Here is a follow-up to the NYT article yesterday...I think its a wonderful response.
Here is the site for the NYT Blog also
http://cityroom.blogs.nytimes.com/2010/02/04/answers-about-canina-devocalization
Answers About Canine Devocalization
By THE NEW YORK TIMES
The term “devocalization” is misleading, because the procedure does not render the animal voiceless, muted or silent. The correct term used in veterinary surgical texts is ventriculocordectomy. These days, not many veterinarians know how to perform the procedure because it is not commonly taught in veterinary schools. More emphasis is placed on behavioral modification, rather than medical procedures, to correct problem barking.
When ventriculocodectomy is correctly performed, there is about a 50 percent reduction in volume and a lower pitch to the bark. There are two types of ventriculocordectomy procedures: the laryngotomy technique and the oral technique. I have never performed the laryngotomy technique and in my professional opinion this technique should not be performed on any animal under any circumstances because it can cause serious side effects. The oral technique is the procedure most commonly requested and performed by veterinarians.
Laryngotomy technique
This technique involves making a two-inch incision on the skin of the neck, above the dog’s larynx, separating the muscles, cauterizing blood vessels, entering the larynx, removing all of the dog’s vocal fold tissue and stitching the incision back together. This technique is invasive, painful, requires gas anesthesia and has a prolonged recovery time. There can be serious postoperative complications, including seroma formation, delayed healing and tissue damage. Scarring can be so extensive that the dog can have difficulty breathing for the rest of its life.
Oral technique
This bark softening procedure is noninvasive and takes one to two minutes to perform, using a very short-acting injectable anesthetic. In this technique, the dog’s mouth is opened and a very small piece of tissue is taken from one or both vocal folds, using a slender biopsy instrument. When correctly done, there is little to no bleeding or discomfort. Pain killers (analgesia) should always be given, however, as a precaution. Recovery takes place within a few minutes and the dog is able to eat and drink immediately. There is no change in the dog’s behavior or attitude. The dog can and does continue to bark, but the bark is roughly half as loud as it was before the procedure. There is no way to predict or control the volume of the bark and the bark may have a raspy sound. Results vary among dogs and are usually permanent, although in some cases dogs may eventually regain full volume of their bark.
Does debarking affect the dog’s mood, i.e., is the dog unhappy or depressed? The debarkers seem to think the dog is fine, but of course they are biased. I would like to see a survey of vets. If the dogs are fine with a quieter bark (perhaps just the act of barking and not the volume is, perhaps, what “scratches the itch”) and if the surgery is not painful, then I don’t see the big deal.
— Posted by Chris
I do not know of any peer-reviewed, published scientific studies that objectively measure changes in dogs’ moods, before or after any medical or surgical procedure. However, dogs show no change from their previous behaviors, personalities and attitudes after they have had a bark softening procedure. They also continue to bark as much as they did previously and their owners can still hear them.
Evaluating a dog’s mood and happiness is a subjective assessment, but it’s easy to tell a happy dog from an unhappy one. Of course, the best people to evaluate a dog’s mood are their owners.
Is there anything the human owners of dogs that bark could be doing differently to minimize the need for this surgery? To me it seems very cruel and terrible to subject a dog to radical surgery just because she or he barks.
Are barky dogs signaling boredom, or anxiety or fear? Couldn’t barking behavior be remedied by nonsurgical means, such as gradual desensitization to stimuli, behavior modification or simply providing adequate exercise and enrichment?
— Posted by System Mr Emmy (retired)
You are correct. Dogs bark for many reasons, including excitement, playfulness, warning, fear, separation anxiety and loneliness. There are many things dog owners can do to prevent barking problems. First, they should keep in mind the fact that dogs bark and make noise. So if they don’t want a potentially noisy animal, a dog is not the right pet for them. Dogs want attention. People who are away from home for long periods of time, or who are too busy to care for a dog and give it the attention it needs, shouldn’t have a dog. Next, people should always do their homework first and learn about the breed that interests them before acquiring a dog. Some breeds tend to bark more than others, or have louder or shriller voices. If a barking dog is not compatible with the person’s tolerance level, lifestyle or living arrangement, then the person should consider a different pet. Most important, people must understand from the onset that dogs require a lot of time, training, socialization and play activities, starting from when they are puppies and continuing throughout their lives. Barking problems are often the result of a lack of one or more of these necessities.
Among the many options that may be pursued to manage excessive barking problems are social enrichment, training classes and behavior modification methods. These require time and dedication. Many dog trainers offer these services, as do veterinarians specializing in animal behavior. The success or failure of behavior modification techniques varies among individual animals, trainers, behavioral counselors and the dedication of the owner.
As with any behavior problem, prevention is much easier than correction or modification.
About shock collars: many people purchase shock collars from pet stores to try to stop their dogs from barking. Shock collars are inhumane. Dogs can develop severe burns on their necks from shock collars. The dog may learn to be silent while wearing the cumbersome collar, but resumes barking when the collar is removed.
Not one of the commentators would argue against spaying and neutering. This could be construed as an elective surgery that inflicts pain upon our pets. Why then, is debarking touching such a sore spot?
— Posted by TL
Cont to post 2...
). But if I had the bylaw people on my door because of it, then yes I would do it. 
