DEW CLAWS &TAIL DOCKING

Here at NWB we no longer remove dew claws OR dock tails. It is very hard and heart breaking for me to take my puppies into the veterinarians at two/three days old to have their tails cut off and dew claws removed, they scream during the procedure, when we return home they cry and whimper into the next day, it is also very stressful for the mother and me. Bringing two/three day old puppies to the veterinarian's office at two days old increases the chances of the puppies picking up contagious diseases, this is a place where people bring their sick animals. This procedure is done without anesthesia. Please read the article below and consider purchasing your Boxer with tail intact. I can't wait for the day it is banned here in the United States. TAIL DOCKING HAS BEEN BANNED IN MANY OTHER COUNTRIES.

PLEASE CLICK ON THE LINK BELOW:

LINK: Studies Reveal Tail Docking in Puppies is Painful

" Australian veterinarian Robert K. Wansbrough explains, in an article published in the Australian Veterinary Journal, that anatomical studies demonstrate that pain in day old puppies would be actually more than in an adult dog due to the way impulses are sent through the puppy's unmyelinated fibers. Their slower conduction due to incomplete myelination, is offset by the shorter interneuronal and neuromusvcular distances the impulse has to travel, therefore, creating greater pain due to the pup's undeveloped inhibitory pain pathways. Dr. Robert further explains that cutting through muscles, tendons, nerves, bones or cartilages, would result in intense pain to a level that would never be allowed to be inflicted on a human being!

BELOW, CLICK ON THE VIDEO TO WATCH A VETERINARIAN REMOVING DEW CLAWS AND DOCKING THE TAIL OF A TWO DAY OLD BORN PUPPY: (WARNING - GRAPHIC)

LINK: DEW CLAW REMOVAL - TAIL DOCKING - BY A VETERINARIAN

MY BOY ARGENTO HAS HIS DEW CLAWS AND TAILS INTACT.

HOW CUTE AND ADORABLE IS THIS HAVENWOODS BOXER PUPPY WITH TAIL INTACT.... :)

Do the Dew(claws)?

M. Christine Zink DVM, PhD, DACVSMR

I work exclusively with canine athletes, developing rehabilitation programs for injured dogs or dogs that required surgery as a result of performance-related injuries. I have seen many dogs now, especially field trial/hunt test and agility dogs, that have had chronic carpal arthritis, frequently so severe that they have to be retired or at least carefully managed for the rest of their careers. Of the over 30 dogs I have seen with carpal arthritis, only one has had dewclaws.

If you look at an anatomy book (Miller's Guide to the Anatomy of Dogs is an excellent one – see Figure 1 below) you will see that there are 5 tendons attached to the dewclaw. Of course, at the other end of a tendon is a muscle, and that means that if you cut off the dew claws, there are 5 muscle bundles that will become atrophied from disuse.

Those muscles indicate that the dewclaws have a function. That function is to prevent torque on the leg. Each time the foot lands on the ground, particularly when the dog is cantering or galloping (see Figure 2), the dewclaw is in touch with the ground. If the dog then needs to turn, the dewclaw digs into the ground to support the lower leg and prevent torque. If the dog doesn't have a dewclaw, the leg twists. A lifetime of that and the result can be carpal arthritis, or perhaps injuries to other joints, such as the elbow, shoulder and toes. Remember: the dog is doing the activity regardless, and the pressures on the leg have to go somewhere.

Perhaps you are thinking, "None of my dogs have ever had carpal pain or arthritis." Well, we need to remember that dogs, by their very nature, do not tell us about mild to moderate pain. If a dog was to be asked by an emergency room nurse to give the level of his pain on a scale from 0 o 10, with 10 being the worst, their scale would be 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10. Most of our dogs, especially if they deal with pain that is of gradual onset, just deal with it and don't complain unless it is excruciating. But when I palpate the carpal joints of older dogs without dewclaws, I frequently can elicit pain with relatively minimal manipulation.

As to the possibility of injuries to dew claws. Most veterinarians will say that such injuries actually are not very common at all. And if they do occur, then they are dealt with like any other injury. In my opinion, it is far better to deal with an injury than to cut the dew claws off of all dogs "just in case."

FigureFigure 1. Anatomical diagram viewing the medial side of a dog's left front leg demonstrating the five tendons that attach to the dewclaw.

--from Miller’s Guide to the Dissection of the Dog

Figure 2. In this galloping dog, the dewclaw is in touch with the ground. If the dog then needs to turn to the right, the dewclaw digs into the ground to support the lower leg and prevent torque.

HOW THE DEW CLAW IS USED BY THE DOG:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yp2xHj_NJn4

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