I would be interested whether anyone has ever had a puppy born without any dewclaws on the front legs. I know many breeders and owners have them removed.

It wasn't until I did the first nail trim on my pups that I realised one didn't have the vestigal thums! Asking at the Vets he said ohg it happens and considered it an advantage :D As then they would never cause trouble, and won't need removing.

Tried searching the net but can't bring anything up. Lots about additional dew claws, and whether they are requird or not, or removing of dews.

Will ask around - I bet someone will come along who has come across it before. I wish mine would be born without.

Hi, I have done a search, in google, and have found something called syndactyly, it talks about missing or fused dew claws. I am no good at the link thingy but if you type syndactyly in dogs into google there is quite a bit comes up. I dont understand it but you probably will. Hope this helps :) Sarah

Anatolians sometimes have missing dew claws link

This syndrome seems to suggest fused fingers/toes (according to one source "Syndactyly: Syndactyly is the term for joined fingers....."), but the pup has the normal four toes, just a nice neat absence of the dewclaws. Well at least she won't put those big gouges in the forearms of her bare armed/legged humans when jumping up to great them :D

I spoke to someone today who told me that most dogs don't have dew claws these days because we have cut them off for so long :D :D :D

Jesse

p.s. If only genetics were that simple lol

If that were true we would have no docking controversy. Mind a lot of pet owners seem blissfully unaware how the pup came to have a short tail thinking they were born that way, which very few are and only in some breeds.

The sad thing is that some breeders tell the puppy buyers they were born that way! People should be honest with what they have done makes you think that they may be ashamed of docking their pups!

Jesse

One of the first things I tell people making enquiries is that they are looking at a customarily docked breed, and ask if they prefer undocked. If they do, I put them in touch with a breeder who doesn't dock. The worst example I came across was when there was someone well-known from the world of TV looking for an undocked puppy and a breeder who always docks offered to leave one undocked! They should at least have the courage of their convictions.

Went to a behaviour talk given at the vets tonight. Asked the senior partner, and he told me the word was ADACTYLY and was not common but he had seen it before on a few occasions, the same as additional dew claws on breeds that usually didn't have them. Not a matter of concern :D

The nurse at my usual vet told me that, but I thought she may have been thinking of hind dew claw absense, which is more usual than having them.