voice box

I have a little concern about our little ronnie

How can you tell if a dog has had it voice box removed ??

Although he does not do it very often at all, when ronnie trys to bark he sounds like a sea lion

Has anyone ever heard of this being done and how can i tell if it has ?
Thanks

I don't think that has happened! They do make an array of funny noises though Xx

I would say it is unlikely this has happened, has he been checked for this by the vet ??

he has only been for a once over..
He is going for his operation tomorrow so i will get vet to check..
Its just we have never had a dog that trys to bark but nothing but a low sea lion noise comes out..
Just an over worried mummy i think

I remember reading somewhere that if a dog has been de-barked, the noise it makes is fairly high pitched. I could well be wrong, though.

I think the vet should be able to check, though.

I must admit that I have never heard of a dog being "de-barked". It sounds as if that operation would be a desperate last resort, and expensive as well. Might well leave scars under the dog's throat too I would have thought.

Anyway, you say he's going for "his op" tomorrow (I imagine you mean castration? I wish you both all the best for that) and do mention his funny bark and your worries - chances are that Ronnie is just not much of a barker (lucky you) and that he is a baritone.

Do let us know how you get on - >< to both of you.

Yeah, de-barking used to be used a lot when small dogs became too yappy, owners don't train their small dogs to not be spoilt brats and use surgery to fix it when they get annoying or, courts could force you to get your dog debarked if they felt it was disrupting your neighbours, debarking or pts was usually the choice given. It's not as common any more but it definitely still happens in the US and such. It also doesn't make it high pitched it makes it quiet and deep and supposedly can't be heard if you're more than 20 feet away from the animal.

HOWEVER, you're in the lovely ole' UK which means that debarking is and has been illegal since 2006 with ANY and ALL form of "cosmetic" surgery as in, any surgery that's purely to benefit a human and not the animal.

Our animal abuse laws could be better but I'm happy this law exists.

I'm not gonna turn this into a rant but, declawing because a cat scratches your furniture or debarking because a dog barks, jesus crap you may as well chop off a childs hands because they "play too much" don't get something if you don't want ALL of it. Bloody people.

He's probably fine, just not much of a talker

Kitt wrote:I'm not gonna turn this into a rant but, declawing because a cat scratches your furniture or debarking because a dog barks, jesus crap you may as well chop off a childs hands because they "play too much" don't get something if you don't want ALL of it. Bloody people.

He's probably fine, just not much of a talker

I totally agree with you!

Ok... vet has had a check and he is fine . although at the mo he is sat on his daddies lap with a very sad look on his face as he is now a little sore

It looks like we have a good little boy and not a yappy one
Thanks everyone

Good to hear that Ronnie still has his voice-box, and sending all best wishes for his rapid recovery from his op ><

Glad everything's ok!