery as a useful option for dog owners facing noise complaints and possible eviction.
FULL ARTICLE
I'm on the fence about this; I don't think I could do it to my dog but I could understand why someone would do it. My best friend of 18+ years had two dogs that put the terror in terriers. They were CONSTANTLY barking at EVERYTHING, I kid you not. I'm talking about the phone ringing; BARK! BARK! BARK! The door opening and closing; BARK! BARK! BARK! The NEIGHBOR ACROSS THE STREET opening and closing her front or car door; BARK! BARK! BARK! They would look out the window and see someone or a fly in the house and it would be BARK! BARK! BARK!
There was never any quite in that house because if it was and you started to talk or they heard a board squeek or something they would run WILD. I always used to tell her that she should get them debark because there was honestly no peace in her house. She always thought it was inhumane and never did do it but to get some peace after 10 years with the dog the family finally gave them away. This wasn't a decision made lightly but it was the right one for them and hopefully the pups as well. This is another reason I consider myself really, really lucky that Sokka has maybe barked a total of ten times since we got him almost a year ago.
Still, at that time I was all made up that I would rather have no dog or a debarked dog instead of living with the constant racket of yappers. But when I actually got to hear what a debarked dog sounds like I find it horrible. Like many things in life, I don't have to like them to agree with them and while I don't agree with debarking I find that if it truly does no harm to the animal and they're inside dogs that the owner should make the best choice for their families.
By Sam Dolnick
updated 12:53 p.m. CT, Wed., Feb. 3, 2010
Nestlé barks when Mike Marder and his wife come home, and he barks when they leave. He barks at delivery boys, he barks at the doorbell, and he barks at the Marders’ new puppy, Truffle.
But for all that effort, the only sound Nestlé makes is a raspy squeak.
Dr. Marder, a veterinarian, tells those who are curious that Nestlé, a dachshund-terrier mix, is hoarse from too much barking.
But that is not true. The Marders had Nestlé’s vocal cords cut by a veterinary surgeon after a neighbor in the family’s apartment building on the Upper East Side threatened to complain to the co-op board about the noisy dog.
Although there is no reliable estimate as to how many dogs have had their vocal cords cut, veterinarians and other animal experts say that dogs with no bark can readily be found - but not necessarily heard - in private homes, on the show-dog circuit, and even on the turf of drug dealers, who are said to prefer their attack dogs silent.
The surgery usually leaves the animal with something between a wheeze and a squeak. The procedure, commonly referred to as debarking, has been around for decades, but has fallen out of favor, especially among younger veterinarians and animal-rights advocates.
Keeping pets in New York City, of course, has always required delicate negotiations between neighbors and species. The city’s 311 line fielded 6,622 complaints about barking dogs last year, while housing officials banned pit bulls, Rottweilers and other large dogs from public housing projects. Real estate experts say that co-op boards large and small always wrestle with pet policies, many of them tied to barking dogs.
Critics of the debarking procedure say it is outdated and inhumane, one that destroys an animal’s central means of communication merely for the owner’s convenience. Many veterinarians refuse to do the surgery on ethical grounds. Those who do rarely advertise it.
New Jersey bans devocalization surgery except for medical or therapeutic reasons, as do Britain and other European countries. Similar legislation is pending in Massachusetts, while Ohio restricts the surgery to nonviolent dogs.
But there are still those who perform the operation, and they and other advocates defend the surgery as a useful option for dog owners facing noise complaints and possible eviction.
FULL ARTICLE
I'm on the fence about this; I don't think I could do it to my dog but I could understand why someone would do it. My best friend of 18+ years had two dogs that put the terror in terriers. They were CONSTANTLY barking at EVERYTHING, I kid you not. I'm talking about the phone ringing; BARK! BARK! BARK! The door opening and closing; BARK! BARK! BARK! The NEIGHBOR ACROSS THE STREET opening and closing her front or car door; BARK! BARK! BARK! They would look out the window and see someone or a fly in the house and it would be BARK! BARK! BARK!
There was never any quite in that house because if it was and you started to talk or they heard a board squeek or something they would run WILD. I always used to tell her that she should get them debark because there was honestly no peace in her house. She always thought it was inhumane and never did do it but to get some peace after 10 years with the dog the family finally gave them away. This wasn't a decision made lightly but it was the right one for them and hopefully the pups as well. This is another reason I consider myself really, really lucky that Sokka has maybe barked a total of ten times since we got him almost a year ago.
Still, at that time I was all made up that I would rather have no dog or a debarked dog instead of living with the constant racket of yappers. But when I actually got to hear what a debarked dog sounds like I find it horrible. Like many things in life, I don't have to like them to agree with them and while I don't agree with debarking I find that if it truly does no harm to the animal and they're inside dogs that the owner should make the best choice for their families.