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Those dew claws provide balance while your Lab is running and keeps the wrist joints stable. The dew claws offer extra support to your Lab’s legs when your dog needs to turn quickly while running at a high speed. Removal of dew claws can cause carpal arthritis and injuries to other joints. Therefore, removal of the dew claws will affect the major muscles attached to those tendons. The presence of those and tendons and muscles indicate that these dew claws have a purpose. Joint issuesĪccording to the information from Dr.Christine Zink, DVM, PhD, a famous consultant on canine sports medicine, dew claws have their own function.Īccording to her, there are two major functioning tendons attached to the front dew claws. And moreover, the purpose of these dew claws is not extinct and it still exists. This is the same in case of dew claw removal too. You cant start taking away all its body parts under the premise that they get injured severely.
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Its leg might get injured or its tail might get injured or its paw might get injured or whatever. Sometimes these injuries may be severe too. When your Lab is very playful, there is a chance that it might get injuries now and then. When nature has given dew claws to your Lab, it means that they serve some purpose. Purpose of dew claws on Labs- Why to keep them intact?Īctually, what is the purpose of a dew claw?
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Hence instead of those painful injuries, it is better to remove them before itself. For example, dog breeds such as Norwegian Lundehund use their dew claws to climb rocky cliffs.ĪKCallows removing of these dewclaws, as working dogs and other active dogs have a risk of getting their dew claws torn that can cause an extremely painful injury to the dog.
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These sharp and long nails can cause scratches on your body during play and can be quite problematic.Īccording to AKC, dew claw is considered as an extra claw and it serves its purpose only in some dogs. Dog owners often neglect and forget to clip them. These sharper and longer nails are more likely to become ingrown into the surrounding area of the dew claw.Īs i told you that the nail on the dew claw doesn’t get blunt easily and they grow longer and sharper. This causes the nails on the dew claws to grow sharper and longer. This does not happen with dew claws are they are positioned a little higher and do not touch the ground easily. Whenever your Labrador runs or plays, its nails lose their sharpness and get blunt. This is one of the main reason why people prefer to remove their dog’s dew claws.Įven though injuries related to the front dew claws occur, they are relatively rare. It can cause a painful injury to your dog. When your dog is more into field works, playing and running throughout the day, the weakly attached dew claw might get torn when it latches onto something. Some dew claws, especially those on the rear legs are loosely attached to the leg just with a small flap of skin. The problems that people want their dogs to avoid are. Some people prefer removing dew claws as it seems to be a better option rather than worrying about the problems caused by those dew claws. The idea of removing a dog’s dew claws has some specific reasons behind it. Thus the trait of rear dew claws is unique only to certain breeds. This is unique to certain herding breeds such as the Great Pyrenees and Saint Bernard. Unlike Labradors, there are some breeds with rear dew claws along with dew claws on the front legs. There exist some Labs with rear dew claws too, but this is usually rare. Some other dogs also have double dew claws.ĭo Labradors have dew claws? Yes, Labradors have dew claws on their front legs mostly. But some dogs have rear dewclaws too along with the front dew claws. They usually don’t touch the ground and are usually present on the front legs. Simply the small fifth toe with a nail that is present slightly above your dog’s paw is called its dew claw. Every domestic dog also has the fifth digit on its paw, like the thumb on our human hand. When you look at your Labrador feet, it generally has four toes on each of its paws. This article answers all your questions and provides you with all the information you need about the Labrador dew claw. What are these dew claws on Labs? What is the purpose of your Labrador dew claws? Should you remove your Labrador’s dewclaws? Similarly one of the topics that is highly debatable is regarding the Labrador dewclaw. Hence if anyone wants to do anything to their Labrador, it sparks debate. Anything you do to your Labrador should enhance its life but not affect its life.