Do y'all remove your hunting dogs dew claws?

Just wondering. We have a 18 week old lab we are training. She gets spayed next week and we are considering having her dew claws removed.

I don't think it's a big deal and wouldn't bother with an 18 week old.

Most breeders have them removed at just a few days old.

I have a 12 year old that has always had hers without issue and my almost two year old had them removed at just a few days old.

I know of one very reputable breeder (Watermark Retrievers) who has now decided not to remove the dew claws from their future litters.

I have it done when they are 1-3 days old. It's much more invasive after that. I had to have one removed from a pup about that age that was missed by the vet, wasn't a big deal but way more than when they are newborn. I honestly wouldn't do it at this point if I were you. Just keep an eye on them and have some EMT gel handy in case one gets torn.
Some breeders don't have them removed, they claim the dog needs them.

I've always removed mine. It' really helps when booting dogs.

It would be pretty invasive and painful at 18 weeks. About like removing a finger/toe...at this point I would just leave them personally.

The reason I wouldn't remove the declaws at that age would have to do with sedation. If you are already putting her under for another procedure then I wouldn't hesitate to do it at the same time.

I also strongly encourage you to read on the spaying of your pup at this early age. Most new research is against it. When I worked at a vet clinic for 4 years in college protocol was 6 months of age. Now most people are saying to wait until 1 year or older.

+1

Thanks for all the comments and advice. I talked to a vet and we've decided to wait and let her mature before we get her spayed. And won't remove her dew claws.

If it is going to not have to wear boots I would not have dew claws removed. I remove them myself the day the pup is born.

If it is going to not have to wear boots I would not have dew claws removed. I remove them myself the day the pup is born. I did have a rat terrier that was always catching and tearing his when he had them. We had them removed at 2 yo. Pretty sore for about a week.

I had one removed from 16 week pointer pup that breeder missed. Pup had to wear cone of shame for a month to keep from chewing out the stitches

I watched as a breeder removed dew claws and docked the tail on an eight week old pup one time.

The pup was supposed to be under some anesthesia, but it came alive and squalled with every bone crunch. It wasn't pretty, and I sure wouldn't want to repeat the experience!

As for my dogs, if they come with dew claws, they keep 'em. I've never known of one to cause a problem.

This is true to some degree. Age at spay is fairly heavily debated. All depends on what research you read. I haven't personally read all of what's come out, and I haven't spayed a dog in over 2 years.

On the dew claws, I think you made a good choice to leaving the dew claws on. I did read an article a while back by a vet (surgeon I think) that talked about the number of dogs she sees with carpal arthritis. More (most?) of the dogs she saw with the condition had had their dew claws removed. She was talking about hunting dogs specifically. I'll try to find and share the article.

It is highly debated and I come no where close to being up to date on the information. Just wanted to make sure she had a chance to make an informed decision on her part.

Regarding the dew claws, is the condition based on where the claw is located on the wrist? Trauma to that area causes the issue? Most people believe they aren't good for anything. Interesting to hear.

Here is her explanation. I thought it was a bigger sample size than 30 dogs but none the less it does make some sense.

Dew claws

Personally, even before I read this, I've always been more in the camp of leave then until they cause a problem. And I have seen some problems, not just in working dogs. But I'd say the majority of animals never have a dew claw issue.


ETA: the article is not a real research study, it is the observation of her experience in practice.

Born with them, meant to be there. Mine are staying on.

Interesting especially the torque on the leg. Provoked a thought regarding ligament issues. Acl ect...

Aww Bill, I thought you wouldn't hunt where you had to boot a dog.

I will say, its gotta be pretty rough country (meaning, the dog just refuses to run), before I will

How do you boot the dogs with dew claws. Been a real PITA for me

I wish mine had here cut just so I didn't have to deal with that talon of a claw

I leave them unless they stick way out, then they're prone to injury, so they go.

What purpose do they serve?

I leave them on for my retrievers. They can be useful to climb out of obstacles when swimming such as logs, or ice. To-date, this has not been a problem or hassle when upland hunting even around cut corn and milo.

I leave 'em. Never been an issue.