During my 30 years in dogs I have had cause to debark three. It wasn't a decision I came to easily, but I decided to try it first on a particularly noisy hound. What I learned was that it improved my relationship with my dog immeasurably. No longer was I always yelling at him and I wasn't faced with a wincing dog every time I interacted with him. This was a dog with a CD, but our relationship was almost totally broken because of his barking.
I consider my relationship with my dogs very important. There's no point in having a dog who is unhappy about something or who isn't completely fulfilled in his life. And I also don't feel that I should be held hostage by my dog's behavioral quirks. Individuality is one thing. A bad relationship with my pet quite another. It was clear that my dog was barking for the joy of barking. He loved it! He was happy when he was barking, and he was miserable when he was constantly being corrected and badgered by me. It never occurred to me that anyone would be horrified by my decision. It still baffles me that someone would choose to involve themselves in my life to the point of passing judgment on something that truly improved things both for me and my dog. If it's not the right decision for you, then fine. That doesn't bother me a bit. Once I discovered how much better life was for both of us, I couldn't imagine making any other decision. No dog I debarked ever had a bad reaction to the surgery. I did hear of one Komondor who had keloid problems which they didn't know of before they debarked him, and unfortunately he died. That is the only bad reaction I have ever heard of. Nancy ========================================================= "Magic Commands": to stop receiving mail for awhile, click here and send the email: mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED]?body=SET%20CKCS-L%20NOMAIL to start it up gain click here: mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED]?body=SET%20CKCS-L%20MAIL E-mail [EMAIL PROTECTED] for assistance. Search the Archives... http://apple.ease.lsoft.com/archives/ckcs-l.html All e-mail sent through CKCS-L is Copyright 2002 by its original author.
