Dog Forum

Hi! very new to this forum, would love some advice on dew claws. My dog kizzy is about 5 now, she was a rescue - whippet x staffie and i was wondering if i should get them removed and how much it costs? i know a lot of dogs have them removed as puppies and was wondering if any particular breed was more susceptible to getting them damaged as she always seems to break them. They snap off but hang on by a thread and bleed slightly, she gets in quite a bit of pain, she can still walk on that paw but you can't really get near it. Any advice would be greatly appreciated!
Rachel.

Hello Kizzy and welcome to the forum.

As far as I'm aware you can have dew claws removed at any age providing the dog is healthy enough to undergo anesthetic. It is preferable if it is done when the dog is a very young pup. Most breeds that have dew claws removed are working gun dogs, all of the springers I've owned had them removed before collecting the dog from the breeders. Unfortunately I have no idea of the cost but I would speak to your vet.

Removing dew claws can be a bit controversial, like tail docking. But if the dog is in greater pain for having them, it may be the only solution.

Hope this helpful

Welcome to the forum

I would normally say leave dew claws alone (other than clipping, obviously) but if they're causing your dog pain then I would go to the vet and see what they recommend.

I would discuss the pros and cons of this very carefully with your vet.

When pups are small the dewclaws and the cartilage to which it is attached is very soft. As dogs get older this ossifies and I do know of several dogs which had their dew claws removed when they were older, had what the owners and vet believed to be residual pain, a bit like "ghost limbs" in amputees.

I am sure there are many owners who have had no problems but that is one of the reasons they are removed so early rather than later on in life.

Cost tend to depend a lot on whre you live and the weight of the dog (anaesthesia) etc.

Remember putting your dog under anaesthetic may be risk in itself, so there are a lot of pros and cons to consider.

Thanks so much for the advice. Reckon i'm going to make an appointment with the vet then and weight up if it's a good idea. The only problem is is that it's extremely difficult to clip her nails which is why they sometimes do get too long. Although it's just as hard getting her to the vets. The has quite a few behavioural issues as she was beaten, starved and left in a yard for about 2 years previously. I do try to clip them as much as i can, the back paws she's not as bad with but near her face with the front paws and going near them in general proves very difficult! I do wish Cesar would come and help her haha!
Thanks ever so much, Rach.

Poor thing, sounds like she's had a hard start to life. She is very lucky though to have you now, you clearly care for her very much. Hope you get sorted

Have you tried the matchstick game?

Get some matchsticks, the clippers and some treats.

You may have to go back a stage if she is very bad around her feet and face.

Basically you put a matchstick near her feet and clip it and give a treat. You may have to start clipping matchsticks just while she is sitting down to begin with.

As you progress you place a matchstick next to her toe and clip it, treat.

Once she is relaxed around that, you can then clip her nail.

Try doing only one nail a night, this is less stressful.

Also the choice of clippers can make a difference.

The guillotine type are better than the scissor/pliers design because the former do not squeeze the nails like the latter.

Some people find their dogs do better using a Dremel, an electric grinder.

Good luck!

That sounds like a good idea, will probably have to start from scratch. It's the guillotine clippers I have but i'm not sure if they're very sharp. Is there a good brand to go for? i looked on amazon and found two types, a 'wahl' one and a mikki one which is the one I have however it doesn't seem very sharp. Not sure if thats because im not able to squeeze it hard enough?
Thanks for the advice!

Rexel are the best make, a bit more pricey than the others, but the ones professional groomers use.

Make sure you get the right size for your dog's nails, if they are tuff, get the larger ones.

Tip: if nails bleed, stick em in a bar of soap!

Oh i see, do you know anywhere where you can get them? online or shops etc?
really?! ha i've never heard of that, how does that work?

I don't think you can find in shops except at Crufts. just google Rexel nail clippers. They are guillotine.

Oh right, thanks. will have to take a look. If not i'll get some at Crufts next year or maybe discover dogs, they have a lot of trade stands.
Thanks for the advice though!

Is it only when her paw is sore that she won't let you near it? If she will let you,trim off sharp tip with claw clippers,(only very tip so as not to risk too much or will hurt & bleed)
Otherwise would be good idea to have them removed to stop risk of her tearing them,it is quite expensive as it means a general anaesthetic.Ring vet for cost.

S.B. Never heard of the matchstick game,will tell my friend about it,she has a nervous rescued b.collie,who is slowly but surely regaining her trust,thank goodness.

it depends really when she lets me near them, she is rather dominant sometimes so she can be funny when shes just had food, to be honest if she's in a funny mood - which you can somehow tell - she gives a weird look lol then she gets the face on going near her pawss - God she sounds like such an awful dog haha. but i think i will try the matchstick game and when i get a fulltime job myself as i'm living with my parents i'm wanting to take her to either training classes or something for her behaviour issues as i dont think its fair on her or my mum and dads stress levels haha! but i'd like to get her a little more sociable and be a normal happy dog! thanks for all the help

I have really struggled with my dog's dew claws as the vet didn't want to remove them as they were so deep and said he would have only done it when he was under anaesthetic for being neutered (before I got him).

A colleague suggested cohesive bandage (see link) from Boots to protect his claws when he's bounding around the local wheat fields - used it yesterday and it works like a charm! He ran through water etc and really put it to the test. No looking back for us now!

So were you never able to have them off then? i will have to see the vet when i have some available money, but in the mean time that sounds like a great idea! just had a look, those ones say large and are for knees but are they alright on little legs? or do you think something like the one for elbows would be more appropriate? she only has staffie/whippet type legs

Hi
The box doesn't look like this in-store and when you open it it's just a role of blue bandage a few inches wide so you cut as much as you need and wrap around (it sticks to itself but not to hair/skin.) My dog is a pointer cross so has skinny legs and this worked great!

He knocked his dew claws so badly a couple of months ago that I had to cancel a night out to watch him to make sure he didn't pull his bandages off! So I was really concerned that he wouldn't be able to run through the fields etc by us again but this has put my mind at rest and he didn't bother with his blue bandages once he hot the fields!

Hope it works for you too! Good luck!

That sounds great, thanks ever so much! will have to pop out and get some, at the moment its not a problem as they came off a couple of weeks ago when she caught them theyre only just growing back really but once they get to normal size theyre so easily caught. Glad he made a good recovery! what is his name?