I am asking this for a friend as when she asked my advice I had no clue so wondered if you could help. Apparentl she had a mishap with her dog this morning and somehow the poor boy caught his dew claw in something and pulled it out . Anyway it bled a lot and to add insult to injury my friend can't do blood and came very close to passing out.
He is going in to be neutered soon and my friend wanted to know if the dew claws could be removed at the same time any ideas?

Yes they can. :)

They could be removed but orthopaedic surgery is always a bit risky because if infection does occur it is very problematic to treat, bone not having a good blood supply to carry antibiotics to the seat of the infection.  This is particularly relevent in dogs as it is very difficult to keep the wound site and dressings clean.  I think she has to weigh this up against the risk of it happening again.  Her vet may help her decide.  It's a shame that many people seem to shy away from their removal in the nest when the connection is not formed.

Generally speaking, what are the benefits of removing dew claws ?  Surely they are there for a purpose

I have one dog with dew claws and one without. The one with has had the odd problem with them - catching them as he turns quickly etc etc (although he gets no problems now he is getting older). I can't see ANY advantage really over my other dog :)

Daisy

My dogs all have front dewclaws (I only remove rear), and all the Malinois and the Mali crosses use them for holding things -such as when chewing a bone. The Goldens and toydogs don't. Interestingly I've had plenty of Goldens injure theirs but never a Malinois

Avoiding accidental damage as described in the original post which can also lead to infection that is difficult to treat.  A lot will depend on the dogs lifestyle.

The risk of infection when they get damaged is quite high (dogs' feet and legs tend to get dirty!) and if an infection gets set in it can be very difficult to treat. Persistent infection in toes quite often necessitates the amputation of the toe - a persistently infected dewclaw, resistant to ABs and where the infection gets further into the leg, would necessitate the loss of the leg. :(

I hate the dew claws, always catching on something...my late dog Toby was just scratching his face and got it caught in his eyelid..he was screaming and i had to unhook him,it was awful.

Sully that sounds awful thanks for everyones input I will pass your answers along