Dew claws

[chumleysma]

I know this is hard to believe, but I took Chumley to have his nails trimmed for the first time since he was 14 weeks old. He'll be 4 yrs. on X-Mas. Obviously, the groomer asked if he walks daily on concrete, which he does. She told me he didn't need to be done which was the same answer I got when I took him to be done around age 2 yrs. She did ask me which legs had dew claws and she had to search because I couldn't remember.
Is it the responsibility of the breeder to remove the dew claws? My breeder told me she had them removed, but does that mean rear only? He has his fronts which were clipped, but the rears are gone. Actually, I found a bloody rear one that appeared to be inflamed when he was a puppy. I had it removed while he was neutered. I now remember the vet said it probably was removed while with the breeder, but likely remnant cells regrew another smaller claw. Of course, the insurance was very clear that they don't pay for dew claw removal.

 

[DAWNMERIE]

I don't think it's the responsibility of the breeder (just my opinion) Some get them and some do not, I think that is genetics. Zeke has none. Myra has one, in the front. I didn't remove it, I just make sure the nail is always clipped short. I know that they have been known to cause problems (getting caught on things) but it's never been an issue for us.

 

[Elizabeth]

Newfs don't usually have rear dewclaws, & fronts are usually left on.

E

 

[OodlesOfNoodles]

Rear dewclaws are somewhat unusual on most breeds, from my understanding; 2 on the front are much more common. I'm really against removing them unless absolutely necessary. If you ever watch dogs who have them chewing on something that they have to hold, they use the dewclaws to get a good grip on it. I think of them sort of like thumbs. We have had incidents of a dewclaw getting broken and having to get cut down to the bone, but that's usually due to our fault - you do have to keep up on trimming them down, as they don't get worn down like normal nails do on the concrete.

 

[plafleursr]

Some Newfs have rear and some don't. They will remove them at birth, if they have them. Or shoud have removed them. They keep front one's.

 

[ajcooksey]

Turner had one rear one turn up after we brought him home and our Vet said unless absolutely necessary he wouldn't put Turner through removing it. It doesn't bother him and we keep it trimmed. He doesn't have any feeling in it though because once I trimmed it too short and he didn't notice that it started to bleed.