Dewclaws...

Can anyone give me information on doggie's dewclaws? Here goes, Jesse has killer dewclaws. They constantly scratch us (sometimes drawing blood). She has no idea she does it and feels really bad when she realizes she does it, but if it happens to the wrong person we can get in big trouble. We constantly take her to Petsmart for her "manicure", but it really doesn't help the dewclaws. I've also noticed that lately, my sofas look as if we've owned a cat. There are so many "scrapes" and "pulls" in it. Now, here's the big question and I really just want information. Someone suggested to me that when the time comes to get Jesse's teeth cleaned, to have them pull the dewclaws while she is under. They said the dewclaws are more used for the male, not the female, when mating and that it really has no effect on females. Jim thinks getting them pulled is a great idea because he is the biggest "victim" to the dewclaw disaster. I however am not convinced. Is the pain and cruelness similar to that of getting a cat declawed? I would rather have my sofas messed up than putting Jesse through something unecessary and cruel, but at the same time if it's something that would "protect" her in the long run -- that is, her being a pit bull mix and possibly drawing blood from someone by accident, you know where this could lead, the "big bad pit pull" syndrome that is sweeping North America -- then it's something I would consider. I don't really know much information on this subject, so any and all information is greatly appreciated.

One of my girlfriend's had the dewclaws removed from her Golden as she (the dawgy, not my girlfriend) kept ripping them while climbing over things resulting in emerg runs to the Vet. No reports of pain or loss of function.

She definitely "plays" with them more often than her other nails when they get stuck on things. I forgot to put that in here.

I don't understand why they're so sharp. Are you sure the manicurist is cutting them? Sometimes they forget... I've never been cut by my babies dews unless I forget to cut them a couple of times.

But if you must get them removed, Boo had his hind ones removed and there was one stitch (the incision was about 1/4" long) and he didn't even know (but he was pretty young too).

well, your veterinarian can perform a surgery to remove them if they are getting caught on things and causing pain to the dog but htey usually wont perform the surgery unless its harming the dog. Otherwise they can remove the dewclaws only when they are puppies(within 5 days of being born). If you ask your veterinarian they can show you exactly how short the dewclaws can be cut and you can try cutting them yourself to make sure they are as short as possible. You just have to be careful not to cut the quick! Sometimes dogs have long quicks which means that you can't cut them very short but the more often you trim the nails the more the quick will receed.

[QUOTE=Prin]I don't understand why they're so sharp. Are you sure the manicurist is cutting them? Sometimes they forget... I've never been cut by my babies dews unless I forget to cut them a couple of times.
[QUOTE]

I don't understand why they are so sharp either. They do cut them and I watch them. They also file them after they cut them, but they are still sharp. Her other nails are fine, but the dewclaws, ugh. She has drawn blood from my dad. He has relatively thin skin so it's easy to do, I just worry if it happens to someone else. It's the ones on Jesse's front paws. I've never been cut by any of my dogs dewclaws in the past, but Jesse -- Oh My! I sometimes wonder if her's are maybe turned out a bit more than other dogs and that is why they kill!

From what everyone is posting here, it doesn't seem like it's a big deal to dogs, is it? I think I might consider doing it. My next vacation is in June. Maybe I'll set up a teeth cleaning/dewclaw removal then so I can keep an eye on my baby.

IF the dewclaws are very loose and floppy, having them removed probably wont' be a problem.

If they are firmly attached, removing them can cause a big problem for your dog. Pain and infection are common.

What I would do is teach my dog to stop jumping on people if they are being scratched that way.

I just keep my dog's dewclaws clipped and you can file the ends so they are not ragged and catching on things. My dog doesn't jump up on anyone so there is no problem with scratches.

Boo was probably around 6 months when we had the back ones removed. They were huge and the vet was pretty sure they'd rip off in the snow.

What I would do is teach my dog to stop jumping on people if they are being scratched that way.


It's not necessarily her jumping on people. When she plays it usually happens or if she wants to go out, it happens. She sits in front of us and wraps her paw on your arm and pulls you to say "it's time to go out" and we get it. As with my dad, well he's the "rough" playmate for her. They have a ball together, but my dad always has blood on his arm.

I think I'm probably going to look into getting it done.

What if you just tape or bandage them when your dad is around?

Well that's not an issue now because they are in Maryland and we are in Florida. And in all honesty, it doesn't bother my dad too much. He knows he instigates her a little.

My worry is that she may get excited around someone that will take it the wrong way, you know with her being a pit bull. We have pretty good recall, but not 100%, which is why we are never off leash. She does jump when anyone first walks into the house, but has gotten better since we've been focusing on the "off" command. I just think it might be a good "preventative" thing to do.

She sits in front of us and wraps her paw on your arm and pulls you to say "it's time to go out" and we get it.

I have a pit bull too, and she also gets SUPER excited. If you "get it" and pay attention to her when she grabs you that way, you are teaching her to do it.

I taught my dog that was not going to make demands on me by totally ignoring any pawing or nudges. Turn away or walk away. When she's politely waiting for you, THEN she gets what she wants.;) She'll catch on quickly - mine sure did!

I would not subject my dog to surgery for something that is easily fixed with training.

We had our first dog's (who lived until he was 18) dewclaws removed and the never had any problems due to them being removed.

there is a huge difference between the back declaws and front declaws. I am with lucky, keep them short, dremmel them. Training...... They use the front ones like thumbs when playing. it is the back ones that have no purpose. That is why many breeders remove declaws in back.....NEVER in front.
They are also more solidly put in the front than in the back, so it will take alot more healing time.

That is why many breeders remove declaws in back.....NEVER in front.
Actually there are breeders who remove the font dewclaws because they can cause problems if ripped off, and it's not as traumatic if they are removed while the dog is still very small. My mother's whippet had his removed on the front by the breeder before we got him. The breeder told my mother that this would be done because of the problems that she had had with her own dogs whose were not removed before BJ was even born. He has had no problems whatsoever.

I am planning on having Candi's removed because I am at the vet at least every two months or so because she gets them caught on stuff and they pull off and bleed profusely. I keep them cut very short but they are really loose and floppy. I'm not sure why your dogs would be so sharp. Have you tried filing them after they have been cut to keep the ends from being ragged?

Try teaching her not to grab or jump first. Removing the dewclaws should be a last resort because it does cause pain and some dogs have trouble with them healing correctly. But all in all it is not a terribly hard procedure, and if they heal correctly there shouldn't be any trouble.

Actually there are breeders who remove the font dewclaws because they can cause problems if ripped off, and it's not as traumatic if they are removed while the dog is still very small. My mother's whippet had his removed on the front by the breeder before we got him. The breeder told my mother that this would be done because of the problems that she had had with her own dogs whose were not removed before BJ was even born. He has had no problems whatsoever.

My old dobie who was a show doggy before we got him had his in the front removed too. Some doggies have thumbies that are very flush with the leg and others protrude. Boo's stick out pretty far and they have a fairly big pad on them, but he is so aware of his thumbs that he's careful with them.

I finally found a pic to show you Boo's thumbies...

My last dog Travis had his back dewclaws removed at 6 months and it was terrible, he had about 8 stiches in them and they got infected. He pulled out the stiches once and then had them redone, his feet were scared forever. I never used this vet again even though he was from the Scarb Animal control.
I never even thought about getting his front ones done just the back as the vet said that he would tear them running through the bush and so on, the back ones were more floppy than the front. I wouldn't get it done to the front ones personaly but thats just me its up to you but it does take a long time to heal and hopefully they won't get infected. It would be painful too.

I think I have a lot to think about with this. Jesse's nails stick out like Boo's, possibly a little further and she has small pads (or they look like they stick out further because of the small pads :o ), but I think because of that it's a disadvantage for her and us. As for the training issue, she really is fine. It's basically anytime we contact each other, we get the claw. We can't even "shake" because we get the claw. It seriously is bad. If we do decide to do it, it'll be in June at the beginning of my next vacation so I could be with her for the week. We'll see, I'll let everyone know what we decide when we make that decision. I appreciate all the information given to us. We have to sit down and talk about it.

If you do get it done get it done by the best vet you know (best vet for surgeries). The difference seems to be staggering for this surgery. Boo's thumbs in the back were huge and the incision was tiny, but another dog at our park had hers done and the incision was almost 2 inches long. Since the feet get dirty, it would make sense to strive for the smallest incision possible to avoid infection... (jmo)

When I had Rusty spayed, I asked my vet to remove her dewclaws. The vet informed me they were to "deep"? I guess those are the tighter ones? Anyways I just keep the ends trimmed best I can. She isn't thrilled with it, but dang they do get sharp!