The dewclaw may not be used by domestic cats, however. Wild felids use the dewclaw in hunting, where it provides an additional claw with which to catch and hold prey. The dewclaw on some cats is not vestigial. Generally a dewclaw grows on the inside of each front leg but not on either hind leg. Members of the cat family – including domestic cats and wild cats like the lion – have dewclaws. In America, some pups are commonly sold by breeders "dew clawed," that is with the dewclaws removed (as by a veterinarian) for perceived health and safety reasons. Removal is detrimental to this breed and should not be performed.įor those dogs whose dewclaws contact the ground when running, it is possible that removing them could be a disadvantage for a dog's speed in running and changing of direction, particularly in performance dog sports such as dog agility. Dewclaws in the Great Pyrenees are attached to the bony structure of the leg. One breed for which lack of dewclaws is considered a fault is the Great Pyrenees.
Many dogs can't resist licking the surgery site in the weeks following the procedure, so an Elizabethan collar or bitterant may be used to curtail this behavior, thus preventing infection. The surgery is fairly straightforward and may be done with local anesthetics if the digit is not well connected to the leg. Dewclaw removal is most easily performed when the dog is young, around 2–5 days of age, though it can also be performed on older dogs if necessary (though the surgery may be more difficult then). The argument for removal states that dewclaws are a weak digit, barely attached to the leg, and thus they can rip partway off or easily catch on something and break, which can be painful and prone to infection. There is some debate as to whether dewclaws should be surgically removed.
#ED DEW CLAW DOG SKIN#
Rear dewclaws often have no phalanx bones and are attached by skin only. Several genetic mechanisms can cause rear dewclaws they involve the LMBR1 gene and related parts of the genome. A more technical term for this fifth claw on the rear legs is hind-limb-specific preaxial polydactyly. Rear dewclaws Ĭanids have four claws on the rear feet, although some domestic dog breeds or individuals have an additional claw. In some dogs these claws may not appear to be connected to the leg at all except by a flap of skin in such dogs the claws do not have a use for gripping as the claw can easily fold or turn. They can be used to lightly grip bones and other items that dogs hold with the paws. In this case, the dewclaw's nail never wears away, and it is often trimmed to maintain it at a safe length. In many dogs the dewclaws never contact the ground. There is some debate about whether a dewclaw helps dogs to gain traction when they run because in some dogs, the dewclaw makes contact when they are running and the nail on the dewclaw often wears down in the same way that the nails on their other toes do, from contact with the ground. When a dog has extra dewclaws in addition to the usual one on each front leg, the dog is said to be double dewclawed. At least one of these dewclaws will be poorly connected to the leg, and in this case it is often surgically removed. It is normal, although not biologically mandatory, that certain breeds will have more than one dewclaw on the same paw. Unlike front dewclaws, rear dewclaws tend to have little bone or muscle structure in most breeds. It commonly grows high on the leg such that in digitigrade species, when the animal is standing, it does not make contact with the ground.ĭogs always have dewclaws on the inside of the front legs and occasionally also on the hind legs. File:HindLegDualDewClaw.jpg Unusual double dewclaws on rear leg of dog.Ī dewclaw is a digit – vestigial in some animals – on the foot of many mammals, birds, and reptiles (including some extinct orders, like certain theropods). This dog's dewclaw never makes contact with the ground and the nail has grown long. Letter "D" in the image indicates the dewclaw on this dog's front paw. For the web-comic characters of the same last name, see Kevin and Kell.
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