Rear Dew Claws!!!

[Susan, Zeke. Lily & Jasper]

At Jasper's first vet visit after coming to live with us his vet tech discovered that he has both front & rear dew claws.  Our vet says this is very rare in most breeds but is common to a very few neither of which are labs or poodles.  This feature must have come from the early mixes during development of the labradodles.  Does anyone else have a dog with rear dew claws?

[Joanne ~ Spud*]

NO and I never have had a dog with rear dew claws. Did your vet tell you which breeds this is uncommonly found ?

[F, Calla & Luca]

Nope. German Shepherds can have them.

[Vicky & Cassidy]

I have never heard of this before, and I would probably get a "second opionion". It is my understanding all breeds have dew claws removed at 3 days old to avoid them being torn off. This may be why some people believe they are born without them ~ unless you breed dogs, you would never see them. I discovered Jammers still had one rear dew claw when she was about 4 months old ~ apparently the vet (or vet tech) just missed it.

[F, Calla & Luca]

I don't think that's true. Most doodles do not have rear dew claws . Most breeders of doodles do not remove the front dew claws nowadays. Mine both have front dew claws, which are a pain to clip. But they both appear to use them to hold things.

[Angie, Hudson and Lily]

Our Beagle has rear dew claws. Hudson had his dew claws removed soon after he was born. I know there is some debate on this procedure, but I'm glad he doesn't have them. They are definitely a pain to clip and on our Beagle they have to be clipped very regularly or they start getting close to her pad.

[Karen, Jasper and Jackdoodle]

A lot of the European herding breeds have double dew claws; Beaucerons, Great Pyrenees and Briards are three that come to mind. And they do have a function.

[F, Calla & Luca]

Here is a good explanation.
http://www.pets.ca/articles/article-dog-dewclaws.htm

[Susan, Zeke. Lily & Jasper]

Thanks for the info! These rear dew claws don't seen to bother Jasper and since his coat covers them you wouldn't even know they are there. They are a llittle difficult to trim and our vet stressed the importance of keeping them trimmed. Have no plans to have them removed at this time.

[Emilie]

I do! Thought it was unusual too! the dog is a rescued 2 yo Shih Tzu/Bichon mix. Emilie

[Mustard Seed Ranch]

My background, before Doodles, is GSD with "schutzhund" like trials, and I have a farm with working Great Pyrs. In both cases the dogs USE their dew claws. Both need to be able to climb slippery slopes, mud embankments, wet slippery, icy terrain, etc. It would be like free climbing a rock cliff without your thumbs. Yes, the PYR's have double dews (they look REALLY weird when newborn because their paws are massive) and YES its a pain because we have to use garden shears to clip them, put in their case they are necessary. AKC REQUIRES double dews on a Pyr. Breeders disagree on whether or not to remove them and as of now its "optional" in the doodle breed. Just keep them trimmed like the others , and if its a young dog and it bothers you, I believe some vets will remove them during a spay/neuter since they are already under.

[Linda and Murphy]

Thanks for the excellent information. Murphy has his front dew claws. He has managed to rip the dew claw out twice now. It was a bloody mess and quite relieved that my vet was still available on those two days. The first time there was so much blood I didn't even know what had happened. The second time, we were playing frisbee on a freshly mowed lawn. He quit. Looked at me. Looked at his foot. (about 4 times) Started to walk inside refusing to play any more. Then I saw the blood. Got him to the vet and it was just hanging there. She pulled it off (he let her)and applied something to stop the bleeding, wrapped it up and we headed home. Its been right at a year and it is starting to grow back now :-(