Back in St. Olaf:

cabin-boy - 2004-03-06 01:08:03
Okay, I am not a big fan of this- but hear me out anyhow? When my MinPin (who lived to a ripe old age, in fact) barked so badly that it was either lose him or DO something- our vet did a procedure which he considered a 'halfway' between debarking (which is not just cruel because it's painful, but cruel because it takes away their very VOICE) and not debarking- he used a biopsy punch (under total anesthesia) to make some holes in the vocal chords- the result, for a few weeks was that he sounded mostly debarked, (coughing instead of woofing to the ear) but as soon as it was healed, he had a bark again! The thing was, it was MUCH quieter!! Almost unchanged, except much much quieter. No longer could the upstairs neighbors hear him. This procedure DOES eventually grow back in most dogs- over about 8 years, he grew his voice back louder and louder, but never to the immensely LOUD and shrill one he'd had. The operation was easier on him than neutering had been. If you get to that point, consider talking to your vet about it- I doubt you'd debark at all, but if it's debark or lose the dog- this is a good shot at saving your dog's voice and pacifying the neighbors too. :)
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