Author Topic: Dog dew claw removal  (Read 2110 times)

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Offline Pookie

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Dog dew claw removal
« on: July 17, 2013, 10:06:53 AM »
So my co-worker recently got a dog, and they just took her in to be spayed and also have the dew claws on her back feet removed.  I'm just curious -- do lots of dogs have an issue with their dew claws?  If so, are some breeds more prone to dew claw problems than others?

I'll admit, I'm ignorant about this, but I can't help feeling like this was something that didn't require surgery, but instead just trim the nail.  By the way, the one foot wasn't healing well so the dog had to go back for another surgery.   :(
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Offline DeeDee

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Re: Dog dew claw removal
« Reply #1 on: July 17, 2013, 11:21:17 AM »
Dewclaws are removed to help prevent the "hanging" accidents that often occur with dogs. They'll accidentally get the dewclaws torn in a lot of incidents. Some people don't, but it's considered safer. Dogs are especially prone to it if they're allowed to run loose in brush, etc.

All 4 of Barkly's dewclaws were removed--Vlad was back-only since a lot of big dogs use them to hold things to chew. Vlad's one of the first dogs I've seen that had any of his dewclaws since Daddy's white GSD Cindy, and the vet told me that if he tore one, we'd  go ahead and remove them.

In a lot of cultures they don't do anything--they leave dewclaws; don't crop ears; don't dock tails--unless they tear one of them. People started doing all of those things when certain dogs started showing tendencies of getting those body parts injured--ears torn or infected, broken tails, etc. It's not just for looks the way a lot of people think--with dewclaw damage being something every dog breed has in common.

Scent hounds are one of the few I know of where people absolutely want long, floppy, infection-prone ears that can get ripped in briar patches. Most terriers would suffer broken tails because when they were rarely anything but working dogs, their owners would grab their tails to pull them out of vermin holes. A shorter "handle" was less likely to break. (I can't imagine pulling on any of my dogs tails for any reason though.) Since it's part of their spine, tail breaks can be REALLY painful affecting the whole body.

A lot of people have quit having ear and tail modifications now b/c they don't have actual working dogs, but generally dewclaws are removed no matter what.
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Offline Pookie

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Re: Dog dew claw removal
« Reply #2 on: July 17, 2013, 12:28:43 PM »
Thanks, Dee!  You learn something new every day . . .

My dad bred, sold, raised and hunted beagles, and he never had the dewclaws removed that I remember.  Maybe they weren't a problem since the kennel had a cement floor, so their nails were always worn down?   :-\

He would trim their tails if the tails had kinks in them.  His explanation to me was that it would be very painful for them to go through the brush (briars, etc.) because the kinks would get caught in the briars (I think.  This was a very long time ago so I don't remember very well).  But he left their ears and everything else alone.
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Offline DeeDee

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Re: Dog dew claw removal
« Reply #3 on: July 17, 2013, 01:48:47 PM »
Beagles are hounds so they need their ears flapping the scent toward their noses. Like all scent hounds though, you have to be careful to keep their ears especially clean in the summer or they get infections due to lack of air flow to the canal.

I've only seen one dog tear a dewclaw at the vet's office. He got it hung up in some kind of fencing and it tore it half off. That dog was bleeding like a stuck pig since it's not totally common for everyone to keep blood-stop at home in case a dog gets hurt. I just know I'd prefer to not have it happen to one of my dogs.

Dewclaws never get worn down from flooring as far as I know. They're on the sides of their legs instead of at their feet. That's why it makes it so easy to get them caught on things.

D = Dewclaw:



They step down on something, and it's easy to get caught as you can see from this position:


"In order to really enjoy a dog, one doesn't merely try to train him to be semihuman. The point of it is to open oneself to the possibility of becoming partly a dog." Edward Hoagland
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Re: Dog dew claw removal
« Reply #4 on: July 17, 2013, 03:51:02 PM »
Interesting.  So, what were they originally for?  Do wolves use them to bring down a kill or something?  Just curious.
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Offline DeeDee

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Re: Dog dew claw removal
« Reply #5 on: July 17, 2013, 04:10:42 PM »
From the little bit I know about that, they're thought to be another appendage on dogs leftover from prehistoric canines--kind of like a thumb that's useless.

As I said, Vlad DOES use his, the way I was told these dogs do, to hold on to bones & things when he's chewing them. I just hope he never hooks one into anything when he's running once he gets older.
"In order to really enjoy a dog, one doesn't merely try to train him to be semihuman. The point of it is to open oneself to the possibility of becoming partly a dog." Edward Hoagland
"Thorns may hurt you, men desert you, sunlight turn to fog; but you're never friendless ever, if you have a dog."

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Re: Dog dew claw removal
« Reply #6 on: July 18, 2013, 08:15:43 AM »
Thanks, Dee!   :)
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Offline Lola

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Re: Dog dew claw removal
« Reply #7 on: July 21, 2013, 01:25:37 PM »
I've only recently (last year-ish) heard of people having dew claws removed.  I dunno... sounds kinda ewie to me...kinda like cutting off tails and cropping ears. 
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