Dew claw left on!?

[nacke]

As i was grooming Macy today, i found a dew claw left on her back leg... Its been hiding under her fur. It almost looks loose Is this dangerous? What do i do

[manolos mom]

Bump...Welcome neighbor...

[jmdt]

I thought the dew claws were only on the front legs? Hmmm

[megansmomma]

Originally Posted by nacke

As i was grooming Macy today, i found a dew claw left on her back leg... Its been hiding under her fur. It almost looks loose Is this dangerous? What do i do

Dew claws can be found on the front and back legs of a dog. If you have not had your little girl spay yet I would suggest that you speak to the vet about removal during her spay. I had dew claws removed from Bogey on the front and back during his neuter and Doodlebug had dews only on the front which were removed. IMO it is better to have them removed than for them to catch and tear them causing a more serious injury especially since you say it is loose and dangling~which is how Bogey's were on his back legs. They each had only 2 stitches and no pain at all. My two little guys are both rescues and that is why it was not done for them, but a good breeder would have taken care to remove the dew claws while docking the tails.

[nacke]

Yep, its pretty loose, thats why im worried. It looks like its just hanging by skin. I called the vet, they said to clip it (it was long!). But said its not necessary to remove It was pretty well hidden in her hair.. I didnt even know it was there!

[jmdt]

I have to check my babies now. Thats news to me. Like my dad (rest his soul) used to say "you learn something new everyday"

[DanielleAllen]

It isn't a big thing to have done. One of his front ones weren't taken off and I had my dogs removed when he was under for something else. My vet was great and didn't even charge me for doing it. The pain comes after...trying to keep them from licking it. lol..We had to keep his bandage on a little longer so that he wouldn't take out the stiches...

[lovespandp]

Peanut still has one of his only on his left front leg....should I leave it?

[DanielleAllen]

my vet told me that it doesn't HAVE to come out, but you just really have to watch it. If your dog has to be put under for anything...being fixed or whatever you should just have them do it at the same time. You just have to watch them a lot more to make sure that it doesn't catch on anything...that can lead to trouble..

[TresCutePiggies]

Our puppymill rescue, Lane, not surprisingly has all of her dew claws. I had never seem them on the back before, and I was a little freaked out when I was brushing her before I figured out what they were! She was spayed before the rescue released her, but I guess if she is ever under again I will mention having them removed.

[Wrenee4]

My Halle has her front dew claws since she was born in Germany (illegal to dock or remove dews there) and they have never been a problem for her. I keep them short, but they have never snagged or anything (fingers crossed). LOL I have heard that the back ones are more prone to get snagged though due to jumping off of things although I am not sure if that is true or not

[megansmomma]

Originally Posted by nacke

Yep, its pretty loose, thats why im worried. It looks like its just hanging by skin. I called the vet, they said to clip it (it was long!). But said its not necessary to remove It was pretty well hidden in her hair.. I didnt even know it was there!

That is how Bogey's were~they dangled and he caught it once. That was enough for me. Are you planning on spaying her soon? Just have them removed when we get the spay done. We have a friend who's dog has double dew claws on his hind legs

[Ellie May]

If it is dangling and seems to be a problem, that would be reason enough to have it removed. Ellie only has front dewclaws and she does fine with them. We have no plans of having them removed. I definitely prefer that breeders have the dewclaws removed though...it is just so much easier.

If the dewclaws were removed, they can grow back if they weren't cut down far enough.

[nacke]

Originally Posted by Ellie May

If it is dangling and seems to be a problem, that would be reason enough to have it removed. Ellie only has front dewclaws and she does fine with them. We have no plans of having them removed. I definitely prefer that breeders have the dewclaws removed though...it is just so much easier.

If the dewclaws were removed, they can grow back if they weren't cut down far enough.

Im almost thinking this is what happened since it is dangling. It hasnt caught on anything... It was buried in her leg hair. She was very still during grooming today, i think thats the only reason i found it!