Dr. Stacy, My 4-month-old puppy still has his dewclaws. Dew claws should be removed at a very early age, ie between 1 and 3 days of age. My dog is 6 months old and we are thinking of removing the dewclaws when he is being neutered as advised by the vet.. His dewclaws nails are getting too long and whenever we cut them, they seem to bleed really bad (even when the vet tries to cut them.. Dew Claws by: Donna No, never remove dew claws. We've got it wrapped and put some ointment on it with some hydrogen peroxide. Removing Dew Claws Hello I just happened across this message board when doing a search on "dew claws" on Google. ... but said not to do anything until 6 months. Rear dew claws are often like this. Dew Claws removed at 5 months The breeder removed the front dew claws right after she was born, but didn't realize that she had rear ones. I is interesting to note that some vets will not remove dew claws … Many breeds have floppy dew claws that can easily snag and rip. * DEW CLAWS * Lachelle Beene asks: Hi All,"My puppy BT (9.5 months old) snagged her dew claw last night. Dew claw removal (outside of removal for traumatic injuries) should be done at around 3-5 days of age. I was not aware of this, until we waited too long to have them clipped, like a month with his regular nails, and his dew claws had curled around. Any pyr lover will tell you, never never never remove the double dew claws. Muttly Fluffy Mutts Rule! We left them on and he was hunted at least 60 days a year on waterfowl and lots of upland. One of the puppies became an all-breed BIS winner even with dew claws. Mine has her dew claws removed. What Are Dew Claws? Dew claws are part of most dog's normal biology, and just like the rest of your dog's nails, they require some care to ensure that they are healthy and don't cause your dog any pain or trouble. It grows high up on the leg. Like Choup said—it's normal for most LBD's (any hunting dog) to have them removed, but some people don't because of the rarity of dew claw related injuries, extra vet procedure, pain on dog. We adopted a 14 week old Rat Terrier puppy from a rescue almost a month ago. I would remove the dewclaws on all four feet. He’s 7 yrs old now and no problems so far. The nails on them are very hard to clip on that claw anyway especially when it starts to curl back to the leg/pad area of the foot. I have had many foster Pyrs through and there has never been an issue. My vet said he is only seen a couple dew claws torn in his 30 years of practice and does not know why people insist on removing them as long as they keep them trimmed. By the time your dog is an adult, the dew claws are developed and very vascular, meaning surgery to remove them would be invasive. Muttly likes this. It never comes in contact with the ground. #9 R55Chewie, Feb 5, 2016. I haven’t had anyone ask me that in a very long time. I have a small mutt that had back dew claws, and had them removed when he was neutered/castrated at about 6 months old. Some breeders choose to electively have the dew claws removed during the first five days of the puppy’s life for aesthetic appearances, especially in full breed animals. Dog Dew Claw Removal. The dog dew claw removal costs. On my last litter--16 years ago--I kept them on. When you wait to have them done it is surgery and it costs us $30.00 or $35.00 over the spaying. When I used to have puppies I took off the dew claws myself at about two days of age. They can be removed at any age, but if it is done when the puppy is more than 10 days old it is a surgical removal because the soft tissues are too hardened to remove them without anesthesia. I had a very small, very sharp pair of sidecutters and I clipped the dew claws off as close to the base as I could. Anytime you talk about removing something from a dog’s body, there is a debate about it. Keep in mind that removing the dewclaws in other breeds, like Great Pyrenees, disqualifies them from the show ring. Some dew claws are floppy and attached barely by a flap of skin. Unique Double Dew Claws. This is a barbaric practice meant for those who can't be bothered to trim nails regularly. It doesn’t mean it’s unhealthy, they can live with it and not feel any different. IMO, removing the rear dew claws has far more benefits than neutering them, so that's a good logic for me (mine are kept entire). The answer is no. Dewclaw removal may be recommended if the dewclaw is deformed or if extra dewclaws are present. At this time the bone is still soft and very little pain is felt by the pup. We did them on litters up until sometime around 2002, when other breeders were already starting to stop removing them. If you dog isn’t a working dog, vets typically remove them at a young age. Removing dew claws after a certain age is a controversial subject, but I'll offer a differing opinion and I can take the heat...LOL I have Bostons and a Frenchie - both Bostons had theirs removed a day or two after birth. I would like to have them removed but I don't want him in pain. If you have dealt with them, your experiences may factor into how you feel about them. What is the procedure for this? I just had someone ask me if we remove dew claws on our dogs. We remove their dew claws at 2-3 days old. I think we can conclude that some people are going to consider the practice barbaric, while others are going to offer reasons why it should be done. She tore me up when jumping up and especially bath time. If there’s one thing that can get Great Pyrenees lovers worked up (okay, there’s a lot of things, but just hang in with me), it’s the discussion of removing the double dew claws. I do have them removed at 3 days old but occasionally one grows back and people freak out like the dog is deformed. Short Brief On Dew Claws and the Removal Procedure. Treating Dewclaw Injuries. The double dew claws on the Great Pyrenees are very strong due to being attached by a bone; they act as a sort … I have been asked by a police and military dog trainer to take them off because of the high incidence of injury. Often removed by the breeder, they are gone before you take the puppy home, meaning you never really give them a second thought. Puppy dew claws will always be removed within days after the puppies were born, usually when they are three to four days old, and the costs, from what we researched, will really depend on your vet, geographical location and what may be included at the time during the dew claw removal as many vets will want to also include the vaccinations and perform an … He has dark nails.. Anyway, our vet recommended leaving the wraps on for 5 days, but when we removed them Kenai licked the wounds till they opened up again. Maybe a drop or two. Dew claws are found not just on dogs but on other mammals as well as birds and reptiles. I talked about the reasons (and lack thereof, sometimes) for removing dew claws from dogs. A dog dew claw is similar to a thumb (complete with a toenail) — but it grows a bit higher up on the paw than the rest of the toenails on that paw. I had my mini chihuahuas dew claws removed at 5 months of age. Any nail can become partially or completely pulled off, broken, split, infected, or ingrown (if not properly trimmed). In Removing Dew Claws from Dogs – Should You Do It? No reputable breeder would ever recommend this. Thank Electively removing the dew claws has the potential to cause stress, pain or infection after to procedure and/or during recovery. My vet said at 2 years the surgery was very envolved with tendions and all. Very little bleeding. To be clear, removal of double dews is amputation requiring the surgical cutting away of bones, tendons, and nerves. ; Dewclaw removal is frequently performed when pets are very young (between 3 and 5 days old) Bad mommy! Think of it as a dog’s thumb, not having much purpose like an extra finger. Most vets will NOT remove front dew claws on a dog that old because it is a more painful procedure, as it involves amputation of the toe. If you have a pup or are getting one, I strongly recommend that you have them taken off. Thank you for not doing it. Our dogs for the most part do not participate in shows but are working K9s. However, Shayna had only front dew claws and my Vet recommended removing them when we had her spay at 6 months. My Frenchie's had never been removed. Cobi has his dew claws and they are a pain. Dogs don’t need dew claws anyway so do yourself a favor and have them removed at an early age. Absolutely not. Removing dew claws from dogs is often done, but there’s a lot of debate surrounding the issue. When I first started breeding, i always had them removed. What I was told and read when I did some research, is that if they are not removed when they are very, very young, they will actually attach to the bone (as they should) and then removing them at a later stage is VERY painful and may not heal for sometimes, months, yes months. You could think of a dew claw as sort of a thumb. Joined: Oct 1, 2014 Messages: 13,721 Likes Received: 15,593. Dew claws can easily get ripped especially in walking or running on rough rocky terrain, it also reduces the risk of the dog catching its eyes with the claws should it paw its own face or even the face of a sibling when playing. We got the bleeding to stop but can't really see how much damage there was, but it didn't seem like a lot. I think she had a reason. Never a problem even with the rear dew claws. While dewclaw injuries are relatively rare, they certainly do occur. They don't really serve any purpose to a dog, but have the slight potential for injury. dew claws I had a dalmatian with dew claws. A normal castration for a puppy the size that mine was at the time was $80.00. Removing them at 6 months of age will cause a lot of pain. They are easily removed. If the dew claw is attached by bone, then that's a different situation. Chinook has his dew claws and Maia does not, and they both came from a breeder. While different Vets have different fees, and location can make a HUGE difference in those fees, I'll tell you what I paid. My vet taught me how to do the removal myself. As a dog matures the dew claws become quite sensitive. Dewclaw removal may also be recommended for hunting or working dogs or if there is a risk of trauma to the toe. I chose to trim the nail with the digits and lived for 12 more yrs. 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