dew claws.... What is your opinion?Question:Another thread has inspired me to ask this.... Do any good breeders decide NOT to remove dewclaws? Charlie has his............. Rocket has hers............ Shiloh does NOT have hers, and the scars are large..... We picked her up at 7.5 weeks and the breeder must have done them too late? Charlie was basically rescued from a BYB, because the breeder didn't want anything to do with him, because he was mad that Charlie was the only living pup from the litter. It was winter and they lived outside in a kennel with a wooden floor.........YUCK! My guess they all froze to death or were layed on by the mother. We didn't get him until he was about 12 weeks and didn't pay a cent for him. (turned out to be a WONDERFUL dog) I don't know why Rocket's were not removed?? Actually, out of all the dogs I have had, Shiloh is the only one with them removed..... but other than Charlie and Rocket they have all been mixed dogs from oops litters... I guess.... or from Shelters. I have NEVER had any problems with dewclaws, although none have had rear dewclaws. And my dogs all have somewhat extreme jobs that require alot of activity...... What do you all think about dewclaws? Thanks, Julie. Answer: Any Golden I've ever owned have had theirs with never a problem . Answer: This is probably going to be an extremely stupid question, but what are dewclaws for? I have no clue what they do for dogs? Answer: Lizzie has hers, and I really don't like them. I am terrified they will get stuck on some thing, no matter how short they are. So my future purebred dogs, will all have theirs out. Answer: Dewclaws, if they are removed, are removed before the 5th day of life, same as tail docking. It is generally done at the same time. I do not remove dew claws on the front. If any appear on the rear (rather unusual in my breed), they are removed, as the breed standard requires it. Most DCs on the rear are only attached by a piece of skin and can be ripped off with lots of pain and bleeding. Front ones are different. I have one bitch who has hers, and she uses them OFTEN when gripping things to chew. It means 2 more nails to groom, but I don't think whether they are left on is any indication of breeder responsibility. :D Answer: Thanks for your input, everyone! And Redyre, I really never saw the need to remove them! My husband is glad Charlie still has his. He calls them ice diggers...... He really thinks it helps Charlie get back onto the ice when retrieving ducks/geese. Lol I am really happy to see that a good breeder can leave the front dewclaws intact.......:D I do understand that the occasional back dewclaws should be removed....... they are looser and hangier....Lol But I too have never had a dog with rear dews..... Thanks and Anymore thoughts are welcome! Answer: After seeing a couple dogs literally rip their front dews off while running, I think dewclaw removal is excellent (as young pups only). Fortunately, none of my own dogs have ever had too big of a problem with theirs but I still don't see a need for them. Maybe some dogs use them, but mine don't use them much. I don't really care one way or another whether my dogs have them or not because I keep their nails so short that they wouldn't be able to harm themselves easily anyway, but for the majority of average dog owners, I'd say it's more of a hassle for their dogs to have dews. That being said, I don't think leaving dews vs. removing them is an indication of whether a breeder is responsible or not. My Toller will not have hers removed as the (very good, responsible) breeder I've chosen to get her from does not remove dews (as far as I know, anyway; I've never thought to ask, but all of her adults have them so I don't think she does). Answer: Casey has hers and I would hope any other dog I get will have theirs too. Answer: All our dogs have their and have had no problems with them. Ofcourse they probably didn't come from the best of breeders either. I wouldn't have them removed unless they were causing them problems. I think I read in some book that berners need to have their dewclaws or something. I don't know, I think I remember reading that. Answer: Don't know, none of the dogs i've ever owned came from breeders. Answer: I honestly dont like dewclaws at all. They can be a pain to trim on a squirmy dog(from work), they get caught on some things and can tear... None of our dogs have had dewclaws - front or rear. They are a breed faultin Belgians as well as Shelties.. Answer: My current dogs have theirs. Fortunately I've had no problems keeping them short and they haven't injured themselves or ripped their dewclaws. (Not that it can't happen even if they are short.) My friend's chihuahua badly injured his dew claw in a sliding glass door. A lot of blood and he was in a lot of pain. However, my rottweiler Harley has his removed by the breeder. Knowing him, he would probably hurt himself while running or catch it on something. I also agree that dewclaw removal isn't much of an indication of how reputable a breeder is, unless it's a fault in the breed, I suppose. Answer: Chloe only has her front ones but they arent dangley (if you know what I mean) LOL...and I have actually seen her use hers like Redyre said.... Answer: Harry, Nikki, and Trey don't have them. Beau has his. Papillons and many small breeds do so badly under that you tend to avoid putting them under unless you have to. They only have the front ones. He uses his all the time. Answer: Flicka and Pepe don't have theirs, front or rear. My vet guesses that Flicka's were probably removed as a puppy, as she is a purebred. Her previous owners said, when they surrendered her, that they bought her from a breeder but "forgot" the breeders name. Pepe was picked up as a stray, without dews on the rear, but the ones on the front were mangled and hanging off, so the rescue had them removed. -Rosefern Answer: All of the dogs I've owned has dew claws (and I've had a lot of dogs in my life!). Only one ever had a problem; the nail got caught good on some of that lengthy carpet they used to use in old homes, which we had in our den. He was just laying funny, shot up, and off it came. I've never had any other problems with them though, and like Redyre said, I have seen dogs actually use their front dews to 'grip' things, in a way. By the way, since my next dog, I plan on showing...is it required in most standards to have back dews removed? Answer: Most breeds it is. Some breeds like the beauceron are DQ if they have theirs removed. All the beaus I see have the back dews on. I'd check the breed standard. Answer: My GSD has his on the front, which a lot of them are kept on, but none on his rears...these are supposed to be removed. However, in the many many beagles that I have had and grown up with, all four dew claws shoud be removed by the breeders. A lot of beagles are used for hunting and therefore are in thick woods a lot. Since they are lower to the ground, they are more prone to getting caught on things and tearing can be extremely painful and very bloody. Answer: As far as breed standards for papillons- most dogs have no dew claws on the back. If there are any, they are to be removed. If the dog has front dew claws, removal is optional. For shelties, it is similar, back must be removed, front is optional. Answer: The dewclaws may be removed. This is what the standard for the Chow Chow says. It doesn't say must, but does having hem on weaken the outcome chances? Answer: I have no idea. I do know it didn't hurt us having Beau's on when he was showing at all. The standard says : Removal of dewclaws on forelegs optional. Answer: Loki doesn't miss hers. All my other dogs have had theirs, and some of them have had problems, some haven't. Answer: i've never had a dog have problems with front dew claws. my dogs both use theirs. and to be honest, we only rarely see problems with them on dogs at work. i see no reason to remove them. big floppy unattached hind dews are a different story. those i'd prefer to see removed as babypups. they are the ones that do cause issues and get ripped. Answer: I have decided NOT to remove the front which my vet is very happy ahout and I ask him to remove the rears . TO messy if caugth on the farm. I also am starting to ask the Vet to leave the tails a bit longer since it looks like the future of cropping and docking is in question. All mine are done at 3 days of age. Answer: Madison came from a backyard breeder and has his front dewclaws. Rylie came from a show breeder and she has her front dewclaws. Chloe came from a show breeder and has no dewclaws. |
|