In the conformation ring some breeders and owners feel that the dewclaw detracts from the dog's overall appearance. Some breeders fear that pet owners will miss the dewclaw when trimming their dogs nails and risk the nail becoming embedded or ripping.

Breeders fear pet owners won’t cut dewclaws or will miss them.

For many years, people believed that because the nail of the dewclaw doesn't touch the ground in standing that it must not have a real purpose and therefore removal of the nail wouldn't impact the dog in any way. Rear dewclaws, on the other hand, do not have any associated tendons and are considered non-functional (though they may be required for some breed standards to be present).

Belief that front dewclaws are a non-functional digit.

So what are some of the reason behind removal? Breeders may choose to remove dewclaws on 3-5 day old puppies or owners may choose to remove front dewclaws later in life. This choice can be very personal and can vary between owners, breeders, veterinarians and dog breeds. There are a number of reasons why someone may choose to remove front dewclaws from their dog. Why do some advocate front dewclaw removal? Survey-based analysis of risk factors for injury among dogs participating in agility training and competition events. Source: Cullen KL, Dickey JP, Bent LR, Thomason JJ, MoÃns NM. The front dewclaws may have a function in preventing torque on the limb, and as such, the removal of dewclaws may predispose the dog to injury. The results of the study suggested that the removal of the dewclaws in the forelimb may be a risk factor for injury to other digits. Of particular note is the research found that the first digit (the dewclaw) was at a low risk of injury. The researchers suggested that forces applied when dogs are turning at high speeds on the agility course may act as repetitive stressors to digits 3, 4, and 5 and that these digits may be of more importance to athletic function than previously recognized.

This observation was also found within the present study with digit 5 seeing the most amount of injury. Previous research has thought that our dog’s third and fourth digit were the most important due to their central location within the feet and due to their length in comparison to other toes but research has shown that substantial weight is also placed on the fifth pad and on the metacarpophalangeal and metatarsophalangeal pads. The function of front dewclawsĪ 2018 study of digit injuries found that digit injuries were more likely to occur in the front limbs (P< 0.001) than hind and that digit 5 (the outside digit) was the most frequently injured while the dewclaw (digit 1) was the least frequently injured. When standing, the front dewclaw may not appear to be functional because it doesn't come in contact with the ground but observing the dewclaw when the dog is in motion tells a different story.

When feeling the rear dewclaws you'll be able to move the nail more freely as they're often only attached by skin.

However, in most breeds the presence of a rear dewclaw is rare and are often non-functional meaning that there is no tendon attaching. Some believe that the presence of rear dewclaws on the Great Pyrenees was purposely bred to give greater stability when working on rough terrain and snow. There are some breeds (Great Pyrenees, Saint Bernard, and Briards) that are born with dewclaws on all four legs or even double dewclaws on the rear leg. The presence of these tendons suggests that the front dewclaw has a function and that removal of the front dewclaw may have lifelong consequences for our dogs. Feeling the nail you should be able to move the dewclaw a little (forwards and backwards) and you'll probably be able to feel the tendons that connect the nail to the leg. When looking at a dog's foot the toes that make contact with the ground are essentially the pinky, ring, middle, and index fingers - the dewclaws are like the thumb. All dogs are born with a toenail on the inside of their front legs called the dewclaw.

Dew claw dog anatomy