Because front dewclaws serve several important purposes, they should not be removed unless there is a very good reason to do so. In rare cases, a dog's dewclaw may be severely injured or develop a disease (such as a cancerous tumor) and removal under those circumstances would be in the dog's best interests.
Often, rear dewclaw removal is recommended when they are only attached by the skin and have a tendency to dangle. Removal in these situations does appear to help prevent injuries because they can't get caught on things. It can also help prevent ingrown dewclaw nails.
Front Dewclaw Removal
If dewclaw removal is to take place, this procedure should be done by the time the puppy is 3 days old. Although it's a simple procedure — over in less than 1 minute — neonatal puppies feel pain, and dewclaw removal in a neonate is done without general anesthesia.
Some dog owners request the removal of dewclaws on their older puppies and/or adult dogs. Veterinarians will usually provide this service for puppies at the time they are spayed or neutered. In adult dogs it can be performed at any time.
Dew Claws Can Become Ingrown
For this reason, they can be ignored for so long that they become overgrown or ingrown, meaning that they can curl back toward the dog's leg and grow into their skin. This is a painful situation for your dog and can lead to infections easily as well.
Taking your dog for regular walks, including on hard surfaces such as pavements, will help to shorten their claws, but may not be enough to keep them as short as they should be.
3-5 days of age is the ideal time for a dewclaw removal procedure because the nervous system of the puppy is not yet fully developed, although the procedure is still possible with older puppies and dogs as well.
When a dog's dewclaw is torn or broken, the “quick” of the nail is often left exposed. The quick of the nail houses the nail's nerves and blood supply, so it is incredibly painful when injured.
All dog breeds are born with front dewclaws. Only a handful of breeds, such as the Icelandic sheepdog and Saint Bernard, have them on their back paws as well. If you don't see any dewclaws on your pooch, it's probably because the breeder had them removed shortly after birth, says Marks.
The dewclaw removal is performed in the first 2-7 days of life. The dewclaws are acquired through the use of easily sterilized tools such as a hemostat and scalpel blade, surgical scissors, or nail clippers. Steps are taken to ensure that the dewclaw used for genetic testing belongs to a specific puppy.
In the wild, wolves and coyotes keep their nails short through digging and running after prey for hours. Since your dog is likely not running around in the wilderness all day, you may need to walk them on concrete to help keep their nails at a reasonable length.
Jogging on hard surface – get your exercise and wear down those nails at the same time. Biking on hard surface – If you can't run with your dog, this is a good alternative. Daily walks – make sure your daily walks include rough surfaces. Treadmill – another way to wear down those nails and get exercise.
Unless your dog is incredibly active and takes daily long walks on sidewalks or hard surfaces that fill the role of a nail file, it's likely that their nails will need trimming a few times a month. When left unattended, increasingly long nails will start to cause pain in a dog's toe joints.
Not only does cutting a dog's nails too short cause them pain, but leaving them to grow too long can be even more painful. For instance, long nails can cause a dog to lose traction in their paw, making it easier for them to slip and fall, causing additional pain than that from the nail alone.
For a wild dog, the surfaces they move across will naturally keep the nails at the length needed for survival.
Having your dog's nails trimmed regularly is an important part of routine grooming. Many times, we hear: “I have hardwood floors and my dog's nails are driving me up the wall!” Dogs that run or walk on hard surfaces such as concrete or asphalt are able to wear down their nails.
Cut the claw to within approximately 2 millimeters of the quick. If you cut into the quick, the claw will bleed and the dog will experience pain.
The name refers to the dewclaw's alleged tendency to brush dew away from the grass. On dogs and cats the dewclaws are on the inside of the front legs, similarly to a human's thumb, which shares evolutionary homology.
All Aussies have front dewclaws. There are no statistics on rear dewclaws, but they don't appear common. However, they obviously occur often enough – or at least did historically – for them to merit mention requiring removal in most breed standards.
"There is typically no medical need for puppies to have their dewclaws removed. In fact, dewclaws serve a purpose: they help stabilize the carpal (wrist) joint when a dog puts pressure on the front paws and can provide extra traction on some surfaces."
Can a Dog Break Their Dewclaw? Dogs can break their dewclaw, and you will notice this by licking it a lot. The dewclaw is utilised to stabilise the lower joint when your dog is in motion at a reasonable speed, such as jogging or running.