Playing with our nine week old puppy I have felt that he has claws on the side of his paws that our other schnauzer does not have.  after some research on the net it says these are Dewclaws and that they are usually removed along with their tails.  But not ours! 

Is it important to have these removed?  If yes, is it expensive?  Am a bit clueless about this, anyone got any advice?

Thanks  

Jo   :)

Hello Jo,
Which size have you got? I have a Giant. ;) Anyway, I believe a lot of breeders would remove those at birth when it is easy. I have had a mongrel who obviously didn't have them removed, and as he wouldn't let anyone near his nails (thankfully his other claws wore down naturally so didn't need clipping) they did sometimes grow so long they would press into his leg. The only other "danger" I can think of  is getting caught in undergrowth etc. and getting torn. OUCH!!  I believe the claws are removed at birth mainly for aesthetic reasons, but don't really know for certain.
This mongrel of mine had not other problems with the claws. Remember to keep checking thieir length as they won't get worn down naturally. 

I have two standards.  They are lovely, but this is really worrying me!  why wouldn't the breeder have just removed them?  She was quick enough to whip his tail off!  I've heard the op to get rid of them is extremely painful for the dog. 

I'm going to be worried about him catching them now, he leaps about all over the place ALL THE TIME...!!  :)

Some people take them off & some don't , two of my cavaliers have them & the other doesn't. They are usually easy to keep neat by monthly trimming or weekly filing. One of my BC's had them the other didn't & I never had to trim the one with the dew claws nails at all I think it all depends on the dog

Hi Jo,

I have Spinoni, whose breed standard says that dewclews are desirable. My boys both have all 4.  The front ones stay very short but the back ones do grow quite a bit.  They can be trimmed just like other claws, although one of mine likes to keep his trimmed himself by nibbling them down!   My boys are also very active, but I've never had one catch a dew claw.  I must admit I don't worry about them at all :)  We did ask our vet about dew claws though, and he said that it can be painful for an older dog to have them removed and I think, if I remember rightly, it was because they can be attached to bone, almost like a human thumb.

I don't know why your breeder didn't take them off, but if you keep them trimmed I wouldn't worry too much about him catching them :)  Mine leap fences, dive into heavy cover, jump on and off the furniture and haven't had any trouble yet.  But I have had one of my boys split an ordinary claw (lord knows how!), which resulted in him having to have it removed :(

Hope this helps :)

Lesley

There is some evidence that front dew claws help a dog with traction when turning at speed.  When they are removed it is usually for aesthetic reasons.  Most dogs have front ones (only occasionaly rear onces, though some breeds commonly have them on rear legs too).  They are never removed in my breed.

That would explain why my boys front ones are nice and short, Brainless; kept down by turning at speed - it would certainly make sense :)

Lesley

Generally, if they're going to be removed, they're taken off at 3 days of age, otherwise it's quite a major procedure.

Personally I hate them - if the dog's fortunate the worst that can happen is that they grow too long and into the leg, but a sensible owner will prevent this. I've known dogs rip the nail from the nailbed, which causes them extreme pain, and you also need to be careful when playing rough-and-tumble with a dog with dewclaws - my husband had his eyelid slashed open by his lab's dewclaw.

If you're careful to keep the nail on the dewclaw well trimmed he may well never have any trouble from them.

One of my dogs has dewclaws and one doesn't (he's a dobe, so they came off with his tail at 3 days old).  The one with them has no problems with them - and the dews help her hold onto things when sh'es chewing them as well.

I'm fo the school of thought that if they aren't causing a problem, leave them be - I apply this to tails as well, I am very anti-dock and dewclaw removal (my dobe would have a tail if he hadn't already been docked when I saw the advert).  I have known dogs with problems - I know a boxer X rhodesian that catches his dewclaws quite often, and I used to have a Springer X Irish Water spaniel who had hers removed in the end because she ripped them.  In an adult dog, removal is close to aputation of a finger in us, so not ideal, of course - so if your pup has no problems, and you keep the claws trimmed, then I'd leave them where they are.

One note - make sure he has no problems whatsoever with you clipping his dewclaws - as a groomer, I can tell you that having a dog with long dews that doesn't like you clipping them is an absolute nightmare - I have to be extremely careful not to cut if the dog tries to pull its foot away, it worries me!

Dew claws are not like our fingers at all.     Dew claws used to be part of the dogs foot and evolution has moved them up the leg.   Removing dewclaws may be aesthetical but if you've had an amorous Ridgeback with dewclaws 'trying it on' with you - you would wish more people had them removed!

I have 2 dogs with front dews (One I bred, one I didn't) & 2 without (Bred both of them), I would always have the dewclaws removed and I haven't had a problem with them.  The only reason Curtis has his still is I got the vet in the practice who didn't want to do it and I couldn't be bothered at that point arguing!   Next litter, they all come off regardless of the vet's personal point of view.   Neither Miranda or Mia (Who don't have them) look to have suffered in their gaits or grasps!  :D

I've never owned a dog who had it's dewclaws removed,i have never had a problem with them either.
Just make sure they dont get too long,some dogs dont ever need their dewclaws clipped :)

We keep them on our dogs.  They do help them to turn and we've never ever had any problems with them.  Wouldn't keep them on the back though, though there again I've never seen any back ones.

Well I have spoken to the breeder and she said that she asked about them when she went to the vet and he only recommended any back ones to be taken off.  If I'm honest, i'd rather they were taken off at the beginning but I'm not going to do anything to cause my baby unnecessary pain and I'll just take all your advice on board and make sure they're trimmed back when he gets groomed!  (and hope to go they never get caught on anything)

Thank you all very much for your replies!

Jo  :)

I found this thread interesting as my whippet Cashie had his front dew claws removed at 2 days old.  Had I been given the choice at the time, I would not have had this done as personally I am anti-docking and I felt that dew claw removal was similar (I'm not trying to start a docking debate here).  However as I've watched Cashie grow up I'm glad that his dew claws were removed as when he runs his hind legs go between his forelegs, and there was a period of a couple of months when he had a really clumsy stage and kept tripping himself up at about 30mph.  I suspect that had his dew claws been on, he would have torn them off then so in retrospect I think removal was a good thing in his case.

Saying that, I think he would have been particularly vulnerable being a whippet
a) because of his gait
b) because he's so fast but was very clumsy
c) because he's very thin-skinned and has no hair to protect this area.

I have seen plenty of dogs with dew claws who aren't bothered by them in the slightest.  I have seen a few dew claw injuries which seem to be very painful at the time (and they bleed like you wouldn't believe!) but the dogs have always recovered very quickly.

Sorry to ramble (as always).  I wouldn't worry too much about your pup's claws, he'll probably be absolutely fine.  As others have said, just keep an eye on their length and give them a trim if necessary.

I always have my pups dew claws removed by vet within 48 hours of birth.   I have Labs, and believe me if they are used for gun dogs then these dew claws if not removed get caught up on all sorts of things e.g fences when jumping them and cause the dogs more pain and discomfort as they are very sore when they get caught.
  They can be surgically removed if they are an older dog.