Dew Claw CatĬontrary to what many people believe about their cat’s claws, they do not retract completely inside a sheath or all the way into the paw. ![]() If a puppy has torn or otherwise injured the dewclaws before that time, it’s certainly worth discussing their permanent removal to prevent reinjury. If dewclaws aren’t removed in the days after birth, the next opportunity is typically at the same time as a spay or neuter. (Some breeders remove declaws themselves, but this is a task more appropriately handled by a veterinarian.) In others, it’s done to prevent possible injuries, such as being damaged while a hunting dog works through brambles. While in some breeds, the removal is thought to improve the appearance of the show ring. In many breeds - but certainly, not all - the dewclaw has traditionally been removed in the first few days of a dog’s life. They are attached to the carpus by a separate metacarpal bone, forming an actual joint with the carpus. Front dewclaws are a normal part of a dog’s anatomy. There is no valid medical reason for front dewclaw removal and even removal of well-developed rear dewclaws unless there’s a diseased dewclaw or dewclaw injury. Rear dewclaws are considered an anomaly except in a few breeds where single or double well-developed rear dewclaws are parts of the breed, such as the Briard or Great Pyrenees. Rear dewclaws: Some dogs are born with 1, 2, or even double dewclaws on the rear legs.Front dewclaws: All dogs are born with a dewclaw on each front leg.When a dog has extra dewclaws in addition to the usual one on each front leg, the dog is said to be double dewclaws. But interesting that this person is advocating it for dogs that will be used for sporting purposes (though I guess it depends on the definition of "sporting" too - that may not be such physical stuff as the old time sporting/hunting that led to the practice of removing the dew claws in the first place).At least one of these dewclaws will be poorly connected to the leg, and in this case, it is often surgically removed. That's probably not so relevant in modern times, of course, since the majority of dogs are kept purely as pets. And the reason behind it was that they commonly got torn off, so it was figured to be better to remove them humanely at birth. The removal of dew claws is something that dates back to when dogs actually were used for sporting/hunting purposes. Even if you restrict your definition of "Europe" to the EU, there are 25 different countries, each with it's own parent club, and they each do things their own way. It always surprises me when people make claims like that about "Europe" as though there were one rule to fit all. I wonder if the author of that article has ever been to a European country and seen the boxers in this part of the world? Where most breeders most certainly *do* remove the dew claws, in line with the FCI boxer standard that lists their retention as a fault. Gratefully, most Boxer breeders in Europe recognize the important function of dewclaws and don't remove them." The pressures on the dog's foot are the same, but if there is no dewclaw there to grip the ground, the pressures will go to the elbow, the other toes, the wrist, the shoulder possibly causing unsoundness and arthritis later on. Additional evidence comes from the fact that working dogs will get grass and dirt stuck in the dewclaws, indicating that they are being used, and from photos showing the dog's foot on the ground and the dewclaw dug into the ground. So that is five muscle bundles in the leg that will atrophy (shrink from not being used) once the dewclaw is cut. Tendons are attached to muscles or muscle bundles. The best evidence for leaving dewclaws intact is right there in every dog anatomy book. "If at all possible, ask your breeder to not remove the dewclaws in your puppy's front legs, especially if you plan on doing any kind of sport with him. I just read this article and was wondering if anyone had any thoughts on it.
0 Comments
Leave a Reply. |
AuthorWrite something about yourself. No need to be fancy, just an overview. ArchivesCategories |