![]() ![]() However, dogs can have other toenail problems that aren’t caused by an injury. They may leave drops of blood on the floor if the injury is fresh, or you might see them licking their foot excessively. Most of the time, it’s clear when your dog has a problem with a toenail. Healthy toenails are not brittle and will not chip or split when trimmed with a good-quality pair of nail trimmers. The nail attaches to the toe at the nail bed, and on the underside of the foot, the nail lies very close to the toe pad. However, if your dog has black nails, it makes clipping them much more complicated, since you can’t see the quick area inside the nail. If your dog has clear or light-colored nails, you will be able to distinguish these parts clearly. This hard shell protects and seals in the delicate inner portion, “the quick,” which contains the blood vessels and nerves. The hard outer part of a dog’s nail is made up of keratin. This likely explains why dogs can be in pain when they break a nail. Dog Toenail Anatomyĭog toenails are very similar to people’s nails, with one major exception: they are attached to the end of the “finger bones.” That means an infection that gets into the nail or nail bed can potentially enter the bone, becoming much more severe. Should you be worried? Is this an emergency, or can you wait to see your veterinarian tomorrow? Here’s what you need to know about the parts of a dog’s nail and what to do about your dog’s bleeding or broken nails. After cleaning away the blood, you can see that your dog’s toenail looks broken, and there’s a good amount of blood. It is the dreaded Sunday afternoon scenario-you’re playing fetch with your dog, and suddenly they come back limping. But interesting that this person is advocating it for dogs that will be used for sporting purposes (though I guess it depends on the definition of "sporting" too - that may not be such physical stuff as the old time sporting/hunting that led to the practice of removing the dew claws in the first place).The following content may contain Chewy links. PetMD is operated by Chewy. That's probably not so relevant in modern times, of course, since the majority of dogs are kept purely as pets. And the reason behind it was that they commonly got torn off, so it was figured to be better to remove them humanely at birth. The removal of dew claws is something that dates back to when dogs actually were used for sporting/hunting purposes. Even if you restrict your definition of "Europe" to the EU, there are 25 different countries, each with it's own parent club, and they each do things their own way. It always surprises me when people make claims like that about "Europe" as though there were one rule to fit all. I wonder if the author of that article has ever been to a European country and seen the boxers in this part of the world? Where most breeders most certainly *do* remove the dew claws, in line with the FCI boxer standard that lists their retention as a fault. ![]() Gratefully, most Boxer breeders in Europe recognize the important function of dewclaws and don't remove them." ![]() ![]() The pressures on the dog's foot are the same, but if there is no dewclaw there to grip the ground, the pressures will go to the elbow, the other toes, the wrist, the shoulder possibly causing unsoundness and arthritis later on. Additional evidence comes from the fact that working dogs will get grass and dirt stuck in the dewclaws, indicating that they are being used, and from photos showing the dog's foot on the ground and the dewclaw dug into the ground. So that is five muscle bundles in the leg that will atrophy (shrink from not being used) once the dewclaw is cut. Tendons are attached to muscles or muscle bundles. The best evidence for leaving dewclaws intact is right there in every dog anatomy book. "If at all possible, ask your breeder to not remove the dewclaws in your puppy's front legs, especially if you plan on doing any kind of sport with him. I just read this article and was wondering if anyone had any thoughts on it. ![]()
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