Article on De-barking

[missjenneygirl]

Barb, I couldn't agree with you more. It is easy to put human thoughts and emotions onto our shelties. It is almost a natural progression with any pet you invest your emotions in.
BUT, they are not human and it is not fair to them, when they are not capable of the human interaction of decision making, thinking forward, or regret. For the well being of our shelties and ourselves, I think it is important to keep that clear distinction, so we are CAPABLE of making the hard decisions that are our responsiblility when owning these loving dogs.
It is an unfair burden to our dogs that we expect them to fill all the voids in our lives. I am not my dog's "Mommy" or "Auntie" to my friends' dogs, and it makes me cringe when people refer to them in human terms.
I believe my dogs feel secure and content in their place in my life.

 

[The Quahog]

And now this is just my opinion......

Comparing disarming to debarking...in my opinion is like comparing getting surgery on my dog and my kid. Not comparable.

I confess I don't follow you on that one. Which one is more like having surgery on a child? Not being argumentative, just don't understand.

Plus...when you start to tread these waters, you make it very personal, and that is where people start to get defensive.

Why is that personal? Sure, if words were used like 'cruel', 'inhumane', or 'selfish' absolutely i could see that as a personal slight, but I certainly did not use those terms. When i was on the declaw boards I took a great deal of personal abuse- mocking screen names, pig-piling by the mob with personal insults, castration references etc. I don't believe that I said anything personal.

But, yes, i stand by the disarming analogy. When I first heard that term - meaning that if your rottie likes to maul people take his teeth out (I would guess it isn't much fun to be mauled by a powerful toothless dog), my reaction was 'What the (heck) is WRONG with some people.' And i still feel pretty much that way.
And I can see where a lot of people, like SheltieGuy at the start of this thread, could have the same reaction to debarking, it is a reasonable gut reaction. I guarantee you that if I walked out into my waiting room and said, 'Sorry I'm starting late, i just debarked a couple of dogs', the general sentiment would be highly unfavorable. I think discussions like this thread shed a lot of light on the issue and eloquently explain the other side of the story.

I rather like to stick to the topic at hand, instead of using analogies of comparing apples to oranges.
Maybe for those of us that do not see debarking as that terrible of an option...those of you that are flat out against it can give us the factual reasons you are against it, instead of using analogies.
I like facts....and am always open to a discussion.

I did not refer to debarking as a terrible option. See my initial post on this thread.
I said that I personally do not do or recommend it. I think the AVMA's position is a good one and well stated.

There is a lot of talk, when discussing declawing, ear cropping, tail docking etc. that ' Those (darn) veterinarians know how inhumane and needless it is, but they don't care about animals and will do anything for a buck.' So when a veterinarian says ' I do not do ear crops or debarking procedures, I don't care if it costs the practice income,' I do not think that this reflects badly on them.
And I agree that reasonable discussion is never a bad thing. - Dr. Mac

 

[BarbV]

You are right - controversial and I disagree with you on this one. I do NOT seek out human companionship over my dogs and always prefer the companionship of my dogs over any human being. In fact, my next house will be on a few acres, so I do not have to deal with neighbours. I do not find many endeering qualities in most humans, so it does not bother me to not seek out their company.

You have no idea, how sorry I am that you feel that way. It's a sad testament to our world, when people prefer animals over humankind. That you have lost such faith.....I've no words to that.

There is alot that is wrong in our world, but I personally believe to retreat from it is self-defeating. I prefer to take a more positive approach, which is, every little thing I can do, makes a difference. Inch, by inch.

 

[BarbV]

AS for my pup.. I dont see Snickers as "replacing" anyone in my family.


SO to the people here with human children ... I am not trying to compare my pup with your child .... but my pup is all i have..he depends on me and I wont let him down. ( call me crazy. if you chose ..maybe i am). He may very well be the closest thing I have to a child and when he goes to the Bridge I want him going knowing that I did all I could for him and gave him all I could.

On a side note : if you love someone tell them everyday... because you never know if that day will be the last day.)

Hey,

I'll probably never have grandchildren, even though I have a healthy 18 year old son. So, of course, the pups will forever fill a void for me. Our nature is to nurture. But that does not mean to equate human qualities to our pets.

And your final comment....a very wise man, my David, told me the exact same thing. I think that's why I fell in love with him. He never goes a night without telling those who are most important in his life....that he loves them. He calls if out of town, text messages if necessary. And yes, for me that would include the dogs. But love is all!

 

[BarbV]

Barb, I couldn't agree with you more. It is easy to put human thoughts and emotions onto our shelties. It is almost a natural progression with any pet you invest your emotions in.
BUT, they are not human and it is not fair to them, when they are not capable of the human interaction of decision making, thinking forward, or regret. For the well being of our shelties and ourselves, I think it is important to keep that clear distinction, so we are CAPABLE of making the hard decisions that are our responsiblility when owning these loving dogs.
It is an unfair burden to our dogs that we expect them to fill all the voids in our lives. I am not my dog's "Mommy" or "Auntie" to my friends' dogs, and it makes me cringe when people refer to them in human terms.
I believe my dogs feel secure and content in their place in my life.

Thanks for clarifying my final point. I'm guilty of calling myself "mom" to my boys, but its mostly in jest.

They are my "darlings" and I would do the utmost for them. But I would never apply the same rules to them that I would to humans.

 

[BarbV]

There is a lot of talk, when discussing declawing, ear cropping, tail docking etc. that ' Those (darn) veterinarians know how inhumane and needless it is, but they don't care about animals and will do anything for a buck.' So when a veterinarian says ' I do not do ear crops or debarking procedures, I don't care if it costs the practice income,' I do not think that this reflects badly on them.
And I agree that reasonable discussion is never a bad thing. - Dr. Mac

You've got nothing to apologize for or defend here. Anykind of "human" intervention into a pet's normal state is always going to be under scrutiny. Again, no right or wrong.

You can only hold yourself to your own ideals and convictions; and then sleep soundly at night, that you have done the best you could.

 

[BarbV]

And on a final note..to all a good night! Hugs! Shutting down now!

 

[danisgoat]

And on a final note..to all a good night! Hugs! Shutting down now!

Good night Barb

I will end with my favorite saying....

It's all good

And that is very true with these types of discussions. They are eye openers for us all.

You guys are the best

 

[SheltieGuy]

I believe we all ( forum people) treat our pets well. Some just see them differently than others and that is ok.


We are who we are : A BUNCH OF SHELTIE LOVING FREAKS!!!!

 

[Caro]

I am so glad you all didnt follow Barbs lead and go to bed. It gets very boring on a Friday afternoon at work when no one is posting.