Rod posted this on his Cavalierhealth Facebook page -- very very interesting!! It really is a must read as so many dog owners, breeders and vets remove dewclaws. Most of us probably have dewclaws removed on our cavaliers. This article suggests this should never be done!!! In essence, it is like cutting the thumb or a finger off your own hand.

http://www.caninesports.com/uploads/...xplanation.pdf

As the article notes, dewclaw accidents are very very rare -- and if nails are kept properly trimmed, shouldn't ever really have a chance to happen.

In some breeds, removing dewclaws is actually a showing fault -- so why are they required in some breeds if they are theoretically a 'problem'

They are often removed very cruelly as well -- with no anaesthesia.

How it came to be accepted to amputate parts of anatomy as a norm -- -- just beggars belief, really. Sad how we chop off dewclaws, declaw cats (which is the anatomical equivalent of chopping off the end joint of your finger, as the claw is part of that joint in a cat!), cut off tails, slice off sections of dog's ears and wire their ears into cages to make them look pointy (eg with dobermans which have floppy hound ears in reality!)... sometimes we are not dog's or cat's best friend at all.