To complicate things, we live in the city that has PETA’s headquarters and many of the folks that frequent our neighborhood dog park are PETA employees – I can only imagine the reaction if our cutie comes in with half a bark. We will be pariahs. That said, even with the ostracism, we are leaning toward bark softening, but our current problem is finding a veternarian that performs the procedure. We’re looking for a referral in Southeastern Virginia, but would travel further if needed. We don’t know anyone who has had bark softening and the local practices I’ve called so far do not do the procedure. Any ideas on to find an experienced, competent vet?

Q: What is debarking?
A:This is a minor surgical procedure to reduce tissue in the vocal chords. Some vets use a biopsy punch to remove a small amount of tissue. . Other surgeons use a laser for the same purpose. The vocal chords are not removed! The goal of the surgery is to lower the volume of the dog’s bark and the ability of the bark to carry over a wide area. This procedure is sometimes referred to as devocalization but it does not remove the dog’s voice. It is more accurately called bark-softening. The actual procedure is quick and recovery is also quick.

Q: Does debarking remove the dog’s ability to bark?
A:No. Debarked dogs continue to bark. What debarking does is to lower the volume of the bark so that it does not carry for miles around.

Q. Is it true debarked dogs cannot communicate any longer?
A. No. This is a prominent myth. Debarked dogs continue to bark, whine and vocalize in all the ways dogs do.

Q: Is the surgery always successful?
A: Sometimes scar tissue forms and heavy barkers will become louder than when first debarked. The skill of the veterinarian is also a factor. Some vets do not know how to perform the surgery so it is necessary to find a vet who knows how to do the procedure.

Q: Is this a “cruel and barbaric procedure?”
A: No. People with little or no experience raising naturally noisy and talkative breeds may tell you this. People with breeds like Shetland Sheepdogs (Shelties) can tell you that this procedure is simple and that it saves lives of dogs that might otherwise be dumped in the pound for their barking. Debarking is a more simple procedure than removing the uterus in spaying or removing testicles in neutering. Many dogs that are herding dogs, working dogs or small dogs can bark a lot. Many mixed breed dogs can also be heavy barkers. In modern society with heavily built up neighborhoods sometimes any barking can cause problems between neighbors.

Q: Do dogs suffer emotionally from debarking?
A:It is a huge myth to suggest dogs are emotionally disturbed by debarking. Debarked dogs can bark. Even if reduced sound comes out of their mouths, they don’t seem to notice that their bark is softer. Debarked dogs that are not being constantly disciplined for barking, in fact, tend to be much happier dogs!

Q: Is it true that only criminals and drug dealers debark dogs?
A:This is the biggest myth about debarking! The majority of people who debark dogs are responsible dog owners at the end of their rope with dogs whose bark is so piercing that they can be heard for miles around. To be breed specific, Sheltie, Collie and other herding breed owners are the people most apt to do this. Herding breeds, by nature can be very vocal in their work. They also are joyful in their barking. They bark at squirrels, strangers, in play. They bark just to bark. Sheltie and Collie breeders are not criminals and drug dealers!

Q: Is it true you can train any dog not to bark?
A:I defy some of the so-called new wave of dog behaviorists to train a group of Shelties not to bark! Shelties in numbers larger than one love to do group barking. It is part of who they are. This can be true of any group of dogs.

Q: Isn’t debarking a hazardous procedure?
A: Any procedure that requires anesthesia, whether it is a dental cleaning, spay, or debarking has intrinsic risks. The key to success is good veterinary skill in all these procedures.

Q: Animal rights activists have said that dogs can be debarked by shoving a pipe down their throats. Is that possible?
A. This is an oversized myth. If someone shoves a pipe down a dog’s throat they might kill the dog. This urban legend has continued in the media.

Q: Do people debark just to avoid training their dogs?
A: The majority of people who debark have run out of options and are trying to be good neighbors. We are not talking about people who are irresponsible and leave their dogs out all night or ignore chronic barking. We are talking about people who are faced with having to move or having to give up the dog. It is a procedure of last resort. A piercing bark, even on limited occasions, can be enough to cause a war in built up residential neighborhoods. Animal rights interests have painted debarking as a cruel quick fix when in fact it is something no owner does lightly.

Q: Is excessive barking due to bad breeding?
A: Here’s another myth. Shelties kept birds of prey away from lambs on remote Shetland. They also kept livestock out of the crofters meager gardens and protected fish drying on the beach from eagles and other raptors. Barking is a useful tool for this work. It also helps let the owner know where the dog is. Unfortunately, in modern life, neighbors are not impressed when dogs bark.

Q: Do breeders debark dogs to hide them so they don’t have to license them?
A: No. Many breeders own more than one dog and good breeders who want to be good neighbors sometimes debark a really loud dog. Being a good neighbor is part of being responsible.

Q: Anti debarking legislation is being put forth around the country as part of anti dog fighting bills. Isn’t this a good idea?
A: Criminals pay not attention to laws. They are not going to license their dogs in the first place, let alone report any that may be debarked. The people impacted by anti debarking laws are responsible owners, especially people with talkative dogs. Animal rights interests want to outlaw any procedures they deem unnecessary. Responsible and compassionate veterinarians should understand that debarking can save lives by keeping dogs out of shelters and in homes. While some dogs, especially when they are the only dog in a home, can be trained to reduce their barking, others cannot be trained to the point where neighbors will not be annoyed.

Q: Do you debark ALL your dogs?
A: No. Some dogs are less noisy than others. I last debarked a dog ten years ago. This was a dedicated squirrel chaser with a high pitched voice. The squirrels are always going to be out there. I wish I could train the squirrels to move to another neighborhood but that’s just about as hard as training a sheltie not to bark.

Charlotte McGowan is the author of The Shetland Sheepdog in America and is an honorary Life Member of the American Shetland Sheepdog Association. She has bred dogs for over 50 years. She has been an AKC dog show judge for over 30 years.

You’ve probably talked to your neighbor several times. The neighbor feels bad and promises to take the dog to training classes but the barking doesn’t stop. As much as you hate to, you call the police and file a complaint. The police also notify Animal Control and a legal cycle begins. It’s an unpleasant situation that I have been in.

What saved me was the fact that my dogs had been bark softened; they had a simple, surgical procedure where a veterinarian goes down the throat with a surgical tools and makes a small notch on either side of the dog’s vocal folds. There is virtually no bleeding, the procedure takes less than ten minutes and the dog awakes from the anesthesia, still able to bark, just not as loudly. (Yes, I can cite the research)

While I recommend this procedure as a last resort for people who have dogs that are “nuisance barkers” and whose dogs have failed to be helped with other forms of training, I was horrified to read post after post vilifying this procedure by people who have not armed themselves with facts. Instead, they are insulated with emotional nonsense and all rational thought seems to have left them. They ask, “would you silence a crying baby or your mother?” (Good thing they didn’t ask about my mother in law.) The lynch mob mentality of the opponents of this procedure is frightening, egged on in many instances by the equally frightful animal rights organizations hovering in the background.

The American Veterinary Medical Association position on bark softening is that “Canine devocalization should only be performed by qualified, licensed veterinarians as a final alternative after behavioral modification efforts to correct excessive vocalization have failed.”

So, here we have the predominant veterinary medical association saying that bark softening is a valid alternative to dealing with excessive barking in dogs when other forms of training have failed. Bark softening becomes a valid option to keep people from having to surrender their dogs to the shelter while it could face possible euthanasia.

Its important to discuss canine communication. It’s a well known fact that wild dogs and wolves seldom bark once they mature past adolescence and experts state that barking is actually a result of domestication. Certain breeds have a genetic propensity to bark, such as the herding breeds.

For the poster who argued that this is a statement against the purebred, let me remind you that ALL mixed breed dogs originate from purebreds at some point in their lineage. And despite what those who propagandize the myth of hybrid vigor, genetic traits from BOTH sides are passed on to the offspring, including the propensity to bark.

Barking is only one means of canine communication and in fact, not the major means used. Dogs communicate with body language, smell (if you watch two dogs greet each other, they usually sniff each others hindquarters) and a series of yips and growls which bark softened dogs can still do. As has been said here repeatedly, bark softened dogs can STILL bark, just not as loudly.

Research done at the Humane Society of St. Joseph, Mishawaka, Indiana, by a team of veterinarians lead by Gary Patronek VMD, PhD, found that excessive barking was given as the cause in 41% of dogs surrendered for behavioral problems… almost HALF!! When you factor in the number of dogs surrendered in this country for behavioral issues and realize that almost half of those are due to barking, you simply cannot rationally deny that excessive barking leads to many dogs being euthanized in shelters. How many of these lives could have been saved had the owners known that bark softening was a viable option (as recognized by the AVMA.)?

Contrast this with spaying where the female is put under heavy sedation. the skin, muscles and ligaments of the stomach are cut open. There is much blood… The uterus is pulled out of the stomach cavity and then cut out. If the severed blood vessels aren’t clamped properly during surgery and the many layers of muscles, ligaments, skin, and those same blood vessels aren’t properly sutured, the female will bleed to death. The recovery time is 1 to 2 weeks of quiet lest these stitches pop and additional surgery is needed. Neutering the male is nearly as invasive and potentially deadly.

So, why is it okay to mandate such a severe surgery as spaying and neutering but not let a minor surgery as bark softening be done?

I run a national breed rescue. Self-styled behaviorists feel that training can make any dog be mute. Sure, if you beat it, strangle it, throw things at it–that will make a dog be quiet but it also makes it fearful and neurotic. You can also pour lye down its throat or wire the muzzle closed–rescue gets all those dogs. Many times a dog will come in because the neighbors complain the dog barks all day when the owner is at work. Or they have a new baby and the dog’s barking keeps waking it up. Bark softening is usually suggested as a solution to either problem. Sometimes the owner will do as advised and the dog stays in its happy home. But too often, the owners react as the people did in your article, horrified at the idea (or maybe they don’t want to spend the money?) So they get rid of the dog. Now you tell me what is more cruel–having a simple surgical procedure done under anesthesia by a competent vet OR tossing the dog into a shelter where its behavior is just as likely to get it destroyed and the dog cannot figure out what it did to merit being abandoned by the family it loves?

We have never had a dog choke, gag, pass out or even die early because it could not breathe. Our dogs compete in agility, rally, herding, obedience, deliver normal litters of puppies and none of them are unable to catch their breath. As far as de-meowing, I have NEVER heard of such a thing. That idea is really over the top and I suspect has never even been done

I wish everyone would stop buying into the animal rights rhetoric (which equates your child with a pig or a chicken) and start paying more attention to animal welfare. And please listen to the AVMA and not the animal-rights organization. Our breed rescue is all about saving a dog’s life and finding it a loving home. if bark softening keeps a dog alive and happy in its home, then the procedure was worth it. And the owners would agree.

For those into psychology, dogs primarily communicate through body language and not by barking.