Non-stop barking affects the
neighbour's sanity and peace. HDB
(Housing and Development Board)
apartment residents who work
shifts can't sleep due to the
anti-social noise nuisance of
non-stop barking dogs. After
complaints are lodged, the dog
owner gets a warning from the HDB
to control the barking. If
complaints continue, the AVA
(Agri-Food Veterinary Authority)
may tell the owner that the dog
licence will not be renewed.
Statutory fines of up to $5,000
will be imposed if the dog owner
keeps the dog without a licence.
The owner has to resolve the
problem or euthanase the dog.
It is easy to advise training.
"Throw cans with coins or pebbles
when the dog barks, without him
seeing you do it," I advise puppy
owners. "Squirt water from a water
pistol when he barks."
One successful owner told me,
"Grip the dog's muzzle and say 'no
barking'". This advice is
mentioned in some doggy magazines.
Bark collars emitting an
unpleasant scent when the dog
barks are said to be ineffective
and expensive. The use of electric
collars is successful for some
owners who have time or
inclination to do the training.
Some dogs get rid of the collars
and resume barking. The last
resort is debarking by the
veterinarian. It is deemed a cruel
act by dog lovers.
VENTRICULOCORDECTOMY USING THE
VENTRAL APPROACH.
In the interest of dogs who will
need debarking as an alternative
to death by lethal injection, I
share knowledge of the
devocalisation surgery with new
veterinarians who may need to
de-bark the dog using the ventral
approach.
It is not a common surgery in my
practice or in Singapore as
debarking is strongly discouraged
owing to it being deemed a cruel
act. In my 30 years of practice, I
had performed 5 surgeries. The
main problem is the bleeding
control if you don't use
electrosurgery especially in using
the oral approach. Bleeding
obstructs the view of the vocal
folds especially in using the less
expensive oral approach.
I use the ventral (laryngotomy)
approach only. It is more
effective but costs more as it
takes more time.
Anaesthesia.
The surgical area where the vocal
folds are located is not
accessible if I use isoflurane gas
anaesthesia as the endotracheal
tube obstructs the view.
Tracheostomy with the endotracheal
tube on the contra-lateral side
has been mentioned in one
veterinary book (Small Animal
Surgery - T W Fossum). I have
never used it.
Nearly 100% of my surgeries is
done with isoflurane gas
anaesthesia and it is very safe.
But in this surgery, injectable
anaesthesia is preferred. I am
recording one case of debarking
using electro-surgery and
injectable anaesthesia as some
vets may need such information and
may be researching the internet
for such information. I do
internet searches for veterinary
anaesthesia information too.
Patient
Bichon Frise, Male, 6 years
Weight: 6.5kg
Barking non-stop since he was a
puppy. Living in Canada was not a
problem, but now, he lives in an
apartment.
Two main challenges in
debarking
1. Surgical anaesthesia using
isoflurane gas is difficult to
attain due to the need to pull out
the endotracheal tube to expose
the vocal folds in order to
perform he surgery. The dog wakes
up from the anaesthesia in the
midst of surgery and moves. The
tube needs to be re-inserted to
get the gas back to anaesthesize
the dog. Therefore, injectable
anaesthesia is preferred but the
risk is higher if the doses are
not given just sufficient to
maintain surgical anaesthesia.
2. Bleeding from surrounding
muscles is a main worry as the
surgical view will be bloodied.
Electro-cautery seals the blood
vessels well in this case. Without
electro-cautery, there will always
be continuous bleeding,
obstructing the views and
increasing operation time.
The following procedure
(laryngotomy approach) has been
done successfully for this dog.
I/V drip Hartman set up.
Xylazine 20 @ 0.2ml + Ketamine 100
@ 0.1 ml in one syringe via the IV
catheter
Maintenance of anaesthesia
When there is movement during
electro-surgery, Pentobarbital
(Nembutal) 6g/100 ml is used to
maintain the anaesthesia. I gave
1.0 ml via the IV catheter. A
total of 2.0 ml Pentobarbital was
given in this dog. There were no
adverse effects.
Electro-surgery provided excellent
bleeding control. I did not suture
the mucosa after excision of the
vocal fold as advised in one
veterinary book (Small Animal
Surgery - T W Fossum). It seems to
be impractical advice as there is
not much area to suture. I don't
do subcutaneous suture as advised
in this book as more sutures mean
more irritation. I used absorbable
sutures and so I don't get to see
the busy owner post-surgery for
stitch removal.
Advantages of electro-surgery.
Bleeding blood vessels in the neck
muscles are cauterised.
A blood-less field.
Vocal folds pulled with forceps -
around 5 mm in length is
electro-incised. Clear of blood in
this case.
Day 1. Tolfedine 4% at 0.5 ml SC
and Ciprobay 0.5 ml given via the
IV drip post-operation.
Day 2. Reviewed 24 hours after
surgery. Dog had eaten and had no
fever. When I cleaned the surgical
site, the dog did not object as
the pain-killer Tolfedine was
effective. Went home on Day 4.
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"The Bichon had been barking as a
pup," the young man said. "He
barks the whole day and the HDB
neighbours are not happy." I
seldom do this laryngotomy
surgery, I informed this owner.
"How many?" he asked. "Around 5
cases done in my 30 years of
practice." I don't do it unless it
is in the interest of the dog. In
this case, the dog will be evicted
or euthanased as an anti-social
nuisance. |
|
Notes:
Small Animal Surgery - Theresa Welch Fossum advises
to be careful to
avoid disrupting the blood supply to the larynx and trachea
during surgery or necrosis may result during the ventral
approach.
Dog World Nov 2008: Page 31. Training Topics. The Bichon Frise
has a high-pitched bark that test the owner's nerves and the
neighbour's patience. He barks at every new happening in the neighbourhood. Training a Bichon to stop barking on command is
advised. The Bichon is not the easiest to housetrain and
difficulty in housetraining is the biggest reason it is turned
over to the rescue group.
Update May 1, 2010:
P.S. I strongly discourage devocalisation (debarking) and advise
training. In the past 30 years, I have performed 5 cases of ventral
approach debarking. I reject debarking using the oral approach as it is not very effective. However,
it is a cheaper alternative and many owners opt for this
approach.
In this case, using the ventral approach, I have no complaints from
the dog owner as regards the recurrence of barking, annoying
neighbours and leading to complaints to the veterinary authorities.
It is 6 months after the surgery.
For all puppy owners, spend time
during the first 2-4 weeks to
train the puppy not to bark at all
times. Otherwise, they grow up
barking for long periods of time.
 BE
KIND TO OLDER DOGS & CATS ---
GET TUMOURS REMOVED EARLY ---
WHEN THEY ARE SMALLER. More case studies, goto:
Cats or
Dogs |
TOA
PAYOH VETS
