# Question: Dewclaw Removal?



## blossom (Mar 8, 2005)

Hi all. So I've been wondering about this for a while now. Luna's dewclaws are *so hard* for me to clip. It's pure frustration, first of all because of the difficult position, and secondly _she never keeps still_! And so the end result is that they're barely clipped and almost overgrown. 
Now, taking her to the vet for nail clippings is a bit impractical for me, seeing as how I don't have my own transportation, and I'm not quite sure how much it would cost every time.
Which leads me to the question: should I have her dewclaws removed? She just turned two years (today, actually!<3). Are there going to be too much complications? Or is she going to be slow to recover?

What should I do?

Thanks in advance for any replies!
~Jackie


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## Alee3 (Apr 6, 2007)

I am going to get Neeko's dewclaws removed when he is neutered because of the reasons you talked about and because my vet suggested it. He said that they can easily get caught on something and lead to worse problems, which is why many breeders remove them on puppies.

I would also love to hear about other owners experiences with having them removed.


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## foxywench (Feb 7, 2005)

it realy depends, are the dewclaws/toes very tight aginst the leg? or are they kind of extended a lil from the leg.

front or back?

i had dodgers back dewclaws done when he was neutered.
his front dewclaws are very close to the leg and tight, but his back were very loose and catching on everything.
after talking to the vet who doesnt like to do the op uless nessicary we decided wed have the back removed and leave the front (i had his done purley for his saftey)
the surgery itself whent smoothly, loose dewclaws are much easier to remove as its a simply slice and stitch deal, however if the dewclaw is tight its often a case that the bones have fused and the toe (whihc is what it is) can be very difficult to remove. theres also some pretty majoy veinage in the area.

dodger recovered quickly from his neuter, the dewclaw removal however was a little more time.
his legs were very tender afterwards and for a couple of days he couldnt walk well and was very sore for a few days. after about a week he was doing much better, the bandages had to stay on a while though and unfortunatly by the time we removed them their was hair growing back in. the removal of the bangadges hurt him as it pulled the hair.
he heald up fine and now youd never be able to tell...
but again his dewclaws were very loose so the op was much less involved than they would be if they had been tight.
also back dewclaw removal is aparently easier on the op and the dog than front.


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## canadiandawn (Jan 11, 2006)

My vet absolutely refused to remove Maggie's dewclaws when I had her spayed. I didn't know this before but he told me that if they aren't removed within the first couple of weeks of life, they fuse to the bone and removal is extremely painful to the dog. I opted not to get this done and learned how to file them rather than cutting them with the clippers.


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## HenrysSam (Apr 14, 2007)

my vet said it wasn't necessary when i asked, as henry's catch on things when they grow. she also said no way should they have been removed when he was a pup either, so it must be a case of personal opinion. i take henry to the vets to get his nails clipped quite often anyway, as he wriggles to much for me to be able to do it on my own. i don't know what i would do if i couldn't get to the vet!


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## Alee3 (Apr 6, 2007)

I forgot to add that only Neeko's back dewclaws would be removed because, like foxy said, they are very loose, stick out, and catch on things. His front ones are fine because they are very close, like the rest of the foot so they don't need to be removed. But now I am nervous if the bone is fused?! then again i don't want them to really get caught on something and be pulled.


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## blossom (Mar 8, 2005)

Ah, I see. Ok then, well if it would be that complicated, then I suppose I shouldn't do it. It's her front legs, and they're fairly tight.

So I'll look in to the filing method... Although I'm not certain how I'll get her to keep still for that! n_n

Thanks for all the replies, guys! :wave:


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## trixiesmom (Jan 31, 2006)

My sheltie has 2 dew claws on 3 of her feet, and are real hard to trim. I talked to two different vets and they both said they wouldn't recommend removing them. My vet now, said to understand why, you don't want to remove them. Compare to your 5 fingers and cut off your thumb. Putting it that way there is no way I will have the dew claws removed.


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## foxywench (Feb 7, 2005)

Alee3 when there loose the surgery is fairly simple, see if it wiggles easy, your vet will be able to judge if the bone has fused and if they think it needs doing.

if there loose its often much less painfull to remove during surgery than to tear them, but many vets dont feel comfortable removing them at all while others like mine will only remove them if there very loose!


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## kingsleychi (Apr 17, 2007)

i tend to get into arguments when i talk about dew claws but wont do it here i swear 

My POV is that is its standard and an animal (human, alien whatever) is born with it then its meant to be there? but im very stubborn like that. I wouldnt remove skylas overlapped ear, but it ended up correcting itself anyway


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## foxywench (Feb 7, 2005)

i usually am the same way, i dont like cropping ears.
and i wouldnt dock a tail on a pet dog (after seeing a cocker break her tail in the feild im ok with docking for working dogs)
i wouldnt usually remove dewclaws, but dodgers were so loose the risk to him keeping them was higher than the risk of removing them, they were stanidng about 1/2 inch away from the leg, and ive seen dogs tear out loose dewclaws.

only 1/4 of chihuahuas are born with rear dewclaws so they mustnt be that important to the survival of the breed, (all are born with front dewclaws) and as i said, id rather prevent the risk of the toe being TORN off by having it surgically removed...
id feel the same way about myself if i had an extra thrumb that kept getting injured and the posibility of severly injuring it, id rather have the extra one removed since its been serving no real purpose. 

but for purley cosmietic or "easier for the owner" reasons im against it.
(ie cropping ears because the owner doesnt want to take an extra 5 minutes to clean the floppy ears once a week)


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## Katie (Apr 9, 2005)

cockers aren't born with those stubby tails? :tard: For years I've been telling people they are born that way :lol:


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## usi2004 (Jun 27, 2006)

i love my cheese said:


> cockers aren't born with those stubby tails? :tard: For years I've been telling people they are born that way :lol:


Made me LOL.  

Malachi and Priya dont even have rear ones...I think? I've never noticed. Their front ones get very long and start to curve around, but its only bc I only trim them but every 2 trimmings bc they are such a pain in the butt. That way I can really get in there when I do. 
I dont see the point of them being removed, unless they are injured or cause problems, like pp..they were born with them.


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## Alee3 (Apr 6, 2007)

Neeko's are super loose, and I am worried that someday one of them will get caught on something and be ripped off. I would never do anything for cosmetic reasons either!!!! I have no problem cutting his nails, I trim them once a week anyway so I would not have them removed because of that.

Do you use a special nail file for dogs to file the nails? His are always rough right after I cut them and I always thought about filing them but didn't know if people did that.


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## foxywench (Feb 7, 2005)

you can use a people nail file to file the nails


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## Katie (Apr 9, 2005)

Tyson doesn't have any.. But Chloe Leila and Jack have front ones and we manage ok. Jack has the lose kind and he hasn't had any problems.. it's actually easier to cut his since they're not tight up against his leg. I personally wouldn't have it done unless he hurt them somehow and needed them removed.


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## Alee3 (Apr 6, 2007)

everyone's comments have really got me thinking, and I think that I am going to just leave his dewclaws now. Has anyone ever had a chi with loose dewclaws that got injured? 

thanks for the nail file tip too!


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## Yoshismom (Jul 6, 2005)

My Sheltie had double dewclaws on his back legs also. My vet told me that they needed to be removed because they were catching on everything and he was worried that they would get ripped out:-( So we had them removed with no complications but they were loose too.


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## usi2004 (Jun 27, 2006)

All of my dogs have dewclaws, and no, none have ever been injured.


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## rachel (Jun 16, 2006)

i love my cheese said:


> cockers aren't born with those stubby tails? :tard: For years I've been telling people they are born that way :lol:


LOL! That's funny Katie! I have seen spaniels (cockers & springers) with longer tails...they look kind of weird to me b/c I'm not used to it. But of course Springers with normally docked tails look long to me b/c I'm used to Sammie's short, stubby, barely there docked tail! (Vet made a boo-boo on the entire litter of possible show dogs! *oops*) 

I haven't seen too many chis with dewclaws. I've seen bigger ones though & like Foxy said, when they're loose, they can snag real easily on things. Usually its only about $10-$15 to have a nail trim done at the vets, groomers, etc. You might check into some of the calming medicines they have. I was just at the holistic pet store the other day & they had several different calming aids for dogs.


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