Dewclaws are often removed from neonatal puppies in the first few days of life. Dewclaws on the hind legs are very easily torn, and some dogs have large dewclaws on the front legs that don’t lie close to the leg. These dewclaws are similarly easily torn.
Now, some people remove dewclaws. Some don’t. It’s really not that big a deal with a neonatal whelp. The vestigal digit hasn’t developed so strongly that they have a really well-developed bone with a lot of blood supply.
However, there are certain breeds– the Briard, the Beauceron and the Great Pyrenees come to mine– that have a requirement for double dewclaws on the hind legs.
The photo above is of a Beauceron, which looks something like a Dobermann crossed with German Shepherd. However, it is probably related to the German shepherd, descending from the old European herding dog landrace, and it is an ancestor of the Dobermann (I spelll it with two n’s because Herr Dobermann spelled it that way!) It is derived from the Chien de Plain of northern France that herding sheep and guarded farms.
This breed has always had a requirement for the double dewclaw on the hind legs. It is almost a diagnostic for the breed.
Its closest relative is the Briard, which looks very little like it on the surface. But the two have similar conformation and both have the double dewclaws on the hind legs. The most famous Briard is “Buck” from Married… with Children.
So not all “working dogs” have their dewclaws removed. The practice is actually becoming less and less common, not because the risk of damaging dewclaws has been reduced. If you ever have a dog that pulls a dewclaw, which I haven’t, it is a very bloody mess. The reason why people don’t remove dewclaws is something like this “You’re chopping off the dog’s fingers!”
Well, I don’t remove dewclaws, but some people do. I respect the choice. Dewclaw removal hurts the puppy for a few minutes and maybe is sore for a few days afterword. This happens when the puppy’s neurological system is quite primitive. It’s unlikely that the puppy will have any lasting damage to the dog.
There is some anecdotal evidence that dewclaw removal causes carpal arthritis. I know of any good studies to suggest that this is the case. My vet talks people out of removing dewclaws on the front legs. I don’t know whether this is the reason or if he feels that this is an unnecessary medical procedure.
But hind dewclaws on any breed that doesn’t have to have them really should have them removed. They hang loosely to the sides of the legs and jiggle when the dog walks. They are an accident waiting to happen.
*I should point out here that, contrary to what folklore says, removing dewclaws does not make a dog immune to snake venom. It just prevents a dog from tearing off a vestigal digit while doing its work, playing, or just being a dog.
If you ever have a traumatic dewclaw amputation on a front leg, it changes your whole view of the things. Ugly, bloody, tears up the inside of the leg, bleeds in arterial spurts and hurts like hell for a long time.
I’ve gotten to see it because my breed keeps theirs and I’ve had two torn off. one it was just the nail, the other it was the whole toe.
My friend who has been grooming for twenty five years hates them because joe pet owner does not always pay attention until the nail grows back into the pad.
I don’t remove them but after dealing with injuries to them, I don’t criticize those who do.
My vet advises against it for golden retrievers because they do wear their dewclaws down if they are run regularly– there are times when it touches the ground when the dog changes direction. And they don’t have much of a dewclaw anyway. It’s tiny and it grows really close to the leg.
Those on the hind legs, which goldens don’t have, are a big problem. They jiggle when the dog walks, and know they are only loosely attached.
What breed do you have?
I’m an anti-circumcision crusader, but this issue doesn’t rise to that level to me, although many of the arguments for and against are basically the same. Tradition, prophylactic health concerns, aesthetics, and hygiene / convenience, and even the issue of doctors/vets making some extra money.
It has been fun watching the 12 year old girls bitch at me for the video of one of my puppies having his dew claws removed. The level of discourse is idiot level at best. I imagine they are the key demographic for PeTA.
I stole that “finger” line almost verbatim from a comment on your video of a BC pup having its dewclaws removed.
Have you seen this? http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=r-udsIV4Hmc
Currently I have bulldogs, which because I breed for health and athleticism, (and OFA, PennHIP , CHIC and CERF ) get out and about and in loads more trouble than the average spud with fur people usually think of. They tend to keep their legs upright and drop their chest to turn and pivot at a run so there’s little wear on dew claws which I grind about once a week.
Both dewclaw injuries occurred when they were after lizards or other small prey amongst rock piles or the piled up trees we had to clear a few years ago.
I do have a couple of toy fox which have had their dewclaws off and don’t seem to miss them. Very handy and agile little dynamos.
To be fair to dewclaws, I’ve also had a few avulsions of regular nails. Partial avulsions BTW are rarely treated appropriately by regular vets who like to cut them back. Bad idea. The nail grows back crooked and can cause arthritis at the first joint of the toe. Also, anytime they even touch the nail it hurts!
Per the orthopedic specialist I took my first one to, the best thing to do with a partially dislocated or avulsed nail is to grab it and pull it all the way off while immediately while the dog is pumping out plenty of his own endorphins . Or have the vet do it under local or general anesthesia. Comes off like the end of a crab claw, needs cleaning and bandaging for a few days then dries up and will grow back very well but it’s pretty gruesome!
Still nothing like the dewclaw that tore off and up the inside of the poor dogs leg.
If bulldogs have front dewclaws like my “golden boxer,” then they really are a bit of a hazard.
I’ve been around several boxers, and they all had their dewclaws removed.
Historically, retrievers have their dewclaws left on, but as they became common as regular hunting dogs, their breeders often removed them.
Does the bulldog standard allow the removal of dewclaws?
No, bulldogs keep their claws. And tails if they are born with the longer spiked tail. Spike tails are allowed in the standard and preferred by many breeders as they are, for obvious reasons, healthier for the dog. Most spiked tails are two to five inches, but I’ve seen some that hung to the the hock. Keeping vets and back yard breeders from docking them is a challenge because people are more accustomed to the short kinked tail. Any tail that curls or corkscrews is a fault but that has been rather shamefully overlooked. Same with the fact that they are required to have straight leg bones, a well arched neck and a broad, wide well opened nose.
We used to have language in the golden retriever standard that specified that feathering couldn’t be excessive. Same thing in the American cocker. Now, it no longer exists in either standard, and look at the dogs.
Even if it’s in there it can be overlooked. Thankfully i’ve never been a Dedicated Follower of Fashion! :-)
Never had an issue with dews. Both my dogs have retained theirs, and I find, that both “use” those little buggers to an extent (only front ones). Eye itching, hanging onto bones while belly up on the floor, using them to manipulate the key to start the car etc. Actually to watch them manipulate toys with their front paws is quite something and the dews plays a role in that. I don’t have an issue with removal per-say (had a dobe with dews removed), I just wouldn’t do it myself, unless, as said, they were hanging on by a thread and very loose just waiting for disaster to happen.
My JRT plays in the woods, digs, and competes in agility, with never once an issue. Claws get cut once a week, the dews included, so no problem with growing into themselves. Hers are very tight, my bulldogges are also fairly tight so I don’t think there would ever be an issue. I would hate to see it happen, sounds awful and very painful.
Dews are optional in my breed. I tend to agree with Dr M Christine Zink on the subject of dews although really I am at the whim of a breeder.
http://jandemellobordercollie.com/DewClaws.htm
I think dogs use their dew claws; my first Lab had them, and my current one does as well though I had thought they’d be removed per the contract, and was happy to see them. He climbs with them–especially over slippery logs in water, you can really see it–scratches himself with them, holds things with them.
The flat-coat does not have them, and that’s okay too. She’s so heedless in terms of speed and jumping and cornering, it’s probably just as well. Plus, anything close to a thumb on her would be asking for trouble…
My first Lab tore just the nail–skidding on gravel–and it was a bloody mess but luckily only a superficial injury. Still, I can understand why people worry about tearing a dew claw badly.
I’m working on trying not to control everything–I’m happy to surrender the dew-claw thing to a breeder every five or seven years, I guess.
Front dewks are the fifth digit found in all canids. They are functional, and unless something is wrong with them, should be left on. They are part of the structure of the wrist assembly.
Rear dewks are a mutation, are found in no wild canids, are not functional, and should be removed. They are the dog equivalent of polydactyly in cats, except the digits are normally very loosely attached and easy to remove in the newborn pup.
Standards that require that double rear dewks be left on as a fancy point are absurd. I don’t give a damn about “tradition,” much less “purity.”
In our breed, rear dewks do seem to crop up in dogs descended from the kennel of a breeder who crossed in Beauceron. I’ve never heard of doubles in ES, though.
I generally agree with you, but you can see the logic of removing them, especially if someone has had a dog tear one of its front dewclaw.
BTW, there are wolves with hind dewclaws, albeit ones that have been involved in miscegenation with Italian domestic dogs.
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/science/nature/3602741.stm
I remember one of the stray dogs we “rehabilitated and rehomed.” The dog was a “bench-legged feist” with lots of hound in her. She had the dewclaws on her hind legs, and we debated over and over having them removed. We never did.
My first flatcoat had dewclaws. My second, third and fourth did (or do) not. My nearly five year old and barely three year old have them.
The only nail injury any of my dogs have had (aside from sanding them down to the quick while diving off of the side of our pool) was experienced by my first boy. He caught the outer-most nail of his left front foot on the carpeting in the hall. It bled for hours, needed veterinary assistance, and took forever to heal.
Dogs do use their dewclaws. I’ve watched my fcrs that have them manipulate chew toys using their dew claws. I’ve seen slow-motion video & photos showing contact of dew claws when cornering.
In the show world, some people think that a leg without a dewclaw presents a cleaner line. That perception has changed dramatically since more European dogs are being shown in the U.S. Now, fewer and fewer flatcoat breeders are subjecting their litters to the stress of dewclaw removal.
I have seen some puppies that experienced health problems a day or two after dewclaw removal. Might they have experienced problems without the amputation? Perhaps. But the stress of removal seems to trigger some problems.
Here’s a really good debate on it: http://borderwars.blogspot.com/2008/12/dewclaw-debate.html
I don’t remove dewclaws, but you can see why some people do.
Dogs might use their dewclaws for all sorts of things, but they don’t use them to the extent cheetahs do:
“Cheetahs bring down quarry either by tripping it or knocking it off balance with a sideward or downward blow to its hindquarters. One running much slower or standing is pulled down by rearing and hooking its shoulder or flank with a dewclaw and yanking backward.”
http://www.spfdbus.com/JessZoo/Cheetahbabies/info/hunting.htm
There are so many factors. I might make a different decision if I had a breed that was prone to dewclaw injury. I might make a different decision if my dog ran frequently through terrain that might catch and tear dewclaws.
I rarely have to grind more off of my dogs’ dewclaws than off of their other nails.
OTOH, I’ve received some very dramatic scratches when one of my dogs dewclaw encountered my bare arm.
I think it should be the breeder’s choice, as long as the dewclaws are removed very early. The surgery for an older dog is much more traumatic, and I wouldn’t recommend it unless medically necessary.
Goldens have a very hard time tearing their dewclaws, and many of the early photos show working retrievers with Dewclaws:
Culham Copper– look at his dewclaws: https://retrieverman.files.wordpress.com/2009/03/culham-copper.jpg
However, I know people who run coonhounds who would never run a coonhound with dewclaws.
Coonhounds tend to have the big front dewclaws that hang really loose off the limb.
My “golden boxer” had this type of dewclaw, but she never tore them.
But she wasn’t a raccoon trailing specialist that leaped at trees and ran through dense brush, nose taking over her whole brain and being. (That’s my description of a coonhound’s behavior.)
Im just hooked on your blog lol after reading one of your earlier posts.
i don’t really know where to go so i guess i’ll just ask it here if you don’t mind (i’m only in my young teens so please excuse any typo’s or grammar mistakes)
i have a chihuahua about 11 Ibs and she just came limping in here. She was favoring her right hind leg and really wouldn’t let me get a look at it because she kept snapping but i think she might have pulled out the dewclaw she had back there.
I saw a bald spot and some…hole? i think ,where the dewclaw on her back leg use to be. though i didn’t see any blood but she had been licking it for sometime because when i just noticed her limping in here her fur was ruffled and looked like it had been licked.
i gave her less than half a pill of baby medicine and mixed that with some cheese to get her to eat it. and i tried washing it with a damp napkin but she wasn’t really helping.
but i was just wondering if anyone could tell me if there is anything else i need to do? i won’t be able to get a hold of my mom tell tomorrow and the vet office was closed when i called
=(
If she’ll let you touch it, I’d put some gauze on it and wrap it, but not too tight.
Dewclaws can bleed a lot. So keep an eye on it.
Does she have dewclaws on her other hind leg?
If she has them on one leg, she will have them on the other.
she is sleeping on the couch right now, so i think i’ll try to wrap it up while she is calm, thanks, and i think she does have one on the other foot, my other male chihuahua has dew claws on both of his hind legs as well
but thank you so much, i didn’t know what to do and was completely freaking out.
“There is some anecdotal evidence that dewclaw removal causes carpal arthritis. I know of any good studies to suggest that this is the case.”
Could you clarify your statement, quoted above? Did you mean you DON’T know of any good studies? Or did you mean you know of MANY good studies?
I’m guessing it’s the former but it’s not clear. If it’s the latter, got any links? Thanks.
I’ve heard anecdotal evidence– from vets.
However, I’ve not read any good studies on it.
[…] Extra digits on the foot: Beauceron, Briard, Great Pyrenees, Norwegian […]
A common smear tactic by right wingers is to completely disregard context so they can make the claim than they are merely quoting. But this is called contextomy and is deliberate and usually malicious distortion. As is usual, putting the alleged quote into fuller context shows a different picture (hats off again to Media Matters on this, who despite idiotic right wing bashing to the contrary has far, FAR more integrity than any conservative news source, including the WSJ):