Dew Claws

[jshaytana]

sorry dont know how to spell "dew"

my youngest papillon, Jasmine, jumped out of

my wheelbarrow yesterday and bent her dew claw

back. it was hurting her and she limped on and off.

i took her to the vet this morning (had to take the

other papillon, Abby, anyway) and they recommended

removing both claws. i agreed to do this.

is this common? idont know much about these claws.

will she be able to walk initially? i'm about to ring to see

how she is.

[Miranda]

I used to remove dew claws at 2/3 days, but I won't be doing it with this next litter. None of my dogs have ever injured their dew claws and although they look better without them this is just a cosmetic reason so I've decided to leave them on.

[digallagher]

Dew claw removeal is common and very safe (except for the anesthetic).

In a lot of cases, the dew claw isn't even attached by bone, and vets often suggest their removal at the time of de-sexing.

Walking will be fine afterwards. The area will just be a bit tender for a few days. Ask your vet lots of questions, don't be shy

[knobbles]

I reckon they can get injured, but so can any other part of the body. It's just personal preference really. My vet has never suggested it. Actually I've been to 4 different vets and none of them have suggested it. Both my dogs have them and they have never had any problem... although the claw doesn't touch the ground and get worn out so you have to clip em.

[Hazz]

I prefer to have mine removed, as I would hate for it to get caught on something and have the dog partially rip it out (have seen this happen on other people's dogs - what a mess). They don't need them for any reason and it's easy to get them removed so I'll never leave them on any dog I own.

[shekhina]

I have one dog with front dew clews and one without. It definately looks better to have them removed and I would say better safe than sorry but so far (touchwood) my dog with dew claws hasn't had a problem. Both dogs have their backs ones off though.

[Sayreovi]

Like Shekina i have 2 dogs one with front dewclaws, and the other with none at all.

The one with them hasnt hurt them or anything, I just need to cut them more.

I dont really mind either way if they have front ones, but back ones should definately be taken off if present

[EVERYLABDESERVESAKID]

My little muttly had one dew claw not attached with bone, that was large and floppy with a very fast growing curly nail. I made the decision to have it removed during his desex for the following reasons.

1. This dog has a scruffy little dreadlock coat that requires daily grooming, he is a puppy and he squirms around alot and I was concerned that I might accidently hook it with the coat rake and give it a yank.

2. I dress him up in little woolies and coats to keep him warm and to keep the burrs out of his coat in the horse paddock. I had more than one experience with the nail catching in the woolies and I believed the likely hood of harm in this situation was high, given that I am not allways the one who puts his coats on and off.

The OP was nothing a neat small line, no stitches and 3 days kept wrapped.

[jshaytana]

well jasmine is home with her 2 front paws bandaged.

the bandages come off on friday.

she's a bit sooky so i have been giving her lots

of cuddles.

i am happy the claws are gone so she cant get

hurt by them again but it cost me $290. she

weighs 3.3kg. oh the expense of having pets.

i dont spend that much money on myself.

(that was with a discount). mind you i do get

good quality care for my dogs at this vet.

[ricey]

I had Hobbes' dew claws removed when he was 3.5 years old.

One of the best things I did for him.

Peter D

[morgan]

All of mine have dew claws removed. I do feel mean, cos it does hurt them, even at 3 days, but I don't have to worry about future owners neglecting them, or injuries, or being hurt myself! (And also for the show ring)

Having had numerous dogs jump on me and scratch and gouge me with their dew claws, I'm not about to put up with it from my own dogs! Even today I have nasty scratch marks down both legs from a staffy whose dew claws got me when he jumped up to say hello! (he wrapped his front legs around me before sliding down - ouch!!)

[SALTWOOD]

I imported a dog with dew claws, the dog caught it when playing and half ripped it off. We had months of trouble with that until it healed as the vet didn't want to remove it using a general anaesthetic as he said older dogs often chew at the stitches and it can get much worse.

After that, I recommend all dew claws be removed as pups.

[mersonmalinois]

All of mine have dew claws removed. I do feel mean, cos it does hurt them, even at 3 days, but I don't have to worry about future owners neglecting them, or injuries, or being hurt myself! (And also for the show ring)

Having had numerous dogs jump on me and scratch and gouge me with their dew claws, I'm not about to put up with it from my own dogs! Even today I have nasty scratch marks down both legs from a staffy whose dew claws got me when he jumped up to say hello! (he wrapped his front legs around me before sliding down - ouch!!)

Amen, Morgan!

[borderstaff]

I have 6 dogs 4 border collies and 2 Staffy and we have never removed the dew claw from any of them and they have never been a problem.

I have never really thought about removing them to tell you the truth, but recently new research has found that the dew claw is actually very beneficial in active dogs border collies, kelpies ect when they are running it help stop vibration running up the leg its sort of a shock absorber.

[wagsalot]

ive never considered having rileys dew claws removed as they have never been a issue, however if they were a issue i probably wouldnt hesitate to get them removed.

rileys back ones arent attached to the bone i dont think. I can move them around and they just feel like a excess bit of skin. We do have to get the nail clipped quite often though.

[espinay2]

I have a breed where we DONT remove the dew claws. They have singles on the front and doubles on the back. I have only ever had one bitch injure a dew claw - that was a front one which she injured in a fight when she caught it on the collar of the other dog.

While I would never remove a dew claw from my own breed except in cases such as above (she kept her other front one and never had a problem with it), I do admit to recommending that small fluffy dogs in particular - eg poodles, malts and other fluffy types - have their dew claws removed as they can be lost out of sight out of mind in the coat so owners forget to clip them (resulting in huge long talons, often grown into the leg for the groomer to find) or can simply make grooming more difficult and be a hazard for the unaware or those not taking care with clippers or scissors.

[Em & Taco]

I have had Taco (min pin x chi) to the vet vet twice to have his injured dew claw cut back.

He just seems to get them caught on things and then I will notice him limping and licking at it so off we go to the vet. I keep his nails trimed.

I asked my vet would it be easier for Taco if we removed them but she said "2 times in a year is not enough to remove them".

I guess because they have to go under GA there is a risk involved.

[Mana]

I think also the form/shape of the claw makes a difference.

The foster failure lab I have here has both front dew claws, and they are a bit floppy but don't stick out to the sides as much as others I've seen. When he was at the vets after chowing down on a kilo bag of liver treats she said if they had stuck out any more, or if we noticed them catching on stuff, she'd consider taking them off.

Whereas my pups' dew claws sit very close to their legs and their vet doesn't want to remove them when they go for their desexing next month.

[curlyking]

I used to remove dew claws at 2/3 days, but I won't be doing it with this next litter. None of my dogs have ever injured their dew claws and although they look better without them this is just a cosmetic reason so I've decided to leave them on.

AS a breeder we have always removed the dew claws at the time we docked the tails. Dew claws were always harder and more painful for the pup and also took longer to heal.

For some reason the last couple of litters we had several dew claws become infected. The litter I have at the moment - now almost 4 weeks old is the first I've had since the tail docking ban and we thought about not doing the dew claws as well, however, did so but because of the infection problem were a bit cautious in removing this lot. Several have grown back and already we have found hassles with them. the pups catch them on the bedding in the box and they get pulled. No way I will leave them on in th future and I hope the one I keep is one that has not got them or else they will be removed surgically. I will also suggest to those buyers that are having their dogs desexed that they ask the vet to remove the dew claws at the same time.