To get extra dew claw removed or not?

[Marne]

Puppy is now 4 and a half months old, we plan to get him castreated at 6-8 months and we have to decide if we want his extra dew claws removed (he has a extra claw/toe on each back leg), they are not causing a major problem but do get hitched in things and will need clipping (so far he is ok with me touching them but have not tried to clip them yet, will let the vet do it first).

The vet said they can take them off when he is castrated but sometimes they can bleed a lot wich would make surgery longer and cost me a lot more money.

Has anyone else had this with their dog? what would you do?

[ruledbyheart]

One of my dogs has a double dew claw, hers aren't properly attached so could easily tear and cost a fortune if there is an accident, unfortunately she was already spayed when I had her so I am saving up to have hers off as insurance won't cover it.
I would recommend having them off if they pose a risk as repairing the damage is worse than the precaution.

The only reason I'm waiting until its more affordable to have them off is because she is a scent hound and ex street dog she has no recall so is only walked on lead.

[Bakingtins]

Do they have a bony connection to the rest of his leg or is it just skin holding them on? Most dogs don't have hind dew claws and often in the ones that do they are only loosely attached which makes them straightforward to remove. If the bone is attached then you need to cut the bone of the digit which would make it a bit more involved.

I must have done hundreds of dew claw removals and I've never ever had one bleed any more than a very simple tieing off of a blood vessel sorted. The vet is being melodramatic.

[Marne]

They are both attached (acording to the vet) but one is more attached than the other, vet said one would probably come off easily but the other might be tricky

What is the reccovery time after the op? is it any worse than the castration?

I would like them removed, mainly because they look silly and they get hitched in my clothes when we have cuddles.

[Lonecatwithkitten]

I also have done hundreds and never had excessive bleeding. Back ones seem to have a greater likelihood of getting into trouble than front ones particularly if they are floppy. Recovery is usually the same length of time as the castration.

[Marne]

Thank you, i think i will ask the vet to do it whne they castrate him.

[Lynand]

Hi Marne, my two pups have just had this done. They are 6mths and had castration, chipping and rear dew claws. The smaller pup's were only attached by skin and no problem. Dissolving stitches and tiny scar. Pepper is a larger pup and one claw attached by ligament. Was initially told this was bigger job and would increase cost. Went ahead and the biggest problem was the 'funnells' both dogs had to wear around their necks! Pepper's leg took longer to heal and had normal stitches. Keeping the wounds dry and clean was difficult but both healed OK now.

[Imsosorryalan]

Hi my dog was found as a stray so never had her dews removed as a tiny pup.
I had her rear claws done when she was spayed.
She had bandages on and an elasticated sock thing to keep it in place. So of course she pulled all of that off! I was surprised to see a scar maybe 2 cms long with around 4 stitches. ( I thought it would be smaller). But she was fine. I ended up putting on my toddlers socks and securing them with bandages at the top! That and a cone meant she was ok. But they did take about 3 weeks to fully heal. She did lick them a bit.