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Dew Claws?

kmatt

Well-known member
Has anyone had their pups dew claws removed. All of my other dogs have had this done, but I don't know if I need to do it with Anna. Teddy's were already done when I got him. Thanks!(y)
 
Generally no, you don't have this done. Many breeders now think it should never be done -- it definitely is very painful for them to have them taken off without anaesthetic, which is how most are removed. When they are done they are done when the pups are very small and still with the breeder -- like within their first few weeks of life.
 
Dewclaws are usually removed between day 2 and day 5 of life. We used to do this to keep the hard to clip claw from becoming ingrown or snagged and torn. As each litter was done, I noticed that the pups seemed a bit down and out for a day or two afterward. I no longer have them removed.
If your dog is going to be in a field -- you may want it done, but now it would be a surgery instead of a procedure done in moments. Most pets don't need to have these removed-imo
 
When I had Yoko spayed I was going to have her dew claaws removed and the vet recommended against it. She said it was very painful and that unless she was going to used as a hunting dog or trials I shouldn't worry about it...so I said I would go with her recommendation. It's only two more claws to clip so it should be fine.
 
Mine have their claws. I am sure it must be very painful to have them moved. They are actually a complex ball and joint connection with a bone that extends down into this "toe" that must be cut. There is even a school of thought and research backed by at least this one vet that says this toe has a legit function and removing it can predispose the dog to arthritis. It can be found here:
http://www.jandemellobordercollie.com/DewClaws.htm

I think the back claws are another thing. Wolves are not born with rear dew claws. They are exclusive to dogs. My wolves I owned were all born with no rear dew claws.
 
All of my current dogs have their dew claws - one was born with a rear one and that was removed while he was being neutered. I would never get a pets dew claws removed unless it was cauing a problem or was recommended by a vet to have it taken off (eg. if it wasn't formed properly). My only experience with removal of them is in working dogs, esp working spaniels, and even this is at a push. I know plenty of breeders of larger dogs (St. Bernards, Rotties etc.) remove rear dew claws by default, and sometimes front ones also, but this is almost always for asthetic reasons.

In my opinion, if they are not a causing any problems, leave them on!
 
Mine have their claws. I am sure it must be very painful to have them moved. They are actually a complex ball and joint connection with a bone that extends down into this "toe" that must be cut. There is even a school of thought and research backed by at least this one vet that says this toe has a legit function and removing it can predispose the dog to arthritis. It can be found here:
http://www.jandemellobordercollie.com/DewClaws.htm

I think the back claws are another thing. Wolves are not born with rear dew claws. They are exclusive to dogs. My wolves I owned were all born with no rear dew claws.

Some dew claws are not connected at all. I had a female pup that had *a* rear dewclaw (It goes back to some lines). They did have it surgically removed at the spay.
 

Yes, this way of spotting dog blood in wolves was good for identifying when someone claiming to own a pure wolf obviously owned a hybrid.
More useful, obviously, is studying the impact of dogs mating with wolves and threatening wolf populations.
I don't recommend that people own wolves. It takes a special type of dedication and you need adequate accomodations for them. I had just gotten a place of my own, was looking for a dog, and happened to be friends with someone who'd owned wolves for 3 decades. I decided to go for it. Some of his were red wolves that had been part of a captive breeding program to rescue the endangered animal. My female was one of these red wolves. She was smaller (about 45 lbs) and had larger ears than your typical grey wolf. People sometimes asked me if she was a coyote. She had a more luxurious coat than a coyote, though. Mine were amazing animals and I was able to give them lots of room to roam and act like wolves, and yet they always preferred to be close to me. I'd compare their temperment to german shepherds, except instead of being agressive toward strangers they felt were a threat, my female was shy. The danger was that she would fear-bite a pushy stranger. As she got older, she was less this way. My males were friendly to everyone, though the one who was blind would usually not try to seek out a visitor, but would wait to be approached. But, in all the years of my friend raising the wolves, he never had a litter born with rear dew claws. I had 4 litters born (two purebred wolf litters and two hybrid litters) and the purebreds had no rear dewclaws, but the hybrids would be about half and half. I saw hybrid pups with one hind leg with a claw and the other hind leg without. Kaya is actually the decendant of those original wolves.
 
The only thing I am worried about is having another dog (previous I had a black lab that did this) rip the dew claw out while running. Every dog I've ever had, including Teddy had this done and I'm just worried because if I need to do it I want to do it ASAP to cut down on pain Anna will be in.:confused:
 
It's uncommon for them to injure a dew claw like that - most of mine have had their dew claws and we've never had a problem, despite them running in woodland and all sorts of other environments.

Preventative surgery can only go so far - you wouldn't consider chopping her paws off so that she doesn't cut her pads would you???

My personal opinion is that you would deal with a dew claw injury if it happened - I would not consider removing a dew claw "just in case" :(
 
to cut down on pain Anna will be in

:eek: Well that summarises the whole issue, doesn't it? Why would you even consider subjecting her to pain? Maybe have a read again through the whole thread as both experienced pet owners and experienced breeders have said DON'T DO IT.

As Nicki says -- this is part of normal anatomy. Declaw injuries are rare -- in some breeds like the Great Pyrenees they are NEVER removed because they are part of the breed standard. If it 'needed' to be done a responsible breeder would have done so before homing this puppy.
 
I didnt even realise people meant the front claws when they talked about removing them , I thought it was only the back until I was shaving my old rescue king charles & went to trim her dew claws to find them gone , I thought for a second I had shaved them off ,lol
Only her & my papillon have had their front dew claws removed out of the many dogs we have had.
My cavalier has both back dew claws , they are proper toes with joints not loose skin
 
Ok this might be a silly ? but really is a Dew claw? I look at the link an seen the pic....then I looked at Rex cuz I was curious....he only has 4 little toes...is this normal? Do you think his where cut as a baby?
 
Mine have their claws. I am sure it must be very painful to have them moved. They are actually a complex ball and joint connection with a bone that extends down into this "toe" that must be cut. There is even a school of thought and research backed by at least this one vet that says this toe has a legit function and removing it can predispose the dog to arthritis. It can be found here:
http://www.jandemellobordercollie.com/DewClaws.htm

I think the back claws are another thing. Wolves are not born with rear dew claws. They are exclusive to dogs. My wolves I owned were all born with no rear dew claws.

I've read this before. Watching Maddie run, especially when she's turning at top speed, she uses the inside of her front feet/ the dew claws as part of the foot. She actually wears one of them down like she does the other claws on her feet. (She likes to turn one way in preference to the other, most dogs are left or right sided like we are left or right handed.) So, I see the dew claws as a bit like a thumb or big toe, very useful, and no need to remove them unless there's a problem.
 
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