What is your opinion on de-barking? My Mom wants to de-bark our dogs and I think it's cruel, don't you agree?

Question

First of all, they are Shetland Sheepdogs (a.k.a. Shelties or mini-collies) and the breed is notorious for barking. They are very happy, playful dogs and well-trained otherwise. They bark when they are excited which is often or when they see a squirrel, rabbit or deer which is often as well. This isn't an issue with us but our anal neighbor who sleeps all the time and has called animal control on EVERY neighbor with a dog which is just stupid. This is also a man who had the police come to his house for shooting rabbits and squirrels in a residental area. Anyways, these dogs don't have any problems. They ARE NOT barking because they are lonely. I don't work and spend atleast 12-16 hrs. A DAY with them so thier barking isn't a cry for attention. We've tried scolding which I think is cruel as well. Kids get noisy when they're playing outside and we don't scream at them (unless you're a trailer trash Mom). I want to try the citronella collar first. I won't try the (cont'd)

electric collar 'cause my guy friend tried it to see how bad it shocked and he said it hurt like hell. We don't want to get rid of the dogs, they are family now and it's not an option. My options are to let the dogs bark and have the neighbor report us again and have to go to court and potentially lose the dogs. Bad idea. Kill the neighbor which I've been wanting to do for years along with countless others. Make the neighbor's life a living hell in legal ways like having my overweight Mom strut around on his side of his house in tight shorts or invite a bunch of noisy kids to play in our yard when he's napping. Kind of immature. Use the citronella spray but does it really work and will it traumatize my dogs? Or de-bark them which I think is just too risky of a surgery and it's mean. I don't know what to do, it's all this neighbor's fault! No one else complains, they love our Shelties. Please help! Oh, they both are in advanced obedience and agility classes and compete.

Answer 1

No, I don't. I currently have a debarked Kees and grew up showing Shelties. Debarking is not a big deal. The dogs don't seem to care, they can still bark, it is just muted. The surgery is very minor as well.

You said - "We've tried scolding which I think is cruel as well."

You think it is cruel to train your dog??? And these are your competition dogs???

Answer 2

I am sorry but debarking to me is cruel. Would you want to go around life not being able to talk. Any surgery is bad. have you ever had surgery as I have had 9 and it is not fun.
For some reason people think a muzzle is cruel. but if used correctly it has to be a heck of a lot less cruel then debarking. Each time the dogs bark put the muzzle on for 5 minutes. with in a few months the dogs will understand if they bark they get the muzzle. But also give them a place where they can bark. there must be a dog park or some woods somewhere where they can have fun. Please I beg of you to try this before comiting to surgery which is a whole lot more expensive than a muzzle.

Answer 3

In my opinion, de-barking is not cruel. I used to live next to a man who worked nights and slept days. We tried very hard to keep our Vizsla and Weimaraner quiet, and generally they were quiet... but every once in a while they did bark during the day and wake the neighbor up. He called the police twice and told us that if they ever woke him up again he would shoot them. Although I really didn't believe that the neighbor would shoot the dogs, I did want to be a good neighbor. I had both of my dogs de-barked.

The surgery included an incision on the throat that healed without visible scar. One of the dogs developed a complication, fluid filled sack near the incision that the vet drained. Both dogs recovered quickly. But the punchline is... I quit yelling at my dogs for barking and my neighbors got some peace. The dogs were as happy as ever... probably happier because they got to be outside more and yelled at less.

I see it as similar to declawing a cat, or even a spay or neuter. The surgery is expensive, has a little risk and some short term pain, but in the long run it was the right thing for me and my dogs. We were all happier as a result.

Good luck!