For the
average dog, unless there's a problem (for example, the
dewclaws aren't attached to the leg and are only being held
on by skin) dewclaw removal is just cosmetic surgery.


I see, thanks for the input.

On Tue, 22 Nov 2005 06:23:15 -0600, Kathleen
, clicked their heels and said:


If you're considering doing flyball I'd highly recommend removing them.
I've seen some appalling dew claw injuries.

That's not something I've seen (my dogs both have their dewclaws,
although they are fairly "tight"). Burned stop pads, yes (again,
fortunately not my dogs). I can't let Lucy get her paws very wet
though - her pads tear if they are water softened.


--
Janet B
www.bestfriendsdogobedience.com
http://pg.photos.yahoo.com/ph/bestfr...bedience/album

On Tue, 22 Nov 2005 08:36:12 -0500, shelly
, clicked their heels and said:


wasn't it Janet who has a picture of Franklin using his
dewclaws during a flyball turn?

I believe it is. He also does field work. He has tight and trimmed
dewclaws and uses them. Unless a dog's dews are very floppy, I see no
reason to remove them, and certainly not for a sport. He's been
racing for 2 years and has never had any sort of injury. Lucy is
finally retired(?) after 7 years of racing, and has never had an
injury either.

Neither of my dogs are ballistic. They aren't in the frenzy that I
see of too many flyball dogs. Perhaps they use their bodies a bit
more wisely.

The injuries I see from other dogs range from bloody mouths (smashing
into the box) and burned stop pads, to pulls and limping. I can't say
that I've ever noticed any dewclaw issues in 7 years of racing.





--
Janet B
www.bestfriendsdogobedience.com
http://pg.photos.yahoo.com/ph/bestfr...bedience/album

"shelly" wrote in message
...
my understanding was that cleaning teeth at the same time
as having surgical procedures done was discouraged because of risk of
infection. apparently, that's no longer the case.

.........not necessarily. I think what they do with rescues who might be
adopted out is a whole different thing from normal procedures on an owned
dog. Some vets say not to do teeth cleaning with anything else because
there's aerosolized bacteria in the air from the cleaning.

buglady
take out the dog before replying

On Wed, 23 Nov 2005 13:56:33 GMT, "buglady"
wrote:


"shelly" wrote in message
.. .
my understanding was that cleaning teeth at the same time
as having surgical procedures done was discouraged because of risk of
infection. apparently, that's no longer the case.

........not necessarily. I think what they do with rescues who might be
adopted out is a whole different thing from normal procedures on an owned
dog. Some vets say not to do teeth cleaning with anything else because
there's aerosolized bacteria in the air from the cleaning.

I don't think it has anything to do with the fact that rescues might
be adopted out; their lives are as valuable as those of owned dogs.
It's certainly a whole lot cheaper for a rescue to do it all together,
particularly for, say greyhound rescues, where all the dogs require a
dental regardless of age. But every vet I've worked with commonly
does dentals together with neuters or, with owned dogs, with other
procedures requiring anesthesia. It shouldn't be a problem unless a
dog has an abscess, and antibiotics can be given postop.

Mustang Sally

Janet B wrote:
On Tue, 22 Nov 2005 08:36:12 -0500, shelly
, clicked their heels and said:


wasn't it Janet who has a picture of Franklin using his
dewclaws during a flyball turn?


I believe it is. He also does field work. He has tight and trimmed
dewclaws and uses them. Unless a dog's dews are very floppy, I see no
reason to remove them, and certainly not for a sport. He's been
racing for 2 years and has never had any sort of injury. Lucy is
finally retired(?) after 7 years of racing, and has never had an
injury either.

Chris Zink likens removing front dew claws to amputation of the thumb.
And actually the dew claw on the front *is* the dog's thumb. Not as
useful as ours, but needed just the same. I don't think I will take off
dew claws on any more of my dogs if at all possible. I will, like you,
keep them well trimmed.

Janet B wrote:
On Tue, 22 Nov 2005 06:23:15 -0600, Kathleen
, clicked their heels and said:


If you're considering doing flyball I'd highly recommend removing them.
I've seen some appalling dew claw injuries.


That's not something I've seen (my dogs both have their dewclaws,
although they are fairly "tight"). Burned stop pads, yes (again,
fortunately not my dogs).

I make and sell skid boots to protect the dew claws and stops, so I
spend a lot of time dealing with the problem dogs. I hear their stories
and see the aftermath of their injuries when I fit their boots. And
I'll stand by the use of the word "appalling" to describe what I've seen
and heard. Along with ubiquitous burned stops, I've seen dewclaw
injuries from flyball, agility, frisbee and just playing in the back yard.

Now, I am a person who is generally opposed to any sort of cosmetic
modification. I think cropped ears are an abomination, and I thought
long and hard and had major reservations about adopting a breed where I
knew that in all likelyhood, my puppy would have already had his tail
docked. Until I got the three I have currently (2 BCs and a
stubby-tailed JRT), all of my dogs have had dew claws and I sort of put
that into the same category.

I still feel the same way about the ears and tails. I feel bad for
Cooper, especially. Not only was his tail docked, the job was botched.
It's noticeably too short, which became increasingly apparent as he
grew, which was why the woman who had him decided to re-home him. He
was spoilt as a show prospect. Her loss, my gain.

But I have had a complete change of heart and mind about the dew claws.
I am infinitely grateful that my dogs had theirs removed as babies.
I've witnessed the procedure as performed on newborns and there's
nothing to it. A snip, a yip, a drop of blood, a single stitch. And
forever after, the possibility of a good time ending in screaming and
bleeding is prevented.

I can't let Lucy get her paws very wet
though - her pads tear if they are water softened.

Boy, isn't that the truth. I keep my dogs out of the communal cooling
pools. Even if I didn't regard them as sort of oversized blue plastic
petrie dishes incubating dog-knows-what grottiness, I won't take the
chance of letting their pads become water-softened. I take my BCs
mountain biking with me and I've found that it's critical to keep them
from playing in creeks and getting their feet waterlogged. Waterplay is
the reward at the end of the ride, when the van's a couple hundred yards
away and I know they won't need to be doing any serious running on
pruney pads.

Kathleen

Rocky wrote:
Kathleen said in
rec.pets.dogs.health:


wasn't it Janet who has a picture of Franklin using his
dewclaws during a flyball turn?

Yikes.


I don't understand your "Yikes."


A lot of the dew claws I see tend to be floppy, either because that's
the way the dog was born, or because they've been damaged by previous
injuries (see my reply to Janet below). And when I think about the
forces generated during a high-speed swimmer's turn, when the dog is
slingshotting off the box, the idea of those vulnerable little
appendages being involved gives me the heebie jeebies.

Kathleen

Kathleen said in
rec.pets.dogs.health:

A lot of the dew claws I see tend to be floppy, either
because that's the way the dog was born, or because they've
been damaged by previous injuries (see my reply to Janet
below).

Our experiences differ. While most of the dogs I see have had
their dew claws removed because of their standard, those still
attached are predominately firmly attached, like Friday's.

--
--Matt. Rocky's a Dog.

"sighthounds & siberians" wrote in message
...
I don't think it has anything to do with the fact that rescues might
be adopted out; their lives are as valuable as those of owned dogs.
It's certainly a whole lot cheaper for a rescue to do it all together,

..........that was my point - cheaper, not that the dogs are less valuable.
Sorry I didn't make it plainer. If an organization or individual is
handling a lot of dogs, cheaper is nothing to sneeze at.

......FWIW, some vets I've run across won't do dentals with other surgical
procedures.

buglady
take out the dog before replying