dew claws (breeders, training, beagle, kennel)

[kelly3120]

Thanks everyone for the compliments! We love him so dearly


Jim we call him a Border Cody! but Boderline will now be added to his name

shelby, some think he's a Aussie mix(we think he's Aussie/sheltie/b.c.) and I am so thrilled he still has that wonderful tail.

thanks everyone for information.

here are pics of them. His front ones are secure and attached and we wouldn't consider taking them off.
my hub was feeling around tonight and thinks there is NO BONE at all between the claw and foot. He got it caught last week and I felt horrible for him. It hadn't happened but one time before BUT now that he's messing with them constantly we feel we need to take action. I cut the nail almost weekly to keep it as safe as possible.

[Dashdog]

Jazz had rear dew claws like that and the vet suggested I have him remove them when she was spayed as he said the floppy ones like that just get caught on things and can be quite painful when they do . She got spayed when she was 16 weeks and the back dew claws were removed. She recovered with out a problem and though she did come home with them wrapped she would not keep the wrapping on them. She was not in the cone collar as she left her stitches alone and the vet did not think she needed that. So I just kept an eye out for any signs of infection and she did fine.

I got Dash at 1 yr and he had had both front and back dew claws removed probably as a puppy. Don't know why they removed the front as to me that would be like having your thumb removed.

Kelly, Your dog is beautiful no matter what his breeds are!

[Katie1]

Kelley as a breeder I missed taking the dew claws off one of my pups. Sold him to a friend. At about a yr old he got 1 hooked on something. Any way I smeated Oraljel [toothache numbing meds] around the dew claw and snipped them off. So chances are your vet might do the same & not put him to sleep. [Use a local I mean]

[Tracysherm]

Here's a strange bit of advice, for what it's worth. There are some vets who are certified to use laser techniques for cat claw removal. I wonder if this is done for the removal of dogs' dew claws? You can inquire about it.

We have several cats, and some had traditional declawing surgery, and some had laser declawing by a vet certified with the laser. The ones who had the laser declawing recovered much quicker (about 4 days and they were completely normal, plus no bleeding) as opposed to those who had the traditional procedure (about 10 days recovery, and you still have to watch for bleeding, etc.) The vet told us that with the laser technique, there are no stitches needed, and the wounds are immediately cauterized by the laser. Of course they said to allow 7-10 days recovery time, but they were all fine in about 4 days or less.

Try searching for local vets who use lasers, perhaps you'll have a better chance if you are near universities.

Our dog had his dew claws removed when he was a few days old, before we ever saw him, but I know it can be harder on a full grown animal. Our cats who had the laser claw removal were all adults, and they had no complications at all. I imagine that the anatomy and techniques for cats and dogs are not that different. Plus, dogs don't put weight on the dew claws.

[bjh]

(wincing mightily on behalf of your dog)

My friend has a 6-year-old Pyrenees with his dew claws. Big old things. To me this is kind of like the docking of tails on some breeds, not always necessary. Anyone keep the dewclaws on their dogs?

[kelly3120]

Originally Posted by bjh

(wincing mightily on behalf of your dog)

My friend has a 6-year-old Pyrenees with his dew claws. Big old things. To me this is kind of like the docking of tails on some breeds, not always necessary. Anyone keep the dewclaws on their dogs?

we've kept them thus far but getting them snagged on something is like when your pinky toe gets stuck on the door frame but you keep walking times ten(from what I've heard and from what Cody sounded like when he hurt his).

Katie I will mention that to the vet. I don't want him put under if we can avoid it. These things are seriously barely attached. Less skin there then a ear lobes worth.

[cleosmom]

kelly3120, I think it would be in his best interest to remove the those back dew claws as yes he could indeed get them caught on something and it'll hurt like the dickens.

If it were me, I'd see if he were due for a dental at the same time if it's needed/possible.

He's a cute Aussie mix, we have one that boards at work looks a little like him

[kelly3120]

thanks everyone!
we are all set for next Thursday! it will be between 200-250 but it needs to be done. There are things like extra blood work I refused as he has had blood work done recently.

He said its the vein going through the toe that makes the surgery kinda tricky ...yuck!

We were gonna do it tomorrow but he would have to be calm for ten days(ha!) and we are going to my parents vineyard on Sunday so I want him to be able to run. The vet said he agrees to hold off and let Cody have a good run before some down time.

I wish there was a way I could drop him off right before they do the surgery, rather then in the morning. He was so traumatized by the pound experience. He's plastered to me in a sit the whole time we are at the vets.

there was a bi-black collie pup there and it was so gorgeous ...off subject! I LOVE COLLIES!

[kelly3120]

Cody his home from his surgery and he is so frustrated. He keeps running into walls w/ his collar(because he's use to clipping corners) and cries randomly out of frustration.
he gets mad and tries to pull the collar off, which makes me feel bad.

When I dropped him off his ears went back and looked like the puppy I got from the pound. I told them he's sensitive about pound/kennel settings and they kept him upfront to keep him out of the kennel barky area. Which was very nice of them.

They said it went very well, he didn't bark at all(strange ...maybe he was scared).
I'm glad it went well ...hopefully the next few days of recoop will go well
wish us luck

[Blondie621]

I never heard of anyone doing it before!