DEW CLAW IN GERMAN SHEPHERDS - Page 1

Hi,

I was looking at a 4 month old working line GSD and noticed he had dew claws in his back legs.  Is this an impediment to a working dog?  Will removing it be an impediment?

THanks,

I had hind dew claws (sometimes bilateral, double, and triple) in American lines. By process of deduction, I learned that genetic trait is a simple monoclonal recessive that must be transmitted by two parents. These appendages resembled extra feet--about the size od a cat's paws.

I always removed these dewclaws on my puppies shortly after birth by clmping with a hemostat and a scapel blade. If you wait, you may have to go to the vet for surgery.

Louise do you tell prospective buyers that you had to remove due claws or does it become a surprise when they have their first litter?

That's weird that you mention it in American lines, a friend of mine just called me about what to do with her litter of all German/Czech dogs that had a couple extras. *knocks on wood* , for some reason I have not seen them in a long time myself. Is it common for breeders to take them off themselves ?

Sitas- is it a huge deal to have dewclas in the lines? Just wondering how "taboo" having dewclaws in lines is.

Whisper


edit- Why is it that some people think that the "thumb" of a dog is a dewclaw and thus must be removed ? I undestand that they can get caught in carpet, however there is a bone attached and ligaments for grabbing. I tell people to not remove them, but trim the nails short. I guess this would be a problem for dogs with weak feet and the thumb was closer to the ground.

I have had a few crop up in DDR with Czech lines.

If the dewclaw is flimsy, I have it removed. If it's solidly attached by bone, I leave it. In some breeds, the hind dewclaw is part of the breed standard. The Beauceron and Berger de Picard are both supposed to have double dewclaws on the hind foot. The theory is that these extra toes help the dog climb up onto- and run on top of- the backs of sheep.

There's a variety of different genetic mechanisms that cause this; but I think in dogs (and other quadropeds) it's called hind-limb-specific preaxial polydactylism. In some species it's a recessive trait, and in others it's a dominant one. I think though the intra-species dominant/recessive aspect also depends on the method of occurance.

I don't find hind dewclaws a problem any more than front dewclaws. Aesthetically, I'm indifferent to them; unless one foot has more dewclaws than the other; then the paws look unbalanced. 

I've thought it was a simple dominant trait--it seems to show up only when one of the parents has the gene--which you can often tell if you look very carefully for the very small scar on the high leg.

I've only had one litter with this trait and I had the vet remove them for me at about 6 days old.  Couldn't bear to hear the puppies crying--I really hope not to see it again.

I used to think it was a simple dominant too. But I have two dogs that do not have dewclaws, never did, yet bred together produced a litter with several dewclawed pups. The dewclaws were are solid, so I left them alone. A bit more research shows it has a variety of causes. The kind frequently seen in cats is most often caused by a simple recessive, but in other species, not so much.

I have a female without rear dewclaws who produced a littler of polydactyle puppies when combined to one of my own progeny, who never had  rear dewclaws.

She has only produced one pup with rear dewclaws that I ever found, regardless of the other males I've paired her with. If it were a simple dominant 100% of the time, then I should've expected a lot higher ratio of dewclaws to non-dewclawed puppies over the years. I've had several litters with this female.

Oh, that's interesting. So, basically, not simply one thing or t'other.

*corrects self* I reread what I wrote. In most feline cass it's a simple DOMINANT. In humans it can be a dominant or recessive, and can be caused be anything from a whole extra digit right down to the wrist, or a fork in one of the bones anywhere from the fingers to the fallanges in the hand. Sorry for the mistyping. Even in felines there are certain types that are recessive. It's just the most common type is dominant.