ktig Posted November 14, 2011 Share Posted November 14, 2011 My Puppy is now 5 and a bit months old and as per the contract I have with his breeder will be being desexed at 6 months of age. I've had a couple of people suggest having his front dew claws removed at the same time, but I'm not 100% sure what is the best thing to do for him. He is a miniature schnauzer and they do sometimes get caught up while his legs are being groomed and in the carpet from time to time. But I am planning on competing with him in agility and have heard that removing dew claws at any time apart from the first week or so can affect the wrists? Any advice on the pros and cons here would be great! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mason_Gibbs Posted November 14, 2011 Share Posted November 14, 2011 No idea my puppy came with his removed he had it done when tiny Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dancinbcs Posted November 14, 2011 Share Posted November 14, 2011 There is some pretty good evidence to suggest the wrist is more stable in agility if the dew claws are left on but it depends how much they stick out. In my breed most breeders leave them on and it is only in last 10 years or so that I have heard of anyone removing them. My dogs have all had neatly tucked in dew claws and if removed it would leave noticable dent in the leg. Other breeds have the dew claw attached more to the outside of the leg so they tend to stick out and get caught on things. When these dogs have them removed there is no dent left, just a straight leg. A lot depends on the individual dog as well as the breed. If the puppy didn't have them done at a few days old then they a re probably usually left on in Schnauzers. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mumof4girls Posted November 14, 2011 Share Posted November 14, 2011 Mine is having his removed before I get him he will be tiny.. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest english.ivy Posted November 14, 2011 Share Posted November 14, 2011 (edited) My Pointer had his taken off as a very young puppy and my Belgian still has hers. The Belgian has no issue with them as they have quite a lot of hair around them. She doesn't get professionally groomed nor does she do any dog sports. eta - my Mums Pointer had her taken off at around 18 months old and the recovery was huge, compared to having them off when the puppy is a few days old. She had an injury to one so my parents had them taken off. She really should have had hers taken off as a young puppy but for some reason the breeder didn't do it. Edited November 14, 2011 by english.ivy Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Poodle Mum Posted November 14, 2011 Share Posted November 14, 2011 Depends on the size & how attached they are eg floppy & mostly skin or a firm digit. If it is firmly attached, the joint as to be removed so its a bigger op. If they are no probs, just leave them. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
aussielover Posted November 14, 2011 Share Posted November 14, 2011 All my dogs have had theirs with no problems. I sometimes see torn dew claws at work but it isn't a common occurrence. I'd be inclined to leave them depending on how loose they are and how much they stick out. As DancingBCs said, if you are planning on doing agility, it is thought they help with stability of the wrist. I never have to cut my dogs dew claws so she obviously uses them. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Clyde Posted November 14, 2011 Share Posted November 14, 2011 There is some pretty good evidence to suggest the wrist is more stable in agility if the dew claws are left on Interesting, I haven't heard that before. I've had some with and some without. TBH at that age I'd be inclined to just leave them on - especially after learning the above info. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dancinbcs Posted November 14, 2011 Share Posted November 14, 2011 There is some pretty good evidence to suggest the wrist is more stable in agility if the dew claws are left on Interesting, I haven't heard that before. I've had some with and some without. TBH at that age I'd be inclined to just leave them on - especially after learning the above info. Someone posted a link on here around 12 months ago (I think) about some studies done on wrist injuries in agility and how the dew claw helps to stop the wrist over twisting as they land. Very interesting stuff but I didn't keep a copy because I have never even considered removing front dew claws. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Souff Posted November 14, 2011 Share Posted November 14, 2011 I never have to cut my dogs dew claws so she obviously uses them. We have one bitch whose dew claws are used for nothing whatsover and they simply never grow. Another bitch from different lines will grow dewclaws into gypsy earrings in weeks if you let her. Neither use their dew claws for anything - it is just different genetics here. Souff Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Teebs Posted November 14, 2011 Share Posted November 14, 2011 I would have had them removed as a puppy, but would not be doing it as an adult unless needed Atlas took over 2 months to recover from his removal of them (about 4 years ago) it was horrible and he was in so much pain, but he had ripped one out so bad it had to be removed. worse weeks of my life with him. I felt so bad for him Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
OSoSwift Posted November 14, 2011 Share Posted November 14, 2011 All bar one of our dogs have had theirs removed. I have never had any wrist injuries. I am tossing up about what to do with my future babies though.......... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ktig Posted November 14, 2011 Author Share Posted November 14, 2011 Thankyou people! I knew DOL would help me out. I would like them removed, but not at the expense of maybe reducing the stability of his wrists when I plan to do the agility thing with him. I wonder if it would bring on arthritis earlier? I'll probably still have a chat with my lovely vet to get her opinion too, but I think I'll probably leave well enough alone and if I am unlucky enough for him to really do some damage to them down the track, well, we'll cross that bridge when we come to it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ktig Posted November 14, 2011 Author Share Posted November 14, 2011 I would have had them removed as a puppy, but would not be doing it as an adult unless needed Atlas took over 2 months to recover from his removal of them (about 4 years ago) it was horrible and he was in so much pain, but he had ripped one out so bad it had to be removed. worse weeks of my life with him. I felt so bad for him Poor Atlas! I didn't realise the recovery was quite so long! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dogsfevr Posted November 14, 2011 Share Posted November 14, 2011 Nearly all the Mini breeders i know remove them we certainly do The problem with removing them older is more a vet thing,if not done correctly it can cause issues. Your pup shouldn;t be getting stuck in the carpet unless there not being cut? Personally i wish breeders would remove them because most average joe don't cut them like we do. I have been sliced open far to many times in the kennels by over grown dew claws & have some major scars due to the damage done . Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Souff Posted November 14, 2011 Share Posted November 14, 2011 I would have had them removed as a puppy, but would not be doing it as an adult unless needed Atlas took over 2 months to recover from his removal of them (about 4 years ago) it was horrible and he was in so much pain, but he had ripped one out so bad it had to be removed. worse weeks of my life with him. I felt so bad for him We also have had this experience. The injury was horrific on an over-adventurous 9-10 month old male and the post surgery pain went on for 3 days after he had been kept at the clinic for observation for the first 2 nights after surgery. Once the pup is mature the vets have to cut into the bone to remove badly ripped dewclaws and it is not a minor op at all. Some rip the tendon up the inside of the leg, just to make a proper mess of things. That experience made me swear that any pups that I breed have dewclaws removed soon after birth. No accidents, no ripped tendons, no post operative pain. A quick snip and a little ouch, then back to mum to suckle as a newborn. Beats years of dewclaw accidents and post operative trauma. Souff Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
karly101 Posted November 14, 2011 Share Posted November 14, 2011 At the clinic I'm at we generally leave the front ones unless they are very floppy... when done as an older dog the recovery time can be lengthy and it is painful. Rear dew claws we do commonly. In practice we see more injuries with the rears than the fronts. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pie Posted November 14, 2011 Share Posted November 14, 2011 Both of mine had them removed when they were tiny puppies, I do agility with them both and have never noticed a problem with wrists or lack of grip because of it, but they don't naturally turn flatly and sharply like a BC does because of their build. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ktig Posted November 14, 2011 Author Share Posted November 14, 2011 Nearly all the Mini breeders i know remove them we certainly do The problem with removing them older is more a vet thing,if not done correctly it can cause issues. Your pup shouldn;t be getting stuck in the carpet unless there not being cut? Personally i wish breeders would remove them because most average joe don't cut them like we do. I have been sliced open far to many times in the kennels by over grown dew claws & have some major scars due to the damage done . I do cut his nails - it's nerve-wracking though cause they're black and the quick is tricky to see. I should have been more specific, it's not the regular carpet he's got caught on, but a rug we have that has long thready bits on it - difficult to describe without me knowing the technical terminology used in carpets Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Christina Posted November 14, 2011 Share Posted November 14, 2011 There is no reason why dew claws should get caught in carpet any more than the other nails so maybe use one of those dremel things & get them a bit shorter. Just remember to feel where they are before you start brushing his front legs. No point in the agony of removal now. The only reason I do have dew claws removed is because I have seen so many on hairy breeds that have grown into the leg & its horrid. Maybe get rid of that rug, easier than the nails. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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