Rowie-the-Pooh Posted October 10, 2003 Posted October 10, 2003 [quote name='Aroura']Rowie, I wouldn't do it unless she has to go into surgery for some other reason. I wouldn't put a dog under anesthetic simply to have their dew claws removed, if they were going in for another reason and you want them removed while the vet was at it, thats another thing, but simply to get it done because of the slight possibility they may catch on something is alot of extra trauma on the dogs body, probably for nothing. I'm sure Rowie is fine how she is :D[/quote] Thanks Aroura! :D I've been thinking about it ever since I got Rowie. She's not going in for any major surgeries soon (I hope :o), so I guess we'll keep the dew claws! Thanks again Aroura! :) Quote
gooeydog Posted October 10, 2003 Posted October 10, 2003 Four of our dogs have front dewclaws, none ever had back ones, and Annie had her front ones lopped off as a pup. There's nothing wrong with taking them off at a few days old, like most breeders do, but I'd rather see them left on on older pups/dogs (talking about front dewclaws here, back ones are usually just a flap with a pad and claw, and are much more likely to get caught on things, plus easier to remove), unless they're either flappy, or the dog is involved in a sport/work where there's a high likelyhood of them ripping them. They do use them, ours use them to hold bones while they chew, especially Haley. And when I used to be able to play with Goo in the yard on a long lead, she would use them as leverage to get further up the trees after squirrels. I keep all of our dogs' clipped/sanded down short (Haley's is about 1/4" long, and hers are the longest out of the bunch). It's really just a personal preference, but I lean more towards leaving them on if the dog is older than "normal" dewclaw removal age. Quote
abker17 Posted October 10, 2003 Posted October 10, 2003 [quote]I am not sure they help her in agility any. She can cut corners pretty well but I don't believe her dew claws have any part of that.[/quote] I wasn't aware that u did agility Mary's Mama. :D Got any pics?????? :wink: :D Quote
courtnek Posted October 10, 2003 Posted October 10, 2003 I would go with getting the floppy ones removed. "True" Dew claws, like was mentioned, have a pad that's attached to bone and muscle, and dont flop. It's a claw just like all the others, coming out from a claw pad. I have seen dogs with the floppy ones, that have no pad attachment, and I can see where that would be trouble as far as tearing.... Laurels (by the way, for some reason I said she only has back ones, she has them on all four) the claws themselves were removed, but the pads are still there... someone asked where they are... On the front feet, the are up about 3 inches (depending on the dog of course) from the back of the foot pad, so the are actually attached to the leg. On the back feet. they are up higher and to the side, left side for left and right side for right. The back dews are for cornering, the front for grabbing on a stride run.... hope that helps. :) Quote
courtnek Posted October 12, 2003 Posted October 12, 2003 well, as bad luck would have it, Laurel tore her hind dew pad...the claws have been gone for a while, but she actually tore the pad itself.... I think it will be ok, I have it bandaged and it's not torn too badly, but talk about dumb luck!! :( Quote
abker17 Posted October 12, 2003 Posted October 12, 2003 Aw, poor Laurel. Sending hugs and kisses her way...... :calus: Oh, I've been meaning to ask u Courtnek, is Laurel a English or American foxhound? :D Quote
courtnek Posted October 12, 2003 Posted October 12, 2003 She's an English Foxhound, just small for her breed. She's actually about the size of an American Foxhound, but that's small for an English. She's about 60 lbs., but I think she's somewhat underweight (although they're supposed to be lean) but I think she's a little TOO lean. I want to about 3-5 lbs. more on her, I think she'll look better. Right now she looks a little gaunt to me.... :D Quote
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