Removing dew claws?

What are peoples views on removing front dew claws?

It's something I am looking into with Cooper, his are very prominent and don't feel as if they are attached (Harrys and Beckas feel firmer), I am worried that as he gets older he is going to catch them on things (Sam had lots of troubles with his dew claws and I wished I'd had his removed when he was younger) and he is already catching them on clothing and hair and scratching people to death with them, I try to keep them as short as I can.

Perhaps if you trained your dog properly he would not be in a position to scratch people or get his dewclaws in their hair and clothing?!


Most vets are reluctant to remove dewclaws except a) ata 3 days old or b) as a result of an accident; it is a bit like the reasons for docking (in some breeds)!

However, in some breeds or individuals the dewclaws can be more likely to be ripped off depending on the lifestyle of the dog.

I have had dogs with and without dewclaws, never had any problems with them myself, but I know some do.

I suppose you really need to determine the likelihood of the dog being injured (you can prevent others being injured through training) and the severity of the injury to make a balanced decision.

I think your first comment was a bit rude! Shall I train my puppy not to play then, because that's when he is scratching me, you could have asked when he was scratching me, not just jumped to conclusions.

wont remove front dews now, i did once to Tara (rip) & im sure i disabled her.

Watch your pup & see how much he uses them when playing & when hes got a bone/chew. if he uses them, then leave them on.

If they are so unattached /floppy for him to use, them get them taken off, but if you intend to get him castrated maybe wait till then, Id also do only in the summer so the banages dont get wet.

I get hinds taken off (luckily my last 3 dogs havent had hind ones!)

Most whippets have their dew claws removed at 3 days .
However I did get an adult whippet from the local dog and cat home who still had hers . They were always catching on things so when she was being spayed I asked the vet to remove them which he did .
She was fine but I wouldn't have had them removed if she was not being anaesthetised anyway

Im trying to decide whether to have Tott's removed. Hers seem to get damaged frequently, the vet has advised to get them removed next week while she is getting spayed.

Its a lot of money, and I cant decide what to do

one of my springers had his removed but one grew back!!

My sister had all her racing Huskies dew claws removed- I understand her reasons for doing so. But...I totally disagree with people willy nilly removing them, and most "good" vets are in fact reluctant to carry out this procedure, without good cause!

one of my sibes had this done( at a few days old) ive worked all of mine in harness and never a problem.
infact only one dog of mine went thru a phase of ripping his..and he was a lurcher.

imo mish is right... they are used in turning hence why they get ripped..its just best to make sure they do not get to long...and you can also buy protectors if needs be

.... rear dew claws are a diff kettle of fish imo tho.

I personally wouldnt consider having front dew claws removed - unless I had a very vaild reason to think it was in the dogs best interest..

One of our hairless cresteds ripped her front dew claw nail off - while out running throw the woods. It did grow back.