Dew claws

Hi all

Firstly sorry for not introducing myself in the proper category, im worried about my boy (Duke) so skipped that part.

Duke now 3 has snapped his dew claws 4 times, normally he will chew the snapped bit off and carry on as normal. This time however he has cracked it straight down the center of his claw and its really bothering him . After the first time it happened i looked on the net and found that the best prevention is to keep them as short as possible, which i have done but he still manages to catch them.

I took him to the vets this morning, they have given him some antibiotics, pain killers and said that there isnt anything else they can do but let it heal. They give me the option to take him in next week and have an operation to have them removed completely, i was on the spot had a quick think and said yes.

Im now worried if ive done the right thing or not, ive read some proper horror stories on the net about how painfull the operation is for older dogs, but have also read if there prone to catching there dew claws and your not about they can tear them and bleed to death .

Has anyone on here had there dogs done not including the ones that had them off as pups ?

Do you think ive made the right decision in booking him in ?

Part off me feels ive done right, as he will have a couple of weeks of discomfort but then they will never bother him again.

Thanks in advance

Rick

As it has happened on numerous occasions I would be inclined to have the op, but I haven't a clue what it entails. Mine has broken and split hers on 3 occasions and the vet has also advised that she should have them off, so I will be following this thread with interest!

Hiya and welcome to the forum

Hi & welcome.

My dog's had the same problem (but only twice!). My vet says that they don't like to remove front dew claws if they can help it because they are attached by bone, unlike the rear ones that are generally just attached by sinew. He's said that the odd break here & there isn't a problem, but continuously doing it can lead to problems. However, they won't bleed to death from a broken dew claw! You can rest your mind on that score.

Yes, it can be painful, but probably less painful in the long run to constantly breaking them. If your vet's happy to do it, then go ahead. You'll be given painkillers afterwards & staffs tend to heal very quickly so he'll be back to normal before you know it!

They did mention that they may have to take a small amount of bone as well, like you say he will be back to normal in no time, and they wouldnt have suggested it if it wasnt a good idea.

I think im perhaps worrying over nothing, its just nice to speak to like minded owners, i try talking to my friends and they just look at me as much to say its only a dog, if only they knew lol.

cossie350 wrote:I think im perhaps worrying over nothing, its just nice to speak to like minded owners, i try talking to my friends and they just look at me as much to say its only a dog, if only they knew lol.

I know that look so well! My daughter gets the same look when she talks about Dempsey to her friends. They don't understand, do they?

It's understandable that you're worried, if you weren't you wouldn't be a good owner! I actually asked my vet if he would remove Dempsey's front dew claws the second time it happened, but he wouldn't do it. He said that it's a last resort, and breaking them twice isn't a last resort!

Hi all

Sorry for the delay, basically after Duke had his antibiotics on the 7th his claw healed really quick and i bottled it and cancelled his operation that was due on the 14th as i didnt want to put him through the op just after it had all healed up.

All was good until this Monday when he ripped his claw off completely leaving what looked like just the quick poking out, needless to say he wasnt a happy chappy again, so i rang the vets and book him in for the op first thing Tuesday morning.

The op went well and i picked him up at 4pm, on first appearance he seemed fine but after we got home the excitement wore off and the pain kicked in, he was winning his head off till 10pm that night till he managed to get to sleep. I felt like the worst owner in the world and was regretting what i had done.

Woke up the next day lifted my head as Duke was on the end of the bed, he was straight up for a morning cuddle and kisses, acting like noting had happened. He has been brilliant since, the bandages come off At the weekend so hopefully they will have started healing nicely and no signs of infection.

Overall im glad ive had it done now as apart from the first day it doesnt seem to have bothered him at all, i will give you an update in a week or so.

Thanks

Rick

.

To be honest Pado im not 100% sure how he was doing it, he does walk funny his front legs go round in circles rather than backwards and forwards. it quite comical to watch lol. I always notice it after a walk or when he has been playing in the garden.

My other dog that is a year older has never caught hers and shes bonkers lol.

Pleased all went well for you, gives me some reasurance as I am sure I'm gonna have to have Moo's done at some point Xx

Glad it all went well - don't they make you feel guilty, though?

Hello again, as you can tell I dont get on the net much lol, ive been meaning to post for a while now but didnt want to jump the gun before they had all healed up.

Anyway,Duke is doing great, the uninjured paw had healed a couple of weeks ago and you cant notice the claw has been removed, the one that he had problems with was a little infected when they removed it, so this has took a little longer but is 99% there now.

So for Janey and anyone else that may have to get the pooches dew claws done, dont worry like i did lol, the first 24hrs is hell but its all uphill fast from there.

Thanks to everyone for there support and guidance.

Rick

Hi Rick, very glad to hear Duke's claws have healed well and are nearly 100% again.

Thanks for the update. Moo hasn't damaged hers in a few months now but its still a possibility I'll have to have it done and you have put my mind at ease, so thanks!

Glad to hear is is doing well

Thanks for the update! I'm glad he's doing well, now. It's good to hear from someone who's had this sort of problem, because you never really know if you're doing the right thing.

good to hear he's all better.
we had our jack russell done back in the day because he kept tearing them too. the only thing he got sooky about was having big socks on all the time and slipping on the tiles haha.