Split dew claw - again!!

[Newf]

So my dog somehow managed to injure his dew claw again! This is the second time now since October! Which really threw a curve ball into hunting season.

Really wishing the breeder had removed them...

Has anybody ever had dew claws removed from an older dog? (2.5 years old) I know the ideal time is when a pup is just a couple days old. But I would be interested to hear any comments about having the dew claws removed from and older dog.

[Amy Avery]

I had a dog that had them removed at 1 or so, they grew back after they were removed at 3 days old, they put him under and removed them, really was no big deal.
Had to keep it bandaged for a few days and anitbotics.

[PalouseDogs]

A couple of weeks ago, Maple tore off a toenail on one of her hind toes. There was hardly more than a few millimeters left. Owww, owwww, owww. I didn't see it happen. I found a bloody dog print in the snow on the deck. Presumably, she got it hung up in a crack in the wood on the deck, but I don't know for sure. She could still run amazingly fast without putting her right rear leg down. The past couple of days, thankfully, she's hardly showing any sign of a limp, but she still gets nervous when I want to look at it. Maple is the only one of my four dogs that does not have dew claws. The other three dogs have never torn a dew claw. Go figure.

[JustinS]

One of my dogs had a rear dew claw noticed it after I got her home and she was 8 1/2 weeks old the vet gave her a local ans. and clipped it off he bandaged it up and gave me a few pills for pain pretty simple, but being 2.5 yrs old I might be afraid the bone is solid and could cause some difficulty but they declaw cats all the time at different ages so it might be easier than expected good luck

[Erin Lynes]

A rear dewclaw is completely different than a front dewclaw. Rear dewclaws are pretty much just a flap of skin with a toenail. Front ones are a working toe. A surgery at this age is a big deal. How about keeping them trimmed really short? Start trimming them back, wait a few days for the quick to receed, trim some more, repeat, until they are not at a length that they can catch and be a problem.
p.s. de-clawing cats is a pretty painful, slow-to-heal procedure

[Bally's Gun Dogs]

We had a German shorthair as our first dog. The breeder didn't get one completely out as a pup so we had it removed prior to her first hunting season. Only downfall is its more invasive and requires general anesthesia. She was up and at em really quickly after surgery but she was supposed to limit activity. That was the hardest part keeping an active pup on limited exercise for a few days.

Our last litter of labs had 5 rear dew claws so its always good to double check them too when removing themin early days of life.

[pupaloo]

At this point you are amputating a functional toe-it is major surgery. As suggested, keep the nail trimmed short, and file rough edges so they don't catch on things. You should also supplement with a zinc tablet everyday, if the problem is a split nail or thin pad.