Sat with Lola in the car earlier, other half driving, and Lola kept trying to get on my lap as she still isn't a fan of being in the can and Lola caught me quite a few times with her dew claws which hurt LOADS! My other half said (far too casually for my liking) "could always get them taken off?" Absolutely not no way Has anyone else done this? I've never met a dog who has had it done and can't think why it would need to be done unless the dog sustained an injury requiring it to be done maybe?
Re: Dew claw I haven't heard of dew claws being removed other than as a result of trauma. I think maybe it is more common o do this in the US?? My experience is limited though :-\
Re: Dew claw Not heard of it happening in Labradors. Only sometimes in Border Collies which can have dew claws on their hind feet.
Re: Dew claw If you mean the little thumb like claws on her front feet, they are actually called fore claws, and no self respecting vet in their right mind would remove them for simply cosmetic reasons. The only instance they would be taken out is if they get badly injured. Dogs need their fore claws - watch your pup next time she's got a chew or a kong and see how she uses the fore claws to help grip it. If they are hurting you maybe you should clip them? Unlike normal claws they don't wear themselves down as they don't make contact with the ground, so you need to be extra vigilant about making sure they don't get too long as they can curl right around and start growing into the foot, which is extremely painful and can cause infections.
Re: Dew claw Yeah, taking off dew claws on the front feet would be like taking your thumbs off. They do use them, often.
Re: Dew claw I used to have GSPs who were "docked and dew clawed" as a matter of course, so quite a change to have Labs with long tails and dew claws. It is a painful op to have a dew claw removed on an adult dog and no vet would do it purely for cosmetic reasons. Some dogs tear the dew claw and then it could be removed, my Lab broke the nail and that had to have a G/A and the nail cut to the base, the nail is very slowly, growing back. The best thing to do is to cut the dew claw regularly, but again, be careful not to cut the quick.
Re: Dew claw My Lab has had one dew claw removed as a last resort. It had always grown at an odd angle so it kept getting ripped resulting in loads of split claws and 3 ops at the vet to remove the nail. My vet only did this due to his long history of injuries, the other dew claw has never been a problem. Stacia is right, it is a major op in an adult dog. Lucan had something like 14 stitches in his leg and it took quite a while to get over.
