# Pros and Cons of Removing Rear Dew Claws



## Sasha1/2 (Dec 22, 2011)

My puppy is 1/2 Great Pyrenees and she has rear (boneless) dew claws, but not doubles as many Pyrs do. The Pyr community seems to be opposed to removing rear dew claws. Other dog owners have had them removed routinely at time of spay/neuter. This is a decision I'll face in a few months when Sasha gets fixed. What are the pros and cons of taking them off?


----------



## Willowy (Dec 10, 2007)

If they really are boneless, it may not be too painful. But the dogs I've known who had their dews removed later in life had difficult recoveries--mostly a lot of chewing on the incision/opening the stitches. It's hard to prevent access to the rear paws, even with a cone collar.

On the pro side, rear dews tend to catch on things and get torn off and would need surgery anyway. So removing them prophylactically would prevent that kind of semi-emergency. Most pet dogs don't live the kind of lifestyle that would result in dewclaw damage, though.

I guess what I would do is watch her for the few months until her spay. If she tends to catch them on things, then I would have them removed. If they seem to be a non-issue, I wouldn't.


----------



## Niraya (Jun 30, 2011)

I had a purebred Great Pyrenees - I never had them removed nor would I even consider it. As a pet animal there should be (almost) nothing that would rip the dew claws from her feet. Just keep them trimmed.
For show it is a serious fault to have them removed - as with the Great Pyrenees the rear dew claws DO make contact with the ground adding to their speed and change of direction (obviously not important for just a pet) and I had read (forgot where so I cannot cite) that in the Pyrenees the dew claws ARE attached to the boney structure (unlike in many other breeds that would just be attached by skin only) and removing them can cause severe pain (if not removed within the first three days of life). Maybe you're lucky with hers only being attached by skin since she's only part Pyrenees.

That's just my opinion though. In any breed I wouldn't have the dew claws removed UNLESS it was within the first three days from birth.


----------



## GottaLuvMutts (Jun 1, 2009)

I'd remove them if the dog was going to be very active or participate in any sports. The border collie rescue here almost always removes rear dew claws at the time of s/n. Wouldn't want them getting ripped off on a piece of equipment, or if the dog was running and it caught on a stick or something.


----------



## Canaqua (Sep 27, 2011)

We had Molly's removed when she was spayed. She's a BC mix and very active. Hers were attached only by skin and sticking out at a pretty extreme angle. She'd already caught one on a blanket a couple of times, fortunately, I managed to free her before she tore it. 

If there is only a skin attachment, it won't be very painful for the dog (as it is when there is a bony attachment), but it will still be tough to heal. There isn't a lot of tissue on the lower legs, so the skin and stitches get pulled quite tight and it takes quite a while for the wound to close. Also, it's hard to keep the dog from fooling with their back legs, with all but the biggest cone, Molly could still reach them. It took about three weeks total to heal well enough to just let her be. I kept them wrapped (gauze/vetwrap/duct tape) for about two weeks, it was the only way to keep her from picking at them. I changed the bandages every day or when they got wet/dirty (likely when you are dealing with legs!). After the first few days, I'd give her a bone to distract her and take the bandages off for a couple of hours at night to let the wounds air out. Any other time, she'd be at them if not wrapped. They were still not totally closed after two weeks and were looking weepy...went back to the vet and got some antibiotics and they healed very promptly after that. 

Long story short, it depends on the individual situation. If they were attachedy by bone, I'd think long and hard about it. If they were close to the leg, I wouldn't remove them. Only a skin attachment and sticking out? If the dog is very placid and doesn't run through heavy brush/bushes I might leave them.


----------



## MimiAzura (Jan 5, 2013)

bringing this up, because Stella was spayed this morning and the vet rang as they were taking her in and asked if i wanted hers removed.
I said no, because a friend took her to the clinic which is a few hours away and i didn't send any extra money with her.. 

The vet made it seem like the end of the world :/ 
Going on about how they WILL get ripped off and need surgery anyway and even went so low as to say they are uncomfortable for her. 

I made it clear that I am happy to have them removed, but because I wasn't actually down there with her and hadn't sent more money, it wasn't an option and so it could wait.


----------



## Losech (Apr 5, 2011)

Eh, no big deal. One of my mutts has a rear dew claw, floppy thing that is a pain in the butt to trim the nail on, but it has yet to actually cause her a problem.


----------



## Canyx (Jul 1, 2011)

Losech said:


> Eh, no big deal. One of my mutts has a rear dew claw, floppy thing that is a pain in the butt to trim the nail on, but it has yet to actually cause her a problem.


THIS. My dog has rear dew claws and they are the only nails I actually NEED to trim or else they'd grow too long and curl into his pad. So that would be one hassle I could do without!

But the cons outweigh the pros for me. I wouldn't put a dog under anesthesia just to have this operation done. And as others have said, the recovery is a lot more stressful for older dogs. If my dog needed to go under as a puppy for whatever reason, I might have looked into the possibility of having them removed then. But that opportunity never came. Oh well


----------



## MimiAzura (Jan 5, 2013)

so i don't need to feel like the worst owner ever?  

I actually was going to get it done today, but completely forgot until he rang and it was too late by then lol
She doesn't care either way and i'm not going to put her through unnecessary surgery


----------



## Canyx (Jul 1, 2011)

No you don't. And I can't believe the vets tried to guilt trip you into having that surgery done. I would have been very upset if they tried to push that on my dog.


----------



## Keechak (Aug 10, 2008)

I worked at a boarding and grooming kennel once, They had special grates the dogs would stand on in the tubs and some kennels to prevent slipping, several dogs got their rear dews caught in the holes in these trays and were in a lot of pain trying to get them free. Just something to think about if you plan on bringing your dog to boarding places.

The grates looked something like this


----------



## SydTheSpaniel (Feb 12, 2011)

Keechak said:


> I worked at a boarding and grooming kennel once, They had special grates the dogs would stand on in the tubs and some kennels to prevent slipping, several dogs got their rear dews caught in the holes in these trays and were in a lot of pain trying to get them free. Just something to think about if you plan on bringing your dog to boarding places.
> 
> The grates looked something like this


Agreed on that one! I saw a few dogs get caught in those things too when I used to work at a couple different groom/board places.


----------



## Kayla_Nicole (Dec 19, 2012)

We also had A's removed (they were boneless as well). And like some others have mentioned, the vet and her breeder recommended the procedure. 

Also, actually two separate friends of ours just had their respective dogs with dew claw injuries from as simple situations as jogging on the leash and playing in the yard. So it made me glad that Alannah's were removed.


----------



## Laurelin (Nov 2, 2006)

Great pyrs have different dewclaws compared to what you usually see. They're tighter and have bone connecting them. There's quite a few breeds like that. I would remove floppy rear dewclaws when the dog was put under for a spay/neuter.


----------



## Candydb (Jul 16, 2011)

my big Berner pup is 14 months old and ranges through some pretty heavy brush on our 2 acres and is an outside farm dog-- no problems yet and he has a big pair of dew claws (I just keep them trimmed, he doesnt seem to mind, for a treat)- he was a ("oops litter")BYB puppy so they wormed him gave him shots, but did not know to remove them at birth...
I did consult with a Great Pyreenes owner back when he was a little pup, she was def. pro leaving the dew claws alone, and I do not think it is worth the hassle of surgery (since he is an outside farm dog, he doesnt get a whole lotta supervision, we use him as a LGD for our free range chickens and cats).... even though he will be (I think) getting neutered in a few months....

PS I have no idea if they are attached to the bone or not, they are just there... but def not double dew claws and do not stick out as much as the pair on a Beuceron I saw the other day...


----------



## Rescued (Jan 8, 2012)

Hattie has them and goes through thick brush all the time and we have yet to have a problem. I would have had hers done if we had gotten her as a pup, but for a 5 year old very active dog to have the surgery I dont think it would be worth it. A third on the grooming mat thing though.


----------



## agility collie mom (Jan 26, 2008)

I feel that this is personal decision. Most rear dewclaws are removed per breed standard when pups are 3-4 days old. Rio has them and runs agility. They have never been an issue (his are floppy I just keep them dremeled). Savannah does not have them. Floppy ones are easy to remove when the dog is being spayed or neutered, however the ones that are attached by bone are actually considered an amputation.


----------



## luv mi pets (Feb 5, 2012)

I have a Gr. Pyr/Anatolian cross. His rear dewclaws were removed at the time of neutering. I am glad that they were. His rear dewclaws were double and danglers. You would not even know he had them now.

Pros- no need to worry about them growing into paw pad. These nails tend to grow faster and are often forgotten about due to hair covering them
no more worrying about him ripping or tearing the dewclaw in his travels around the farm or through the woods on hikes.

Cons- You might just end up with the dog.

Mowgli came to my house post neuter/dewclaw removal for aftercare. His previous owner had had a Gr Pyr with double dewclaws and she wished she had them removed during her spay surgery. She had listened to others who said not to remove them from her dog, and that her dog needed them. She said the dog was always tearing them on something at her farm. So with this new dog she wanted to have them removed. He was an outside dog and the owner felt could not keep the surgery site clean and dry for 10 days till the sutures could come out. I offered to take the dog to my house for post care. I changed and cleaned the bandages daily for 10 days. Mowgli went back to her farm upon completion of his recovery. He was brought back for different reasons -running at large, chewing up and destroying items. He would come back to my house till she had whatever it was fixed and mowgli would go back to her. At my house he never did any of this. Eventually she just asked me if I would just keep him. So for me this is my biggest con on the surgery. You might just end up with another dog.


----------



## SydTheSpaniel (Feb 12, 2011)

I never even thought about the dew claw thing until my professor was talking about them in my A&P class last week. So I got curious and looked at Sydney's rear feet and found hers. But they are so firmly placed with bone that until I actually -looked-, didn't even notice they were there!


----------



## Kyllobernese (Feb 5, 2008)

I have some of my Shih Tzu x Maltese with back dew claws and some without. I have never had a problem with any of them but when I am clipping their coats short for the summer time, I wish they did not have any. The nail on them does tend to grow in a tight circle so they have to kept clipped a lot more often than the other nails.


----------



## luv mi pets (Feb 5, 2012)

Well, you will have to let us know what your decision was. Now would be the time to do it when she got spayed.

A certain rescue that uses our clinic will do any of the dogs that have rear dews at the time of neuter just because the rescue has ran into problems when the rear dewclaws did not get removed. They kind of made it their policy.


----------



## marius05 (Feb 16, 2013)

I think that removing them is quite a little problem. This will solve a few problems but if he were a wild animal he would definately need to have his claws. Beind a domestic animal he doesn't need those claws. If you need to take a vacantion a need someone to care for you pet please visit http://www.kitandkaboodlepets.com/ ashburn pet sitters.


----------



## alexlucas (Feb 4, 2013)

I find that the rear dew claws of my dog seems to be hanging or dangling. Im considering removing it as it can become more of a hazard.


----------



## Featherallday (Mar 14, 2013)

I work as vet assistant and the general concensus here is that front dew claws are like a thumb, but the rears are actually considered.a deformity. Now not all deformities need repair/ removal but if you have an active dog, a hearding/ working breed or.larger breed that will be outdoors unsupervised removing a rear dew claw might really benefit you and your pet. Yes, its best to do while they are under anesthesia for some other reason if possible. I have seen where multiple owners chose not to do this as 3 day old pups, and again not to do it at the time of spay or neuter then an injury occours and with that injury comes the risk of infection, added pain and expense. All of those owners Im sure regretted the prior decisions not to have the procedure done. If you have a smaller or less active breed that has rear dew claws, be cautious and sure to trim them but dont be too concerned.


----------

