Beth G Posted July 14, 2007 Report Share Posted July 14, 2007 My vet told me the same thing. And I agree. Get them (I'm talking only the rears)removed while the dog is already put under for a spay or neuter. Plus then you are only putting your dog through one surgery, rather than two, and he/she only has to heal up once. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AK dog doc Posted July 14, 2007 Report Share Posted July 14, 2007 I'm getting it straight that you refer to the rear dews being removed and not all, correct? Correct. To reiterate my original post in this thread (which I'm assuming you missed, since I *hope* I stated my position clearly ), I do NOT advise that normal, healthy front dews be removed unless there are extenuating circumstances, such as that the dog is a sled dog (in which case the front dews usually get so abraded by the booties that they are a total disaster area). Occasionally the dog will be worked in terrain that is brushy/shrubby enough to be an issue, though in most types of rough terrain the front dews would be an asset, not a liability. Abnormal front dews that are creating a problem are an exception (we had one dog that had a leg-hold-trap injury, for instace, and another that had gotten a leg wrapped in a cable and injured). Rear dews are typically another matter, for me; they are far more accident-prone than normal front-leg dews and therefore are more of a liability risk for the dog than the fronts are, without the corresponding benefits that the front dews have. To put it another way, the front dews are low-risk, high-benefit toes from the point of view of foot function. The rear dews are (realtively) higher-risk, zero-benefit toes from the point of view of foot function. They may or may not create problems, but they confer no benefit. The fronts confer clear benefits and only rarely cause problems in normal dogs. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Brandon M Posted July 14, 2007 Author Report Share Posted July 14, 2007 I do NOT advise that normal, healthy front dews be removed unless there are extenuating circumstances thats what I thought, I've just been on the the run all day and hadn't thought/looked back. Thank you AK Dog Doc. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BayouBC Posted July 14, 2007 Report Share Posted July 14, 2007 I would never have a front dewclaw removed unless there was injury. The only way I would approve of having them removed is if the breeder had the litter done when they're still just days old. Otherwise, I think it's just pointless. Both of my ACD mixes had a rear dewclaw on their right leg (and they were unrelated, oddly enough). My oldest, Reece, constantly caught his on things as a puppy and it would tear at the skin and bleed. The nail also hooked completely back so even while we constantly trimmed it, it still would hook back and rub the pad. So we had had it removed while he was under for his neuter. When the second ACD mix, Parker, came along and had one, we just went ahead and had it removed during his neuter too even though he didn't have any problems with it. So far as I know neither of my BC's had rear dewclaws since I've never felt a scar there, but it's possible they were just removed well. Oddly enough, I just had my first foster come in with rear dewclaws this week. Burrow actually has double dewclaws in the rear, and they're very floppy and point out in odd directions. So when he's neutered, he'll definitely be losing them. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Beth G Posted July 14, 2007 Report Share Posted July 14, 2007 Pepper has obviously had hers removed(forcefully? Badly?) and I don't know what they did, but on the one, it is bald around the incision site and has been since we got her at 8 wks. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Join the conversation
You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.