Listening to a neighbor's dog bark constantly all day is enough to start a war in any residential neighborhood. Excessive barking is no doubt annoying and distracting, but is it really the dog's fault? A dog owner is responsible for training their dog to behave in an acceptable manner, especially if they are living in close proximity with others. Excessive barking is a behavioral issue that could be eliminated with the time and effort of training in almost every case.
Sadly, many owners do not want to spend that time training, and would much rather opt for an immediate and permanent solution to stop the problem, even at the dog's expense. Debarking surgery is serious and can cause life threatening complications, such as scar tissue forming and interfering with breathing. Also, it takes away the dog's ability to bark, so it is no longer able to verbally communicate with other dogs or its owner. Debarking surgery, when done out of convenience, is animal cruelty.
Debarking is a surgery that removes all or part of an animal's vocal chords in order to stop the problem of excessive barking. It is also commonly called devocalization, vetriculordectomy or vocal cordectomy (“Devocalization”). It has become increasingly popular, especially in recent years, and is often used as a “quick fix” for owners who do not want to deal with the time and training to cure the underlying cause of the barking.
[...] Ross, Jenna, and Staff Writer. "Veterinarians are vocal about debarking dogs ; A surgical procedure to silence a dog is a flashpoint in the dispute over a proposed dog kennel in central Minnesota" Star Tribune 27 Mar. 2006, ProQuest Newsstand, ProQuest. Web. 28 Nov. 2010. The Associated Press. "Massachusetts: No Debarking Surgery." New York Times 21 Jul 2010: ProQuest Newsstand, ProQuest. Web. 28 Nov. 2010. Wikipedia contributors. “Devocalization.” Wikipedia, The Free Encyclopedia. Wikipedia, The Free Encyclopedia, 21 Oct. 2010. Web. 28 Nov. 2010. "'Nuisance' barking is often a pet's way of revealing needs. " Cape Times 21 Jun 2010, ProQuest Newsstand, ProQuest. Web. 11 Dec. 2010. [...]
[...] Debarking surgery, when done out of convenience, is animal cruelty. Debarking is a surgery that removes all or part of an animal's vocal chords in order to stop the problem of excessive barking. It is also commonly called devocalization, vetriculordectomy or vocal cordectomy (“Devocalization”). It has become increasingly popular, especially in recent years, and is often used as a “quick fix” for owners who do not want to deal with the time and training to cure the underlying cause of the barking. [...]
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