I have a litter on the way and do not plan to remove dew claws. However while I still have time to re-think my decision, I would appreciate any words of wisdom from those with years of experience. All of the stories that I have heard so far are second or third hand. I have no issues with the ethics and have a great vet. Thanks

We still do the dews. I don't like them. I have perfectly orthopedically-sound dogs that have had them removed with no problems. I know the pros and cons, but prefer the look without them. And those who have purchased show prospects from my litters have also appreciated it. But I have considered leaving them lately, but think I'll still do it.

Wolves have them. Dingoes have them. They function really well in rough terrain.
I know folks who remove them, and folks who don't. Fewer and fewer do dews in Labs. As far as pet folks forgetting to do the dews, well, anyone who can't notice them on a Lab doesn't deserve to have a dog! Most of the same folks I know who insist on taking them off also think that show bred Labs are stupid, and that there is only one color for field dogs--black. To each his or her own, but I have to figure they are there for a reason, especially after seeing running tracks in sand and watching my Lab without them fumble bones compared to those here with them. The last straw was when a friend's litter got terrible upper respiratory infections at the vet after getting dewclaws done. She lost one of the girls, and it was touch and go for a couple weeks on a rare breed litter. She had a coated breed, and stopped doing dews. I'd sure hate to pick up dog flu from the vet smock doing dews! You can't wait either--the only time I almost fainted working at a vet's was assisting a vet taking dews and tails off 9 day old (rather than 3 day old) poodle and schnauzer pups after a blizzard kept the breeders from coming in for a few days. The pups were worse for the front dews than for the rear ones and the tails, which makes sense since the part that nurses are the front feet. I would take off rear dews in a Lab litter, in the rare event that one could have them--Springers can. Yes, somewhat contradictory.

I feel it is not necessary / very painful for the pups/ could affect them later on in a negative way. I would never do it again.

did it the first 10 years of breeding because that is what everyone did.....the last 15 years I do what I want to do,
have not removed them and never had an issue, no reason to cut off body parts it is not necessary for our standards.

in the past 15 years I have never had a dew ripped off, I have however had a middle toe and a side toe ripped off.

I hate the look of dewies...and don't particularly care for them when they snag on the carpet or they catch against my leg, or they catch on their bedding and they start screaming and yelping to get it away. and hate when they put a run in my nylons!

My last litter, i did not have them removed. Mom had a c-section, was a bit neurotic for the first few days, and i struggled to keep her from laying on the pups. i didn't want to introduce any new stress to her. Taking her away from her pups for dewies getting done, or having them in the room while they were getting done, wouldn't have been good for her. So we opted out of doing them, and while i enjoyed the 'break' of getting them done , 5 1/2 months later, i've already had a snag on the carpet with my keeper pup and had some drops of blood as a result. It put him into a panic as well as the other dogs in the house. I wish i would have done them, but knew it was best not to.

I don't risk pups at 1-3 days old going out to the vet's office or taking them out in extreme weather (hot or cold) so for $50 , i pay a house call fee and my vet comes to me. hubby takes momma for a walk and we get 'er done. The one thing i don't like about doing them, is i'm the one holding them. The cutting and the digging i can tolerate, even their cries of being restrained (not pain in my opinion as they squawk before it even is started) - but i don't like watching the nitro stick being shoved in the cut afterwards. i do cringe on that.

i've had with and without and much prefer overall- the without dews. My old neighbor rushed his lab to the emergency clinic for a tear - and his dog was not in the brush - just in the backyard and it tore all to hell. VERY painful for the dog to endure that.

It really is a personal preference,and a choice you have to make and possibly live with if you do or don't.

We take puppies at 3 to 5 days of age to have dew claws removed. My vet cuts off the little dew claw and then puts in 1 stitch. Many times the puppies make a noise but just quickly. After about 130 puppies, I have not had any problems with infection or exposure or anything. We transport in a cooler (with a hot water bottle) in all weather and everyone arrives to vet and back with no problems.

I have had a young dog (bought from other kennel) rip off a dew claw in the field and it was an EXTREMELY painful for the young dog.

I like the look of a clean leg as well.

To each his own, but if you have one of my dogs, they are done.

Had a Beagle years ago that fell thru a frozen pond and hung on with her dew claws while our Labrador ran to the barn for help. She was able to hang on until the horse trainer could pull her out.

I don't remove them on my pups.

But as mentioned - to each his own.

I also have been doing dew claws for over 25 years without a single ill effect. I agree that the pups exhibit only momentary distress, do not stop gaining weight, and Mom is not around, so she isn't stressing out. The main reason NOT to do it, in my opinion, is expense, as I do have it done by my vet. But if the dew claw is torn in an adult, it is very painful. True, it may be a rare injury, but it has happened to several dogs in my circle of acquaintances. My dogs can chew on bones and shoes, eviscerate stuffed toys, and generally create mayhem just fine without their dew claws. I did purchase a puppy who had dew claws, and he finished his championship easily and never had a problem with them except that they needed to be trimmed more frequently. It certainly wouldn't keep me from buying a puppy if the dew claws were left on, but I would be concerned about puppy buyers keeping them trimmed and about field injuries.

"The "stick" used to cauterize the spot following removal is a SILVER NITRATE STICK, not a nitro stick - we're not trying to blow puppies up here!"

Thanks Sharon...
obviously a big error on my part to refer to it as Nitro...i must have had it on my mind playing video games with the kids earlier in the evening! ;-)

but you are correct, nitrate.

"
***how terrible for you!***

****That is a very good reason to keep dog toenails trimmed neatly.***

***That was good thinking***

***But all that cutting,digging and the "nitro" stick being shoved in the wound is not painful as hell?***

***Absolutely*** "

I'm not sure if you are in agreement or disagreement with my post...but regardless....i do maintenance on a weekly basis with all my dogs. Wednesdays are my night - in which i cut all nails and check/clean ears if necessary. I spend one on one with each of them and check them over and do all that. believe me, with dewies or without, nails are trimmed on a regular basis. because i have blacks only- i take off a tiny bit of nail each week - sometimes more if needed. i don't dremel, and it can be difficult with the black nails to ensure i don't hit the quick. i haven't in years...So long nails is absolutely NOT the situation in my home with those that have snagged their dewies on something.

My dogs can also do quite well holding their bones and treats and toys without them. no better than my ones with their dewies on.

It was pointed out on the "nitro" already - so yes...nitrate sticks...i'm sure it's quite uncomfortable for the pups to be restrained like that. There is not a peep out of them within moments afterwards, and all are content with nursing on mom afterwards.
You cannot tell me (you generic) that it is extremely painful at that age, or not painful. they squawk and scream and cry before it even gets started.

Again, to each his own, i prefer to do them, and some prefer not to do them. The cost is not a factor for us here, as it's less than the cost of a tattoo

:-)

OOPS....okay- my bad (again- and two nights in a row.)

Thanks on the notice i used nitro instead of nitrate though. no blame...just appreciate the pointing out of it. will try to be more careful.

I also agree it's a matter of choice. One of ours still has dews and they dew:) catch a little more on the furniture.

If you decide to do them, consider asking vet for lidocaine on the dew site. I did first 2 litters without lido and many with lido. They don't cry at all when lidocaine is used and nurse better right away. I like a clean leg but don't like to stress pups so will not have mine removed without lidocaine. I think I pay about $4 more per pup but it's definitely worth it.

We don't do "the dew" ... haven't had any ill effects. Pups I've purchased as my foundation stock from some wonderful, long time top in the business breeders didn't have them done either ... simply cosmetic in my opinion. and it IS just my opinion .. but I won't remove them on our pups ...

Never did in the past. Last year I had two dogs rip dewclaws right before shows. This year I did new litter- happy I did- they have a nice clean line to their legs now. Plus pet owners won't have to deal with trimming them, which can be trickier.

Don't use silver nitrate sticks anymore- they burn. Just wrap a 1/4 inch wide piece of adhesive tape with the end folded over. The tape falls off in 2 days.

I stopped doing dews about 5 years ago. so far I'm happy.

We do not remove dews. As the owner of a dog debilitated by carpal arthritis enough that I am about to have to make that very hard decision to release him of his pain I remind of Dr. Zinks article....

With A Flick of the Wrist by Chris Zink, DVM, PhD (as seen in Dogs In Canada – September 2003)

In the hundreds of agility trials I have attended over the years, only rarely have I seen a dog suffer an acute, serious injury. An exception happened in early May this year. I was relaxing at ringside, enjoying one of the rare rain free moments this spring offered, watching a bi-black Sheltie named 'Shadow' negotiate the Open Jumpers course with smooth abandon. Suddenly the dog took a misstep, completely misjudged where he should take off, and crashed into the jump. As he fell, his front legs landed on the fallen jump bars, and he immediately let out an agonized scream. He was still crying as he was carried out of the ring. I ran over to help and examined the dog in a shady area some distance from the ring.

Shadow's left front leg was extremely painful and he held it stiffly away from his body. In a few minutes he had relaxed enough for me to determine that there were no major bone breaks. In fact, the main problem appeared to be a severe sprain of the carpus (wrist). Later X-rays not only confirmed my finding, but interestingly showed that the dog had preexisting arthritic changes in the carpal joints of both front legs. Thus, although this dog did have an acute agility injury, he had chronic problems, too. In fact, it is possible that the arthritis contributed to his lack of coordination in approaching the jump.

Once Shadow was on the mend, his human teammate had many questions for me. How common is carpal arthritis in performance dogs? How painful is carpal arthritis and what can be done to relieve the pain? Will Shadow still be able to play agility, obedience and other fun doggie games? Since carpal arthritis is quite common, I thought I would share the answers in this column.

In the last several years, while doing sports-medicine consultations for performance dogs across Canada and the United States, I have seen many canine athletes with carpal arthritis. Interestingly, this condition is much more common in dogs that have had their front dewclaws removed. To understand why, it is helpful to understand the structure of the carpus. This joint consists of seven bones that fit together like fieldstones that are used to build the walls of a house

The carpus joins to the radia and ulnar bones (equivalent to our lower arm), and to the metacarpal bones (equivalent to our hand). Each bone of the carpus has a convex or concave side that matches a curve on the adjacent bone. Unlike the bones of the elbow, for example.

The elbow bones have ridges that slide into interlocking grooves the bones of the carpus do not have ridges that slide into interlocking grooves on the adjacent bone. The relatively loose fit of the carpal bones is supported by ligaments that join each of the carpal bones to the adjacent bones.

With so many carpal bones that don't tightly interlock with the adjacent bones, the ligaments of this joint can be easily stretched and even torn when torque (twisting) is applied to the leg. The dewclaws have the important function of reducing the torque that is applied to the front legs, especially when dogs are turning at a canter (the main gait used in agility).

In the canter, there is a moment during each stride when the dog's accessory carpal pad (on the back of the carpus) of the lead front leg touches the ground and the rear legs and other front leg swing forward to prepare for the next stride. At this point, the dewclaw is in contact with the ground and if the dog turns, the dewclaw can dig in for extra traction to prevent unnecessary torque on the front leg. Without the gripping action of the dog's 'thumbs’ there is more stress on the ligaments of the carpus. This may cause the ligaments to stretch and tear over time, resulting in joint laxity and ultimately, arthritis.

There are many more options for treating dogs with arthritis today than there were just a few years ago. Here are some of them.

1) Weight reduction. The more weight your dog carries around, the more stress there will be on the joints. This is a particular problem in dogs with carpal arthritis, because the front legs bear 65 per cent of the dog's weight.
2) Massage. This is an excellent way to prevent excess scar tissue from forming and to keep your dog's joints flexible. Make an appointment with a canine massage therapist and learn how to do massage that is targeted to your dog's carpi. You can do the massage while you watch television in the evenings.
Afterward, gently flex and extend your dog's front legs two to three times to help promote flexibility.
3) Acupuncture. Acupuncture is often very helpful in relieving joint pain and slowing the progression of arthritis.
4) Chiropractic adjustments. Many dogs with painful joints will benefit from regular chiropractic adjustments because they are using their muscles unevenly to avoid pain on one side or the other.
5) Joint-protective nutraceuticals. There are many products on the market, and all are not created equal, so be sure to buy a product from a reputable company. For best results use a combination of glucosamine, chondroitin, methylsulfonylmethane (MSM) and cetylmyristolate (CM).
6) Antioxidant and anti-inflammatory food and supplements. Feed your dog natural antioxidant foods such as fresh vegetables and fruits that contain vitamin C. Supplement his diet with vitamins E and
B and an appropriate combination of omega-6 and omega-3 fatty acids.
7) Anti-inflammatory drugs. Talk to your veterinarian about whether' your dog should be taking antiinflammatory drugs and if so, whether he should take them only when he is in pain or on a regular basis. Because of common side effects such as gastric ulcers, I usually suggest that anti-inflammatory drugs be used only intermittently when the dog is having a painful bout. There may come a-time however, when regular doses of anti-inflammatory drugs may be necessary to give your dog the quality of life he deserves.
8) Moderate ongoing exercise. Dogs with arthritis need enough exercise to keep their muscles strong so that they support the joints, but not so much that it causes excessive wear and tear on the joints and the ligaments that support them.

Moderation is the key. Dogs should get a moderate amount of balanced exercise each day, and avoid being weekend warriors. Avoid high-impact exercise as much as possible. For example, don't use stairs as a way to exercise your dog because of the impact on descending, and don't let him run over rough, uneven ground.

Have your dog jump full height only about 10 per cent of the time during training, and only on surfaces that are smooth and appropriately cushioning, such as thick grass or properly prepared dirt (arena) surfaces. Swimming is a great exercise for arthritic dogs.

Even if your dog doesn't currently suffer from arthritis, keep this article for later. If you should be lucky enough to have your canine companion in his senior years, these tips may make it possible for him to keep running and playing like a youngster.

I like them on UI have never had any problems with my dogs and they all have their dew claws on

Thank you all for sharing. My decision remains "thumbs up"