Ow... my dog hurt his dewclaw...

[MonkeyFunk]

it's bent all sideways. He doesn't seem to be in any discomfort, but he won't let me examine it.

It hurts to look at, but he's not in pain. What should I do?

[Blue-Jay]

1. Take him to the vet tomorrow and have it removed.

He won't miss it. Do both of them while you're there. It's not like he's going to climb a tree or anything.

[MonkeyFunk]

2. ugh...

I suspect it would require sedation.

He really doesn't want anybody touching it.

[Blue-Jay]

5. Nah. A local and a quick snip-snip should do it.

Ask your doctor, though, of course. He's just going to keep injuring it if it's hanging there, the poor little guy. Don't worry. It's not going to develop into an opposable thumb any time soon.

He'll get a wrap that looks a little like leg-warmers, and you can dance around with him singing: "He's a maniac!...." He'll eat that shit up.

Really, though. It's not a huge deal. Trust your vet. He/She knows what to do. I could be mistaken.

[idgiehkt]

12. rolfmao...

"he's a maniac"?

:shrug:

:rofl: :rofl: :rofl:

[Midlodemocrat]

3. Okay, educate me, what is the dewclaw?

My two dogs lead a very happy indoor life. Does that make a difference? No judgment. It's just that where I live isn't conducive to having dogs live outside.

[MonkeyFunk]

4. it's the nail up inside his forearm

it would be a thumb for primates.

[Midlodemocrat]

6. I'm sorry for your pup. We haven't had that issue

:obviously: because I didn't have any idea what you were talking about.

What kind of dog is it? Does this particular breed lend itself to this problem? Mine are a 6 yo dachschund and not quite 1yo Yorkie/ShihTsu, although I must confess, I think there is a bit more to her than the breeder stated. The breeder stated she wasn't show quality, which is fine, we were looking for a pet, but she doesn't fit the guidelines for those breeds at all.

I may have to do a Doggy DNA like Meredeth Viera did on Today. :rofl:

[LeftyFingerPop]

7. Don't worry...

my girl dog just about chews hers off, then it looks fine in a few days. i would give it a day or so, and if it does not look better, or if your dog appears to be in pain, i would take him to the vet.

[Fawkes]

8. Dewclaw

This is a painful injury. Take him to the vet tomorrow. Don't wait. I know because it happened to my dog and became infected.

[XemaSab]

10. Wasn't it 400 bucks?

:shrug:

[Maddy McCall]

9. You need to let the vet look at it.

The boy needs both of his dew claws removed.

It can be done under sedation--and many vets will do it at the same time that they snip the goobies.

When you take him to the vet, have him remove both.

[MonkeyFunk]

11. thanks...

I've never encountered this problem before.

Plus, he's never met "the right girl", so I guess I might get him neutered at the same time. But that saddens me... I always wanted grandpuppies.

[Maddy McCall]

13. Depends on what breed of dog you have...

Lots of breeders will remove the dew claws shortly after birth. So if you've had other dogs that didn't have dew claws, it's probably because the dew claws were removed early in the pup's life.

When done at two or three days old, it's just a quick crimp with the hemostats and slice with the scapel. But when pups get past a week or two, it becomes a procedure that the vet must do.

If your dog's dew claw got caught on something, it must be because it's kind of hanging a little loose away from the forearm. Just to be safe, if you're going to get one of the claws removed, I'd go ahead and let him do both if I were you.

Then you won't have to worry about it any more. And you don't have to get his goobies snipped at the same time...most vets will offer to remove the dew claws during the neutering surgery, for a few dollars more than just the neutering. I was just gonna suggest that, if you haven't had him neutered yet but were planning on it.

How old is he, MF?

[MonkeyFunk]

14. he's 3

and I have no objection to removing the claw.

I just feel bad about neutering him, because I had hoped for grandpuppies, and he's never displayed any bad behavior due to having his nay-nays.

I always knew I'd have him neutered some day... I just hoped he'd get lucky first.

[Maddy McCall]

15. Well, if you can afford to put off the neutering...

that's what I'd do.

And you may be able to see the vet and treat the dew claws with a stitch or two and some neosporin, instead of going for the all-out removal. How bad is the tear?

And then you can have the dew claws removed whenever you decide to do the neuter.

I can understand the grandpuppies thing. You don't have to have him neutered now.

Keep me updated on this, please? :)

[MonkeyFunk]

16. good news

the dewclaw fell off (well, I helped a little - just brushed it quickly and it fell right off.)

There's a solid bit of claw still left, so there's no hole - it broke off above the skin, so I think he'll be fine. It doesn't appear to be bothering him at all.

[NMDemDist2]

17. ouch!

my sheltie almost tore off one of her back toes once. since she's a sheltie we used to call her the three toed, needle beaked fuzzy butt

:rofl:


if he'll let you you may want to wrap it with a bandage all the way around his leg so it doesn't get caught on anything and torn worse. Dewclaws are so easy to remove on 3 day old puppies and a pain to remove later, but he may need to see the vet and get it done