dew claws

Hi guys 'n' gals

Probably a stupid question i know.
But max's dew claws are very sharp and when he puts his arms on your shoulders they sometimes graze your neck and it's painfull  
so how many of you cut them and how often do they need trimming, all his walks are tarmac based so the rest of his nails are short
i'm just really not sure if am surposed to cut them, all answers will be gladly taken on board

thanks in advance

I file mias with an emery board its only the vet thats meant to cut dew claws

oh right ok but can i just ask why only the vet again i'm sorry if i'm being a bit thick

thanks channi

I've always cut my dogs' dew claws myself and have never had any problems.

As you said, I don't need to do anything to Zeus's normal nails as they file down themselves from walks.

However, I do get the dew claws done around once a month from the vets. You need to make sure you get them done and don't leave them growing too long as the longer the dew claw gets, the lower the 'quick' will get which could cause problems going forward.

I've tried to clip Zeus's dew claws myself but I don't really feel comfortable doing it just incase I nick the quick and it starts bleeding, so normally just pay a couple of quid to put Zeus on the vet's table and they quickly do it without any issues.

I've also read many horror stories of people that leave the dew claw too long and the poor dog catches it on something and ends up ripping it off, can't imagine the pain those dogs have gone through!

Gizmo's just managed to rip one his off. He came in from the garden a few days ago with the nail totally missing. Like you say, it seems pretty sore for him and he's licking a fair amount, but I think he'll be fine.

Ironically enough, I emeryboard all his claws because they tend to split and I worry about them catching on something and ripping.

im forveer filing mias dew claw as when it catches the skin its very painful i used to do it quite often as everytime i came home she would jump on my legs and greet me due to her sore legs she only jumps up ocassionally. i find as the dew claw is so small the vet should do it as there are nerves in your dogs claws i wouldnt feel confident cutting the dew claw tbh

Cheers for your reply's everybody luckly all max's nails are white apart from one main nail so i can see the quick easily so will probably do it myself if he lets me:lol:

A nail file works well if you can get Max to sit still long enough. Vets is an option as are good dog groomers too

Bug doesn't have hers, they were gone when she came into the kennels and she has big scars where they used to be.. Her nails were hugely overgrown when in kennels however and I have to really keep on top of them if they get too long, she has a very long quick but I trim hers myself, very carefully!

-Ian- wrote:A nail file works well if you can get Max to sit still long enough. Vets is an option as are good dog groomers too

max doesn't know sitting still i will wait for him to fall asleep on the sofa  (belly up legs wide open) only jokin i know you gotta go careful but i always remember my old man doing our old black lab

You can of course do it yourself as long as you avoid the quick cos boy does it bleed if you nick it

I know what you mean about belly up and showing everything off

I cut Katy's myself when they get long but she does seem to snap them occasionally & doesn't even notice

-Ian- wrote:You can of course do it yourself as long as you avoid the quick cos boy does it bleed if you nick it

I know what you mean about belly up and showing everything off

yep not much dignity when they sleep

Not much dignity anytime with my girl

-Ian- wrote:Not much dignity anytime with my girl

Or mine

Goblin wrote:Gizmo's just managed to rip one his off. He came in from the garden a few days ago with the nail totally missing. Like you say, it seems pretty sore for him and he's licking a fair amount, but I think he'll be fine.

keep an eye on it - it's veryu easy for a broken claw to get infected, and as staffords tend not to show pain straight away you could get a nasty infection before you realise it.

I am, I've seen infected claws before.

Goblin wrote:I am, I've seen infected claws before.

how is he today?

dew claw's all clipped and filed (amazed max let me file aswell) happy days no more grazes down the neck for me wwwwooooohhhhhooooo

Eeeek this brings back horrible memories when my beloved old girl Bree twisted her dew claw somehow or other when she was about 5 years old and it was sticking out sideways. Took her to the vets and before either of us knew what was happening got his pliers and yanked it out & then put some of that purple stuff on to stop the bleeding? She went through the roof bless her and hated the vets after that. They're a blinking nuisance.

i don't blame her i don't think any dog would want to go back after that, max loves the vets but then again he's never had anything that may upset him that much

My girls broken her dew claw a couple of times and it always looks nasty. The first time it happened we took her to the vets but since we simply keep it clean and it sorts itself out pretty quickly.

Mind you, I guess where it gets broken though might make me return to the vet

thankfully I dnt need to file mias dew claws very much. when I bring the enery board out she actually runs she lets me file a cupla seconds takes her paws away get round her eventually with persuasion