Dew Claws on Hind Paws - Page 1

A couple of our pups have dew claws on hind paws  , For working dogs should they be removed ?

Look fwd too comments .....

YES.
even non working should have them removed, they get caught in weirdest places usually by a nail that will grow curved.
not to mention it is more expensive to do it on adult dog, putting them to sleep, than pain meds, than change of dressings....overall it is a pain to take care of when they are 1-2 years old.

Working or not, yes. They're a pain in the butt. You'll have a dog who gets them caught in everything, which can cause pain and crack the nail. Definately take them off.

Yep, nip 'em off.  They serve no purpose and are ugly, not to mention a hazard.
Deb

Hhhmmmm - I know that is the perceived wisdom, and I used to subscribe to it
myself;  but just to put another point of view, let me tell you a story:

We aquired a Shiloh Shepherd when he was aged about three years.  I was horrified
to see he had very obvious hind dew claws.  One was looser than the other but they
both wobbled all over the place as he moved.  So of course I asked our Vet when
we could get them removed, in case they caught on something, and what would be
involved in the aftercare.

[In my contribution to another thread, I said I was used to GSdogs either being born
without rear dew claws, or the breeders I knew always taking them off at about 2
days old.]

So the Vet said :  You really don't need the hassle of bandaging and re-bandaging
while they heal if we take 'em off an adult dog; and sometimes they refuse to heal
properly.  I don't thing he's going to catch them on anything, if he hasn't already
done so by now.  You'd be better advised to leave them on.  As it was coming up
for Winter & these were outside dogs,  I agreed to leave the final decision for a few
months. 

Few more years have gone by;  and I ended up quite glad I'd left it.  He's never torn
them on anything.  OK I know one should never say 'never' about anything, but if
he's got away with it this long, and hasn't had to have a general anaesthetic to have
them removed, perhaps leaving well alone was the right advice ?
I suppose this may be the sort of question best considered on a case by case basis,
depending on how tight they are, what sports  the dog will be doing,  its age, etc.

As a retired pet groomer i've lost count of the times i've had to cut through nails that have grown in a circle and through the dog's toe. Doesn't matter if it's a great Pyr or a shih tzu. They suck, they always get forgotten about and they serve no real purpose. Remove them now while it's cheap and they heal up real quick.
I groomed for a vet office and i've seen a lot of nail diasters. Most of them were dewclaws. I have not owned any large dogs with dew claws but when i had small dogs they each had 1 rear dew claw. And the Rat terrier got his torn off twice. And i agree they are ugly and distract from the dog's natural clean lines.
If it were my litter i'd snip them.
Fry

Special Thanks for your feed back , Ladyfrost , Macrowe1, Dedisue, Hundmuter, Dragonfry .
Later today our Vet will call at our house for the removal of the Hind Dew Claws .
Today the Pups are 6 days old , I have never seen how they remove the Dews .
As i am in China , I have a couple of questions .
Should i use Styptic Powder ?  , If the Vet does not have !
Will the paws need to be Sterile Dressed after the claws removal ? If i need to bandage how many times per day or days the Sterile Dressing needs to be changed ?

Look fwd too your comments .

Lanhua

You are having puppies and you do not know this?  Scarey/  There are all kinds of posts on this, why do you not know?

@ Nans

Scarey i do not think so !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
If you are such a expert , why dont you write a Hund  book ? .
For the last week , i have slept on the floor next to the whelping box  , Everything i need to take care of mum and pups .
So before you pass judgement , give your head a shake !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!


This morning the Vet has called at our house , and has removed 7 Dew Claws .

Lanhua i dont think you will need dressings for them at this stage as soon as bleeding stops you are done, its older dogs that have 1-2 sm long cuts that need dressings changes, etc.