Should people be allowed to debark or devocalize their dog?

Answer 1

This is a controversial question and many people have different opinions regarding whether people should debark a dog. Ideas from both sides will be discussed.

Many people and animal welfare organisations strongly believed that debarking dogs is a cruel process. Not only does it cause great pain, but it also removes a dog's natural ability to communicate with sounds. Dogs should be granted with the freedom to communicate verbally, just as humans have the freedom of speech. Also, some people think that owners should not get a dog in the first place or live in a neighbourhood that allows dogs if they dislike barking so much. In addition, most dogs can be stopped from barking through behaviour training and negative reinforcements (excluding physical violence). If the problem is really serious and training has no effect, then medication given by a reputable veterinarian can definitely help with the problem.

On the other hand, some people think that continuous barking extremely annoying and find training ineffective. To them, it may the only option left before abandoning, giving away or euthanizing their dog, which is definitely unfair. They may also think that owners should have the right to debark the dog. The dog belongs to them, hence they should be allowed to make choices like this. Moreover, debarking is not banned in most countries, so there are no legal consequences for conducting this surgery.

In conclusion, it is only a matter of opinion whether people should debark a dog, as there are both pros and cons that support this idea. However, it is strongly recommended that you find alternative solutions for stopping continuous barking before considering debarking (eg. behaviour training) as debarking is a painful and often unnecessary process that removes a dog's natural ability to communicate verbally.