The American Beagler Forum

Why is it that every time you go to buy a well bred pup the breeder has not removed the dew claws
Them things are a pain in the but. We all want top dollar for our pups but if I am paying top dollar I want them things gone.
Whats everyone elses opinion on this.
Dave

If you have a litter and want to remove them by all means go ahead, if you are buying a pup well bred or otherwise and know in advance-request that the breeder removes them if he will not then dont buy! I have not removed them from my most recent litters and can honestly say I cant see a difference and have not had any complaints from the individuals that took the pups.

Most of my problems come from the crusty old snow and I know you get plenty of that. They seem cumbersom to trim too.
I guess once you have pups without them you notice a little more.

I have three adults with dewclaws and two without. Those blasted things get caught on everything!

I once bought a dog who hadn't had one of his dewclaws trimmed and it had grown into his leg! Talk about gross!

Although I wouldn't let it hold me back from buying a well-bred pup, I will always remove dewclaws off my own because I hate them so much!

I agree and it's so simple to do when the pups are first born and so much less of a hassle than when they get older.

Personally, I usually remove the dew claws from my pups. I think on the last litter I had, I only did the back ones because they bled like stuck pigs and I had such a hard time getting the bleeding stopped.

That being said, I like it when the front ones are removed, it looks cleaner and you don't have to worry about getting all scratched up from the dew claws on the inside of the legs.

Personally, I have never had any issues with front claws and snow, but my dogs haven't spent the whole winter in the great white tundra either.

Emery

I clipped the dew claws from my last 2 litters myself. It was really easy. I used a pair of clippers (straight not curved) and then pinched the skin together and put a drop of super glue on it to seal it shut. Had very minimal bleeding and they healed up with no problems. I personally like a dog with no dew claws and will do all of my litters myself from now on.

I wished alot more breeders had your mindset Ronny.

I have a 5 mo. old pup that has them, but they don't have the joint in them, it's just skin. They haven't been a problem so far, but i want them gone. I have heard you can tie a rubber band around them if there's no joint and they will fall off. Has anyone tried this?

Every pup we have ever had with dew claws we have removed ourselves, not the ones in the front, but the ones in the back, we usually use finger nail clippers, or a razor.