Removal of dew claws?

[Disenchanted3]

We have just got our 8 week old pug.

Our older dog had its dew claws removed soon after being born by the vet, just something the breeders did automatically.

However this pug still has hers.

Im concerned because the first breeders said their claws were removed because of pugs bulgy, prominant eyes they often ended up scratching their eyes with it whem grooming and rubbing their own faces.

I talked to my local vet and they said its not a procedure they do often as now, at 8 weeks, a GA is needed and they don't like to do that unnessecerily (sp!)

Which I understand, but they added they do do realise it can be a problem with dogs such as pugs so if she does end up doing damage to her eyes or just tearing the dew claw then they will remove it.

But Im not sure I want to wait until the damage is done.

Im not set on removal BTW, its just something I have not had to consider in previous pups as they have never been there.

So really asking for advice and opinions on it.

Thankyou.

One of mine has them the other doesn't but they dont have bulgy eyes. I think lots of dogs have them left on now.

Yes, I still have no clue,

I mean most dogs eyes are set back from their noses, more on the sides,

but if a pug scratches its nose its eyes are right above.

You see alot of one eyed pugs on pug rescue sites

I understand your concerns in theory, but in 13 years of practice I have never seen an eye injury attributable to dew claws. The vast majority of dogs, of all breeds, have front dew claws and they rarely cause problems if kept trimmed.

I agree with your vet's reluctance to perform an 'unnecessary' GA but I would consider it if there appeared to be real cause for concern when she is a few months older. However, I would be perfectly happy to remove dew claws while a dog was under GA for some other planned procedure, such as neutering.

So for now, my advice would be to keep the dew claws reasonably short and watch what happens when she grooms. I don't think it is likely to be a problem but if you believe it is, go back and talk to your vet again.

agree with legoprincess - in my 20yrs as a vet i don't remember having seena dog who has scratched its eye with a dew claw.

But if necessary I'll take them off when the dog is neutered...

so i'd not worry too much, breeders can be so bonkers sometimes

Don't know about the eye thing as I only know about whippets, but we always take the dew claws off our puppies now as we have a bitch who had hers left on and the amount of pain she goes through when she REGULARLY catches and tears it is awful.

The dew claws are removed at about 2 or 3 days - just snipped off with a sharp pair of scissors. Most of the pups don't even wake up when it is done.

However, for an older puppy it becomes a more serious operation which is why vets will not recomend it for older dogs. We looked into having the dew claws removed on the older dog but the vet said it really wasn't worth putthing the dog through the anesthetic.