Dew Claws Feeling Guilty

[venom2112]

Many breeders choose to remove dewclaws on puppies in the first week of life, because soon after birth the dewclaws are more like fingernails than appendages. At that young age, dew claws can be removed relatively easily and no stitches are required.

it does no harm while there pups but if its a problem in later life it can mean major surgery, might as well get it over with while young, when we had our pups it was done automatically at 3days old, no probs at all

 

[K.J.]

yes, but you can hardly say that any dog that doesn't have them removed with have problems.

 

[venom2112]

no you cant, but quite a few do, just think its worth doing while pups thats all, ( might) save trouble in later life !!

 

[pica_nuttalli]

it does seem a reasonable precaution to remove the dew claws, for much the same reasons that tails are generally docked. however, there are also good arguements for leaving the tail alone (see a different thread for that debate ) while i'm not sure that is the case for dew claws.

is there any particular reason (behavioral, physiological, etc) to leave the dew claws intact?

 

[K.J.]

No, there's no reason, I was just saying that it wasn't absolutely necessary. I didn't make the decision not to remove my dogs dew claws, she was a stray.

 

[lljdma06]

This is interesting, now I'm running around checking all my pets for dew claws. Always knew what it was but never gave much thought about it. I figured 5 nails in the front, four in the back. Clip 'em all. Cici has hers. Lily has hers. Charlie wouldn't stop moving, so I can't tell. All the kittens have theirs (Obvious, though since they are strays). I've never had a problem with it, but I trim pretty regularly, especially the cats.

Don't feel bad. It's a hard thing to see, especially if the dog has a lot hair. I've got Pomeranians, and it's a pain in the butt to clip their nails.

 

[angelmouse]

My dog is a working dog, and has never caught her dew claws, only me forgeting to cut them(bad human error) caused the problem which healed within a couple of days(very guilty)
Her tail is beautiful and once caught it whilst out in the undergrowth but only a graze
we have all had caught split nails and cuts and grazes but would not amputate the offending part so why do it to a animal i personally think it is a needless thing to do especially for non working animals
Her puppies were advertised as non docked and we had more people phone up asking for undocked puppies than i expected, it is now illegal unless proved to be a working dog
It seems strange to see breeds like dobermans and rotweilers with tails, one lady the other day asked me about my dogs tail, she though they were born with no tails
they wag their tails or put it between their legs to show emotion
Angel