They include the Beauceron, briard, great Pyrenees and Icelandic sheepdog. The dewclaws are often referred to as vestigial appendages, meaning they no longer serve a purpose, but many dog owners would beg to differ on that subject.
Dogs doing agility may grasp the sides of the teeter with their dewclaws to steady themselves. And canine speedsters such as whippets and border collies use their dewclaws to corner like race cars. Dogs are very resilient. I think the dew claw should be removed as babies. Your email address will not be published. Save my name, email, and website in this browser for the next time I comment.
Stay informed! Get tips and exclusive deals. Oct Sep Sep 2. Aug Aug 6. Jul Jun 2. May May 5. Give a Gift. Sleeping puppy. Photograhpy by Shutterstock. All dogs have dewclaws on their front paws, some on their hind legs, and a select few even have double dewclaws! Learn all about them here. Share on facebook Facebook.
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Watch the Latest Vetstreet Videos Check out our collection of more than videos about pet training, animal behavior, dog and cat breeds and more. You need JavaScript enabled to view this video. Find a Veterinarian Near Thank you for subscribing. All rights reserved. Powered by Brightspot. Dewclaws are only abnormal when they appear on the hind legs. Exceptions are breeds like the Pyrenean Mountain Dog or Briard where hind dewclaws are part of the breed standard.
For the rest, my guess is that less that one percent have them at birth. Dewclaws are definitely not useless. This is the stopper pad. What on earth is it for? To answer that question, and at the same time to show what dewclaws do, just watch this video of a dog at full flight. At a run, the wrist of a dog flexes so much that both the dewclaw and the stopper pad come into contact with the ground.
The dewclaw provides extra stability, the stopper pad is a bumper that protects the carpus. However, for these dogs, the dewclaw often gets too long, like in the middle picture at the top. Then, it curls into a hook shape, which easily catches on anything. A dog that pulls out a nail needs the exposed nailbed protected from trauma and infection. This requires a vet to gently clip away the hair, apply a semi-occlusive dressing and use antibiotics.
A torn, broken or split nail needs to be removed completely. No matter how loose it is, never do this without a vet giving sedation. Once again, the nailbed is best protected by a dressing.
This can typically be removed after days. Then to prevent it happening again, you need to start clipping the dewclaw. Trimming dewclaws is a lot easier than clipping the other nails. Now look at the right hand top picture. It shows a dog who had his dewclaws removed by the breeder shortly after birth.
I call this a form of mutilation. Some breeders also have a strong tradition of removing them. However, we used to say the same thing about tail docking. Dewclaws on the front legs are just as useful to a dog as their tail, and should be kept unless they cause problems. Hind limb dewclaws are another matter. If you look again at the left hand picture and compare it with the middle image you can see how they curl tightly.
To make matters worse, they almost never contact the ground enough to wear them down.
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