Debark

[autumnhunter]

I am needing to Debark a couple dogs. Does anyone know of someone in the Davenport Iowa area that does this. Please don’t judge. It’s so I can keep my dogs because of my neighbors
Lily

[Redial]

Obiously not Basenjis.

[Zande]

As Basenjis don't bark, you are probably not going to find help on this forum !

[tanza]

@autumnhunter - Basenjis don't bark, per say?

[autumnhunter]

Ok that’s fine. When I was going to dog shows every weekend showing, all the Basenji’s I was around were debarked is why I came here
Thank you though

[tanza]

@autumnhunter - What shows were they (located/names)? I don't know of Basenjis that were debarked? Certainly none that I knew at shows and/or lure trials... been showing and going to trials for since 1991

[elbrant]

@autumnhunter said in Debark:

all the Basenji’s I was around were debarked

I think you may have misunderstood. Basenji's do not "bark" the way a typical dog does. While they are not mute, they do make noise.

Basenji's have been used to hunt and track Lions (yes, Lions) for generations. Now... a 20 (or so) pound dog is not going to last very long if it approaches a Lion and starts barking at it. They gradually lost the ability to bark through evolution -- barking was (simply) unnecessary. And eventually, the Basenji breed developed a different throat structure. So, the dogs you saw at the dog show were not "debarked", the Basenji breed (as a whole) just doesn't bark.

If your dogs are becoming a nuisance and your neighbors are complaining, your best course of action may be to simply tell them to "stop". When they bark, step outside or turn to them, and let them know that they are "ok". They've done their job and alerted you to the potential threat, now they should settle down. If you have ignored their barking for a lengthy period of time, you shouldn't expect retraining them to happen overnight. But consistancy usually wins in the end.

[Zande]

@autumnhunter said in Debark:

Ok that’s fine. When I was going to dog shows every weekend showing, all the Basenji’s I was around were debarked is why I came here
Thank you though

I very much doubt it ! Basenjis are a barkless breed.

Watch them. A normal dog barks in succession - a series of noises which end with the mouth closed. A Basenji, when backed into a corner, will, on rare occasions, give a single, open mouthed 'cough' which can sound like a bark.

When crossed with other breeds, a barking dog can be produced but then they would not be eligible for showing.

I am not sure what breed or mixed breed you have, but training is far better than mutilation.

In my 39 years of breeding, owning and showing Basenjis, I have NEVER come across one which had been de-barked.

[tanza]

@autumnhunter - Are you sure that the Basenjis were "debarked"? Did the owners/breeders/handlers tell you that? Just curious....