do gypsies cut off dogs dew claws?
over a year ago we rescued a puppy, she is a grey hound cross saluki and had parvo virus. now she is around 2 years old and is in perfect condition. she only has a few scars here and there from all of the injections she had to have to keep her alive... before Christmas we was on the website of the place where we found her and found out that there was a male greyhound cross saluki and we decided to rescue him as well... he was also found at an old gypsy site but did not have parvo... we checked the older dogs dew claws the other day to see if they needed to be cut and we thought that we may as well check the new puppies. but there is no dew claw on either of the front legs. and the whole part i missing, including the padding part.
we assumed that because the pad part is also missing on both sides that they did not just catch on something and that they must have been cut off.
do gypsies do this sometimes? because the older dog has still got both of her dew claws? x
Comments
Dew claws are normally removed when a puppy is 3 days old. Most breeders have their Vet remove the dew claws, and if it's a breed whereas tail docking is the norm, it's done at the same time. With that said, some experienced breeders do both procedures themselves, because at the age of 2-5 days old, no anesthetic is required, and some breeders SO still *band* tails. Whether or not a Gypsy actually removed the dew claws of your dog, or a Vet did it, you'll never be able to find out. When it comes to actual BREEDS, most of them do have their dew claws removed because it's in the written breed standard of their breed, at least where I live which is the US.
It's far from only gypsies who remove the dewclaws. And yes, my Whippet had hers taken off, when only days old, by her breeder's vet. I don't understand about the 'pad part' unless you mean the whole claw with the little pad underneath is missing which is quite normal. With dogs who might rip the dew claws it's perfectly normal to have this done and again done at only days old, the puppy hardly notices it. I used to have this done with my Basset puppies until quite honestly it wasn't the norm out in Canada, so I didn't bother.
It's far better to have them removed in those breeds where it's customarily done, than risk injury later on which would need a general anaesthetic for it to be amputated.
This has nothing to do specifically with gypsies other than the Lurcher is commonly known as a gypsy dog.
Unless the breed standard requires dewclaws to remain, it is usual practice to have the dews removed at Day 3 or 4 by a veterinarian.
I've heard of people getting the dew claws removed. Dew claw can get caught and the nail can grow into the leg. It's better to get it removed, in my opinion.