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Could Dewclaw Removal Be Bad?
- Thread starter Ingrid H
- Start date
Doberman Gang
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Now you know why helpers where scratch pants.
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Doberman Gang
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And a groin protector!!!!
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Cariboo Country
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I hate having the back dew claws on dogs as they are usually not attached by much more than skin, I cannot seeing it cause any problem with having them taken off. I do not mind the front dew claws as they are usually quite tight into the leg but I know we used to take them off our Greyhounds that we showed.
I always assumed the removal of the dewclaws was mostly an aesthetics thing. I mean, I know there is the issue of them possibly getting caught on things – and that actually worries me – but I mean they shave the whiskers off Dobermans for the show ring, so I wonder if it originally was an effort to achieve that total streamlined look.
We have one with and one without dew claws.Rocky uses them to hold and chew things,but I don't think they serve much purpose on him otherwise.They're too far off the ground to assist in a turn/running.He's too tall.
Daisy without them can out turn him in a run all day and twice on Sunday.He might be faster in a straight line (he's a dragster) but she can turn (more like Formula One
)
I will say though,removal in the first few days of life is much less traumatic on the dog.
Our old whirlwind Maxie The wonder dog had dews for her first 5-7 years.
That little dog was like a tank or a diesel tractor,unstoppable.
One day after a session out back by herself playing with the jolly ball and chasing lizards she comes in the house leaving a trail of blood.
One dew claw hanging by a thread.
ER vet visit time.
They would have reattached it if we wanted or gave us the option to just remove both,explained what was involved with either option,and pointed out if we keep them there's a good chance we saw them again for the same thing.So off they came.
That slowed her down for a while for sure,don't know that I ever saw her express pain as much as those few days of healing.
These days I would just assume get rid of them from the start.Tou wouldn't believe how much blood there is when they snag one good like she did.
Daisy without them can out turn him in a run all day and twice on Sunday.He might be faster in a straight line (he's a dragster) but she can turn (more like Formula One
)I will say though,removal in the first few days of life is much less traumatic on the dog.
Our old whirlwind Maxie The wonder dog had dews for her first 5-7 years.
That little dog was like a tank or a diesel tractor,unstoppable.
One day after a session out back by herself playing with the jolly ball and chasing lizards she comes in the house leaving a trail of blood.
One dew claw hanging by a thread.
ER vet visit time.
They would have reattached it if we wanted or gave us the option to just remove both,explained what was involved with either option,and pointed out if we keep them there's a good chance we saw them again for the same thing.So off they came.
That slowed her down for a while for sure,don't know that I ever saw her express pain as much as those few days of healing.
These days I would just assume get rid of them from the start.Tou wouldn't believe how much blood there is when they snag one good like she did.
WYOgirl
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We have two dogs with and two without. Panzer (WhippetX) and Magnolia (Boston) both have theirs on front.
Luther (Dobe) does not and we actually had Rommel's (Min PinXChihuahua) front ones removed while we lived in Germany because the nail curled so tightly it couldn't be trimmed without cutting the pad. It had to be a medical reason to have them removed over there.
I will say that it still makes my insides hurt to remember how much pain he was in for several days afterward. If I had it to do over again I am honestly not sure if I we would have done the surgery or tried to find some different way to keep the nails short. :-( He laid in my lap and cried and shivered for a couple days and yelped every time he jumped for a week or more. :-(
(He is definitely far from stoic though and is quick to screech/yelp/run/spazz out if he even thinks he might get hurt. ;-) )
Luther (Dobe) does not and we actually had Rommel's (Min PinXChihuahua) front ones removed while we lived in Germany because the nail curled so tightly it couldn't be trimmed without cutting the pad. It had to be a medical reason to have them removed over there.
I will say that it still makes my insides hurt to remember how much pain he was in for several days afterward. If I had it to do over again I am honestly not sure if I we would have done the surgery or tried to find some different way to keep the nails short. :-( He laid in my lap and cried and shivered for a couple days and yelped every time he jumped for a week or more. :-(
(He is definitely far from stoic though and is quick to screech/yelp/run/spazz out if he even thinks he might get hurt. ;-) )
Dobs4ever
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When they are removed at 3 to 5 days it is very easy on the puppy and the healing of the leg. Dews are very hard to keep trimmed and if not then after they are grown and have to be removed it is very painful and damaging to the leg. I opt for the quick easy fix and avoidance of the issues.
Anything stuck on the leg would appear to be supporting a bone when it fact it could just be in the way and because it is not able to get out of the way it touches the bone when not really needed for support. Mine have never had a problem holding a bone and they have never had a problem caused by a dew because they have been removed!!
Luvmydoberman
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I can't say that I have ever had any problems with my dogs' dew claws. Sophie's were removed while she was still in rescue. Her foster made that decision. She is the only dog that I have had that has them removed. Is it a coincidence that she has also been diagnosed with carpal flexural deformity? I've often wondered about this and I don't know enough to judge, but can say that the surgery was done at the same time as her spay (at approx. 6 months) and it took a couple of months for them to heal. I made the decision for Dixie to keep hers.
All of my Dobermans have had their dew claws removed. On the other hand, all of my Poms and even Kali, have not.
I've never liked the dew claws and just from my experiences with the dogs I've had in my lifetime and which ones had the dew claws, it became one of those things that I felt was associated with a good breeder. That may be way off the wall thinking, but all the dogs (Poms and Kali) that I got from, what would now be called a back yard breeders, had the dew claws. The Dobes did not. So that's what I typically thought. I could be way off base, but that was my experiences and the conclusion I drew. Trimming my Poms nails, the dew claws were a nightmare. Like it was said earlier, they tend to curl, and with all the hair on a Pom, sometimes they got 'forgotten'. Then it was a hell of time trying to trim that without hurting my dog! If I remember right, there was even a time when it had curled enough that it was almost cutting into her leg.
Ugh. I hated those things!That said, I would never have them removed later in life just because I don't like them. Like @Dobs4ever said, I feel these should be done within the first few days of life when it's easy and recovery time is minimal. Kali's are a pain to trim and I do them every time I do her nails. But they curl too and sometimes I'm curled too, just trying to trim them! LOL I hope to God they don't get caught on anything like @Gelcoater dog.
No doubt that when a Doberman makes a hard turn, the dewclaws contact the ground.
My jury is still out on if I'm pro-remove or pro-keep.
Oji (I wrote about him above) does this extremely irritating thing in our backyard that is killing a portion of our lawn. He is a Doberman that loves to makes the hard cuts and reversals. When he's energetic and I have him in the yard, he will run down the slight hill (right beside the stone walking path I made) and then he'll do his reversal spin move, taking a swipe out of what once was lawn (I had planted by seed).
What you see in the pic is from just one (1) stupid reversal spin swipe move this evening. Seems in addition to some mud, he managed to collect a leaf and a small piece of cardboard. It's not like there is trash laying around my yard, so this is pretty funny. No wait. It's actually
.
My jury is still out on if I'm pro-remove or pro-keep.
Oji (I wrote about him above) does this extremely irritating thing in our backyard that is killing a portion of our lawn. He is a Doberman that loves to makes the hard cuts and reversals. When he's energetic and I have him in the yard, he will run down the slight hill (right beside the stone walking path I made) and then he'll do his reversal spin move, taking a swipe out of what once was lawn (I had planted by seed).
What you see in the pic is from just one (1) stupid reversal spin swipe move this evening. Seems in addition to some mud, he managed to collect a leaf and a small piece of cardboard. It's not like there is trash laying around my yard, so this is pretty funny. No wait. It's actually
.
Actually, I guess he does not have a small piece of cardboard in his dewclaw there. That's the woodgrain in the floor.
I am not a dewclaw fan. For me with a high drive dog it is absolutely an injury waiting to happen. My cropping surgeon now retired showed me pics and countless stories of Dobermans in particular wrapped in bloody shirts from ripping out their dewclaws. To me they arent be needed. If you dog has a hard grip with their teeth they aren't necessary. Even without a hard full grip. Deegan has had a dewclaw rip and it was bad ! I keep my dogs nails short as well ... for deeg it was painful. He had to have his quick clipped and wrapped for a week. So no dews for me. Both my dobes don't have them. Sorry lol
No, it's good to get opinions and learn of experiences!
It was a surprise to me that Oji was going to come with dewclaws intact. I told the breeder at the time that it was a disappointment. They said dewclaws have not been a problem for them in terms of getting scratched by them. Said they got one good scratch to the leg but that was about it. This has been pretty much the case with Oji as well, but I have worked consistently to forbid putting his paws on family members. I tell ya' though: When I let him meet a stranger and I don't command him to not put his paws on them, his paws are all over them, and in fact, he is more and more taking to hugging their legs or body with both his legs. Don't know if this is a prelude to humping behavior or if it is just part of his strong propensity to use his paws. He uses them a ton when playing with another dog as well. My point is: If I did not keep those dewclaws trimmed and dull, there would be blood when he meets people!!
On the topic of the dog getting their dewclaw injured on something: That is real scary. Oji's dewclaws, as you see in the above pic, stick out from the leg pretty good, it seems to me.
I re-read through this thread tonight. I saw it posited that dogs don't have conscious control over their dewclaws. Seems to me that dogs don't have conscious control over any of their toes individually, so of course they don't have this control over their dewclaw. I do, however, see him move the dewclaw when doing different things – including dreaming. So the dewclaw – in Oji's case anyway – is obviously attached to a muscle, not just hanging there.
Just some thoughts on the matter.
If Nero had more dew claw (other than his weird stump thing) I'd be scratched ALL THE TIME! He is always using his legs to grab things, including us. It's as bad as the cat (for whom these are useful!) I see why dogs have them evolutionarily speaking, but I don't think theyre as strong for them as a wolf for example.
