Yesterday morning whilst out playing with some other dogs, my 'Gas-Bucket' broke his jew claw.  This is the second time that this has happenen.  Off we go to the Vets, to get the dog fixed up, and for me to get considerably poorer (£64.27)  :(

Why do dogs have to have jew claws anyway?    Jew claws don't seem to be of any benefit to the dog, and when so easily damaged, can be extreamly painful. 
I have been told that the best time to remove jew claws is when the dog is just a few days/weeks old, if this is true why don't breeders have this done as a matter of course.

Interested to hear your views on this subject.

Harry C.

They are in fact called dew claws, not jew claws! :D :D  As far as I am aware, the dew claw is the remnant of the digit that modern dogs have lost through evolution.  Hind dew claws are not not as fully formed and do not sit as close to the leg as those on the front legs and are therefore more prone to damage.  Particularly my working cocker keeps his front dews trimmed with all his rampaging round and up and down river banks, but I've never had any problems with any of my dogs suffering as a result of having them-I've never owned a dog with their dew claws removed!  So as I am not a breeder, and have had no ill experience of owning dogs with their dew claws, I can't really offer a reason as to why all breeders don't as a matter of course remove the dew claws, perhaps it is down to preference?  I should perhaps say that only 2 of my dogs are docked-perhaps it is along the same lines?

Whooops.  Oh dear Spaniel-lover, What a Wally I am.  Sorry, no offence intended to any of our Jewish readers/posters.  I have always known these 'Claws' as 'Jew Claws', I thought that was the name of them. It never occurred to me that this was in any way a 'racist' remark.  :o

The first German Sheppherd I owned came from the breeder with the 'DEW CLAWS' (got it right this time) removed, and I never had any trouble.  But all my other dogs have had their claws still attached.  I have never experienced any problems with the claws on the rear legs, but the first time, some years ago, that one of my dogs managed to break a front dew-claw the vet removed the damaged claw, but an infection set in and it looked for a time that he may loose his front leg.  Since then maybe I am a bit paranoid about them.

Good for you jeangenie.  I wish ALL breeders were like you and have these claws clipped. 
If people could see how the vet just gets hold of the injured claw and wrenches it out of the 'toe', It looks awfully painful to me.  If they did that to people it would be called 'torture'.  But the vet said that this was the quickest and kindest way of dealing with this type of injury.  (I'm glad I am not a dog.)
As a matter of interest jeangenie, is it expensive to have the dew-claws removed when the pups are just three days old?

Thanks for your replies folks,
Harry C.

I will for give you Harry ;)

Brett, my late collie, used to use his dew claws when chewing big bones & the like. My vets willing remove them from puppies though as their experience of dew claws being damaged is quite extensive more in pets than show dogs as most show dogs at least get theirs  trimmed for showing, just noticed one of my cavaliers chewing on a very large pigs ear & he is using all his claws as well

:D :D Just to clarify incase there was any confusion, it never ocurred to me that by you calling it a jew claw you were attempting to be racist or cause offence!  Just to clarify that!  And ofcourse the two words sound very similar, so it would be easy to get them confused; it did raise a smile when I read your topic subject though! :)  I suppose that if I had experience of a dew claw injury I perhaps would feel more strongly about their removal, but I suppose for breeders it just is down to personal choice and experience?

Harry, what you describe as the vet wrenching off the claw is exactly what happened to my lab, several times. It's horrible, but it is indeed the quickest and kindest way of dealing with it. :(

As for what the vet charges to take the dew claws off: there was the call-out fee, because I don't like to take them into the surgery. Otherwise it's simply a consultation fee in the surgery. He also showed me how to do it myself (perfectly legal) but I never fancied the idea.

Dew claws are the unattached remants of toes no longer used on the hind legs, (hence the name dew, as like the drops of dew on a leaf, they are not attached to what they are on). The foreclaws on the front legs often mistakenly called dew claws, (even by vets), they are attached and in many breeds work like the thumbs of your hand. My daughters Africanis breed uses them when climbing over fences, and I have seen my flatcoats using them. I have never had a problem with fore claws (or dew claws), and have always left them on my puppies. One dog I own had her fore claws removed at a few days old, and of all my dogs I have had more problems from this than any that have had the claws left alone! She had had them done before I purchased her, had I known it was the breeders intention to do this I would have requested my bitch was left alone. On one leg she has a nail remant which grows and curls straight back into her leg, causing great pain, and she will go lame unless I keep it cut very short all the time. She finds any handling of this remant painful too, which makes any trimming doubly difficult.
I prefer to see a dog with fore claws and after my experiences with my bitch I can honestly say I wouldn't buy a puppy from a litter which has had the fore claws removed.

My litters have always had their dew claws off at three days old, because as you say, when they get injured (surprisingly common) it's usually excruciatingly painful for them, and once they've been damaged the first time it seems to happen more and more often. My old lab suffered terrible pain from hers - I wish her breeder had had them snipped off when she was newborn, because it's major surgery to have them removed later.

Must say my lots are all pretty well developed & they`ve not have a prob withem yet, in fact they even use them now & again :) They`re as worn down as the rest of their nails as well & seem quite as well developed as the rest of their pads & I`ve seen my lot use them :)
Don`t think it`s something I`d remove as par for the course on my Labs or any future generations tho, sorry, but imagine it would be very painful when they`re torn!
http://www.dogstuff.info/dewclaws_lanting.html

Christine, Spain.

The dew claw would be the equivalent of the thumb (or big toe) on us.  Some dogs use them for gripping and climbing

Hi Christine,
Thank you for responding to my "DEWclaw" posting.  Thanks also for the 'Link' to "Another look at Dewclaws" by Fred Lanting.  I went in to look at this site and printed out Mr Laning's remarks.  He seems quite a knowledgeable and experienced sort of chap.  Though I am not convinced that he has made out a compelling case in favour of NOT removing these dewclaws. 
I have owned three GSD's, all of which I did obedience and agility with, the first had his dewclaws removed by the breeder and I had no problems, but both of the other two suffered broken front dewclaws when doing the 6 foot scaling exercise.  I now own a 4 year old 'Goldie' which is solely a pet, and this is the second time that he has broken a dewclaw whilst playing with other dogs.  Maybe I have just been unlucky to have owned acident-prone dogs.

So from my experience, and having to see three of my dogs suffer needlessly, I would like breeders to arrange for the removal of dewclaws, or at least ask the new owner/s if they would like for this to be done. (Provided of course that the new puppy is ordered ahead of the birth.) 

Thanks once again Christine for your very helpful posting.
:)
Best wishes,
Harry C.

Your welcome Harry :) but I think you may have been just unlucky or rather your dogs have ;) :)
As I say none of my Labs have had a prob, also I have a rescued gsd, who was abandoned & lived wild with packs of other dogs in pine woods not far from me for a yr or 2, he`s about 6-8yrs now. The terrain around here is hilly scrubby, baked hard ground in the summer thats goes very muddy in winter when torrential rains flood us & he`s no prob with his either nors my rescue mongrel had any probs either :)
Sounds awful how the vet has to treat it tho, can`t they deaden it first??

Christine, Spain.

My older dog (younger one has had them removed) has broken his dew claw on several occasions. I always put it down to him being hyperactive and charging around and skidding to a stop - or turning suddenly :) Howeve, I've tried to keep the dewclaws clipped regularly and he hasn't had a problem for the last couple of years. Now - is he getting older and charging around less - or is keeping them clipped regularly working ??? :D :D

Daisy

They certainly should be clipped regularly.  I wouldn't dream of removing them, and all my dogs use them when eating bones, or when truning at speed.  I am not into removing bits of a dog because they might cause a problem, no more thn I would have all my toenails removed to prevent them ingrowing or hangnails.

In some smooth coated breeds, especially the ones that are going to hav tails docked anyway, then dew claw removal is done at the same time, and I can understand this, but would not put my own pups to any unavoidable stress.

When I said that my younger one had had her's removed, I meant when she was a pup :)

Daisy

Brainless  Does your breed not have hind dew claws? Just asking because their little cousins have these horrible double ones which are always removed at 3 days. I also have the front ones removed because every dog I've ever had with the front ones left on has damaged one if not both dew claws & it is sooooooooo painful for them. Also had a dog hang himself upside down on a fence with a dewclaw - not nice!

No wqe never have hind ones, but their other cousin the Buhunds have double ones and single ones on hind legs that need removing, but I think they only take the rear ones off.  It would be suspected that an Elkhound was not purebred if it did have them on the back legs.  Even the puppy mill ones in the states never seem to have rear dews from what has been posted on the US based breed lists on this topic.

Maybe half n half eh Daisy???? :D

Christine, Spain.

My very first Labrador's Dew claws were removed but she was the only one. Since then I have only had one dog to ever have trouble and she had her's torn out three times. I must admit that as an old cheapskate I never took her to the vets any time. A dose of antiseptic, soft dressing and LOOSLY strapped up with Elastoplast (Strap too tight can stop the circulation and lead to Gangrene) There days I would use Micropore rather than Elastoplast, it seems to stick to the fur better.

Regards, John