There are dead leafless canes and there are live ones. Cut the dead ones. Brown through and through, after you cut a few live ones you'll be able to tell the diff by looking at them.

Nick

Canes are the plants stored resources. If the canes are alive not rotten (dry flat or wet squishy) the plant will need them, esp. if there are no leaves. Do you know what type of dendrobium it is?

First thing I'd check is the condition of it's root system.
Often leaves are lost when roots die back. If that's the case, it can be because of too much or too little water.
Orchids will always try reproducing more plants, but, cutting doesn't force an orchid to grow. It may well weaken it if it doesn't have enough canes, 3 or less.

Checking the medium it's growing in may give a clue as well. Soggy medium will give an obvious answer - too wet. And visa versa.

This post was edited by aztcqn on Sun, May 26, 13 at 6:34

Many dendrobiums are deciduous, some losing their leaves every year, others every two years. The canes, as aztcqn and Orchiidnick say, even though bare, are useful as long as they are healthy, not flat and shriveled or wet and mushy. Many even rebloom. The trick is to monitor the watering, lots in spring and summer, less in fall and winter.

This post was edited by orchid126 on Tue, May 28, 13 at 15:03