Surgery barking up the wrong tree, says vet

STACEY SQUIRES/The Press

WOOF: Ian Ross at the After Hours Veterinary Clinic inspects Harry, a German wire-haired pointer, who retains his voice.

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Dogs are having their barks surgically silenced for no reason, a vet warns.

Christchurch vet Ian Ross said more Christchurch dog owners were opting to have their dogs "debarked".

"I've been a vet for 11 years. The first debarked dog I ever met was here in Christchurch and I've met more since," he said. "It's easy in Christchurch to have a vet surgically alter the larynx of a dog to make its bark quieter. It's a real shame ..."

Some dogs were debarked because constant barking angered owners and neighbours.

"It's much simpler to drop the dog off at the vet for surgery than it is to increase his exercise and train him not to bark. But why does this dog bark all day and all night?

"Dogs inside with their owners tend to sleep. Dogs chained to a tree by themselves for long periods tend to tell the world they are unhappy. Muting them just seems lazy to me."

During surgery tissue was removed from a dog's vocal cords. However, the procedure did not stop barking, Ross said.

The howl of those dogs that had undergone surgery sounded like a whisper or a light cough.

Quietening a dog's bark is a restricted surgical procedure in New Zealand. It can be done only when it is in the interests of the animal rather than the interests of the owner, says the Animal Welfare Act 1999.

In 2006, the Veterinary Council of New Zealand issued a reminder that "any veterinarian asked to perform these procedures should, in the first instance, ensure that other avenues of modifying the behaviour that leads to such requests are explored".

Council registrar Janet Eden said debarking was acceptable only if all other avenues had been explored and the only other option was euthanasia.

- © Fairfax NZ News