Wow, seriously? This is very common and the dogs were as happy as ever. Seriously, neutering is way "crueler". Even the ASPCA fight efforts to make the procedure illegal.

Mine too
 

:agree:

Ok, you caught me, I'm a dog mutilator... And I make patè and veal in my back yard. Whatever.

It is annoying
 

Never thought of that, but we have had Irish Setters who were total clowns and barked incessantly......enough so that the neighbors would call and complain. So, I do understand the neighbors' frustration.


Also, our daughter and husband had two huge Tibetan Mastiffs who also barked constantly........day and night. They told us that it was because the Tibetan Mastiffs were raised to "guard the temple".....that it was "ingrained in their breed". All I know is that our neighbors would call and demand that we stop these dogs from barking. It's a very difficult situation. Finally, one long Thanksgiving weekend of barking did it........a neighbor in back called to say her husband was dying of cancer and could we please stop the dogs from barking.........I simply handed the phone to my daughter. After that, they found a dog boarding place and came down alone, just with the grandchildren. A great relief.


Now we have two little beagles across the road from us that only bark, in unison, every evening at about 8:30 p.m. and drive the neighborhood crazy..........we love dogs , however, not everyone can tolerate the incessant barking. Did the vet recommend the vocal cord cutting???

I'd never heard of the surgery until the vet brought it up in reaction to our desperation brought on by angry neighbors and a very threatening visit from the police.

It is a very tough situation. I had never heard of it until my friend got a rescue from a couple who breeds corgis. She always had a kennel full of corgis, which she raised for show, and she debarked all of them. I was appalled at the time.

However... who's to judge if you have the difficult choice between that and surrendering your dogs to an uncertain future? Some dogs bark and cannot be stopped. I wanted to say, Just keep your dogs inside (which I wish my neighbors over the wall from us would do with their incessant little yappers), but perhaps your situation was different. Hard to keep two labs inside all the time, but were they outside dogs only? Or could you have brought them in when they started barking? Were you in the country where they had the run of the yard and were used to staying outside a lot?

I don't remember retrievers being incessant barkers. A tendency toward barking was one of the things we researched the heck out of before deciding on a breed. Both of ours were/are "single barkers." One bark when they want to come inside, maybe a double "intruder" bark. I'm sorry you have that situation and had to make that choice. I probably would consider debarking before giving up my dogs.

I'm on the fence, Santa, but I understand your dilemma. I also know I'll probably now get slammed!

It is a difficult decision. Those that feel they would NEVER do this........would you give up your dog or somewhat silent the bark? Seriously, if you have never had a barker, you can not imagine how difficult it can be. I would NEVER, EVER hurt an animal, but if I HAD to do this or give up my dog?????........

We had a "barker" and bought a citronella bark collar. When he barked it sprayed a bit I of citronella. It took a short time for him to learn barking was not rewarding. It is harmless and humane and most of all effective. He is now 12 and when he is tempted to bark we say, NO Bark and he stops immediately.

Tried the citronella collar and she loved it!!! She barked just to get a spray! And kept barking to get more....just didn't work for my barker.

I believe some people around here have used Bark Busters.

I'd move. Wouldn't want neighbors that made threatening comments.

We had good friends that had a black Lab that was a barker. They used one of those bark collars that shock 20 years ago. The shock, I believe, is adjustable. I don't think it is inhumane particularly if the shock is adjustable. In any event our friends dog was cured of barking. Sometimes the dog would get a little wound up and start to bark. All they had to do was hold up the collar and the dog would stop and not even think about barking. It does take consistent training even with a bark collar. I personally never had a barking problem with any dog I ever had and I had a lot. They were house pets from boarder collies to springers and various mutts but training always worked. All my dogs were post shock collars so we just used standard training.

Having said all that the OP really should talk to the offending neighbors. They may think this barking is just fine. If that doesn't work start hounding the authorities. Eventually they will do their job. May take some time but it will get done. And finally it would seem the OP has legal grounds to sue or at least file a suit against the neighbors for lost income. The OP would have to document this but that certainly seems possible. If that doesn't get the neighbors attention I don't know what would.

Always keep in mind all dogs are trainable some owners are not or are simply too lazy and inconsiderate to do the right thing!!!

It would be a tough call. I cringe at the idea of debarking. But I think it would be worse to surrender your dogs to a humane society where they would be caged, unhappy, and eventually euthanized. Or worse, adopted by someone who beat them because they barked.

Agree totally. Mr. Buster don't seem to notice he is blind and deaf, but I fear he would be heartbroken without us in his life.

DOGS can and do respond to training. You need to start by speaking with the Owners. AND BTW, because virtually all rentals do not take pets (their OK with crayon painted walls from grandchildren though???), MAKE your rental a pet-friendly rental like ours was AND CHARGE THE NON-REFUNDABLE pet fee. NOT ONLY WILL YOU BE AT 80% occupancy with your rental, you will get more $$ and more money for carpet cleaning,etc. We had tenants whose grandchildren destroyed our carpet with Kool Aid and walls with crayons. The tenants with pets ARE BETTER than those with grandkids!..

There is some incongruity in your statement. If time travel is possible, as implied by your telling us to wait until last year, then why would one ever worry about advance planning?

I have some big plans for my past... (grin)

Barkbusters is great but it requires the owner to work with the dog.So unless the owner is receptive to taking he time it will not work. They will however continue to work with you and your dog as long as it takes for one set price.

I feel for everyone who has to deal with a barking dog issue. I had Great Pyrenees for almost 39 years of my life. They are barkers. Like the Tibetan Mastiffs spoken about it has to do with what they were bred to do. Pyrs were bred to stay up on the mountains of France, alone, and guard sheep from predators and their first line of defense was barking, not attacking. So pyrs bark all the time to say, "Hey, I'm here so stay away." A pyrs bark can be heard for a mile. And that include through the house walls. When my pyrs barked neighbors could hear it inside their house even if the dogs were inside my house. We had neighbors complaining on occasion, but most of my dogs were pretty reasonable and I could train them to not bark ALL the time. My last pyr, however, barked nonstop. We used a citronella collar first- he emptied expensive cartridge after cartridge. So we moved up to shock collar. He'd get shocked, wince, get shocked again, wince again etc. So we gave it up because he never stopped
barking with it. This is a dog who was a therapy dog and very well trained in all other areas. He felt he had a job to do and with pyr determination, he was going to do it. He couldn't be stopped and he was a huge problem. I live on an acre and all my neighbors have an acre also but they could hear him from inside my house to inside theirs. The police came repeatedly and threatened us. We tried a trainer who had no luck. We tried more exercise. Nothing helped. What should we do? Give him back to the breeder? Give him to the shelter? Put him down? We loved this big, noisy boy and it's not like I didn't have many years experience with the breed and it's not like he wasn't great in all other ways and an excellent Therapy Dog and Ambassador at public events. He just had a big mouth. We were pushed to the edge and had to make a choice. We loved him enough to choose debarking. It cost us $2000 and we did it out of love and wanting to keep our dog. The results were that he was still loud enough to be head if we were living in a situation like TV, but living on an acre it was fine. And that's why we won't have any more pyrs. Can't take the chance on having a nuisance barker. He never knew he was debarked and he continued to go through the motions, but it allowed us to keep him until he passed at 12 1/2. I was NEVER sorry I did it as a final resort and I won't apologize for it.

Absolutely non-forgivable!

If your baby cried, would you cut their vocal cords?

One more that should be put in prison for animal cruelty as well as your vet.

One more for the IGNORE list.

If you have no results with the authorities and none with the owners I'd consult a lawyer. If the offending owners are causing you loss of income because of their dogs, they should be made to pay for loss of rental income and other damages too!
Just the threat of a lawsuit might just get the dog owner's attention and some results.
Like someone said earlier, most owners are very responsible but a few are not.

But I suppose it is OK to take their testicles.

You just don't get it.

Contrary to popular belief, I'm just a dude, and dudes can only take so much before they lash back.

Before I moved to TV I lived in a townhouse community in the "no dog" section of that community....We didn't have a dog at the time so We never gave it a second thought. After my husband passed away, a well meaning friend brought me a Yorkiepoo puppy. I was told by the board that the only way I could keep the dog and live in this section was to make sure the dog didn't bark to disturb neighbors (the board was sympathetic of my loss)...desperate not to lose my new friend and not to have to move I took the advice of a vet and got a water bottle. Each time the puppy barked you spray their face with the water and sharply say "NO". It only took a few weeks and she knew not to bark....even when I went to work! She CAN bark but doesn't and she will growl if she hears anyone around the house in the middle of the night to let me know. I really don't have her as a guard dog but as a furry friend. Now she's 10 years old and a total delight....everybody loves her! I realize this method probably can only be used for a puppy but I thought I'd put it out there...a lot more humane than cutting vocal cords IMHO!

I have to go with lovsthosebigdogs, Buggy. I don't think you can equate a crying human with a barking dog. I happen to know that LovsTBD is a very responsible, experienced dog owner who is perceptive about her dogs and a talented dog handler. She has had many dogs, both rescued and from a breeder. I also know that her Pyr was the essence of what they were bred for. Some of the characteristics of some breeds become muted down through the generations, but sometimes a kickback to the true initial breed comes through.

If I had to choose between giving up a beloved dog to an uncertain fate because of an unfortunate trait and a means to correct the problem without causing mental damage to the dog, I would choose the latter.

Off topic: the sweetest little dog showed up in our backyard today. Wish I could have kept him. He had a tag on him with his name and phone number, and we were able to reunite him with his owner with one phone call. And Duh, our dog has no such tag. He's microchipped, but no tag. Going to fix that tomorrow.

Re dog ID tags, I received an interesting suggestion from a guy at the dog park. He told me he gets a two-sided dog tag for his dog. On one side, he puts his residence and cell numbers. On the other side, he puts "Reward $500".

Obviously it's not an idea that all dog owners would like. I've used it on tags for each of our dogs. I figure that a large reward is an excellent incentive for the finder to call the owner rather than keeping the dog, dropping a lost dog at a Humane Society, or turning it out on the street.

P.S. Sorry for the hijack.

Help needed with noisy dogs
 

Ok, I'm gonna take one more swing at this then I'm out. First, my point about comparing neutering is that one leaves the dog as healthy and happy as ever with essentially no change to his behavior, the other changes the dogs physiology, leaves him prone to obesity (and the host of risks associated) and has a dramatic effect on his behavior. I'll let you guess which is which.

About the acceptance of debarking from Wikipedia:

So even the humane societies want debarking as an option, they just don't want it to be a matter of convenience: "hey doc, while he's out for the neutering why don't we go ahead and dock his tail and ears and debark him, too." I think every one would agree that this should be a last resort.

Removing a dog's vocal cocrds is not common and most vets will not do it.
Once again, I don't know where you get your information.
That is tantamount to cruel and unusual treatment for the benefit
of the owners who probably shouldn't have a dog.

If someone wants a mostly "barkless" dog, they should get a basenji.[/CENTER][/FONT][/B][/QUOTE]

I have known many basenji's and they are not silent. While it is true that they don't have an actual 'bark', they do make a loud sound which is a yodel or what sounds to my ears like a screech. They are lovely dogs however. [ame=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iOR5DUFmRjY]Lucy the Basenji Howls & Yodels - YouTube[/ame]
Thank you CFrance for your kind words. I could have chosen not to post my debarking here on TOTV and no one would have ever known, and I knew there would be a backlash for it. I thought that perhaps I could help some of you understand that it was an action of last resort from an experienced, responsible, loving dog owner who had a very wonderful but noisy dog and an owner who had tried everything over the years to correct this problem and failed. I guess if I had posted that I euthanized my dog because of it or gave him to a shelter because of it I would have been applauded. Instead I enabled him to lead a very enriched long life afterwards in a loving home, despite what some of you believe.

Roz, I know that you are an experienced and loving dog owner.
I completely understand that debarking is a last resort.
The very thought of debarking is offensive and makes me cringe.
But when I think of the options, I can certainly understand that debarking may be a more
humane option than euthanizing the dog or trying to beat or shock the dog into submission.

I have known many basenji's and they are not silent. While it is true that they don't have an actual 'bark', they do make a loud sound which is a yodel or what sounds to my ears like a screech. They are lovely dogs however. [ame=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iOR5DUFmRjY]Lucy the Basenji Howls & Yodels - YouTube[/ame]
Thank you CFrance for your kind words. I could have chosen not to post my debarking here on TOTV and no one would have ever known, and I knew there would be a backlash for it. I thought that perhaps I could help some of you understand that it was an action of last resort from an experienced, responsible, loving dog owner who had a very wonderful but noisy dog and an owner who had tried everything over the years to correct this problem and failed. I guess if I had posted that I euthanized my dog because of it or gave him to a shelter because of it I would have been applauded. Instead I enabled him to lead a very enriched long life afterwards in a loving home, despite what some of you believe.[/QUOTE]

I know from reading many of your previous posts,
you are a loving and responsible dog owner.
Yes -- I truly believe that.

I just think to myself that there are better solutions
to cutting a dog's vocal cord.
My initial first thought would be a bark collar or a personal dog trainer.
I realaize that there isn't always a right answer to all problems,
but I cringe when I think of having that procedure done
in addition to the expense.

Yes, I know Basenjis do make a noise as opposed to a bark.
Alas! Unfortunately, isn't always a solution to every problem. :(

I knew someone with a dog that had been debarked. He just wasn't right after that.

After all of these posts, the original issue is what to do with neighbor's dogs who bark non-stop day and night????
You all can say yay or nay on all of these procedures, but meanwhile a villa is unrentable and the neighborhood has to listen to all the barking.
Why should all of the neighbors have to listen to dogs barking non-stop while the owners are not even there. Clearly, the dogs are lonely or bored, which is often the cause of dogs outside barking. I think these owners are guilty of animal cruelty. Call whatever authorities you need to call and call often!

They don't need your forgiveness. The OP needs help with barking dogs!

I think TV needs to solve this by setting up a special section that combines the hard of hearing with the dog people.

I also think the OP should consider that maybe the barking isn't really the issue. Maybe the house is poorly decorated or has neighbors who have their lawns decorated like circus people.

Me? Don't care about barking dogs, children who play, BIG MOUTH screaming neighbors...gunshots would put me off.

I wouldn't mutilate my pack to make a neighbor happy.

I sympathize with Santa and LTBD... Making the decision to de-bark had to be very, very tough... but what most have missed is that the dogs never realized they weren't barking any longer - they still barked, but they could not be heard or create a situation where the police would be called. It seems cruel when you first think about it, but the dogs continued to bark without sound... They continued their behavior without consequences that might have ended their lives.
Is it an extreme decision? Yes it is - but think about what it cost to try to fix this problem? These owners could have dumped their dogs at the side of the road or at a shelter - where we all know what the end of the story would have been. Would you all have preferred they dump their dogs and then have them beaten by new owners who couldn't handle the problem?
I think it was very, very brave of both of them to share this with us. Not a solution that most of us would have chosen, but it allowed them to keep their pets.
I'm not going to judge either of them and thank them for sharing this with us.

Many thanks to all the responses to our noisy dog issue! I am happy to report that the issue has been resolved peacefully. We approached our neighbors and since they worked all day and left the dogs in the cyv backyard and lanai -they had no idea they were causing such a racket. They were very apologetic and agreed to keep them inside and have a relative let them out during the day.So alls well that ends well. Now we are just waiting to get long term renter!