Lucky lost a dew claw.

B

Bob R

Forums Regular
I don't post often, but when I do it is about our 6 year old sheltie "Lucky". He's a good boy, and we love him a lot. So when something seems to be bothering him I will try to find out what's up. We noticed him holding his left front paw up last night, and sort of hopping a little as he walked...and sometime walking normally too. So I took his left leg and examined it a little to see if there was anything obvious that might be causing this action. Well I was surprised to discover his dew claw was gone...no bleeding at all...just gone, and he let me feel the area of his leg where it was located as long as I was gentle with it...and after examining his other leg and feeling the location of the dew claw on that one just to be sure of it's exact position sure enough the left leg dew claw was gone. Almost as if it never existed...strange but it is obviously the cause of his currently favoring that left paw. He gets up and walks wherever he wants with his normal gate but when he stops he holds the left paw up most of the time. He can do the stairs, even run if there is reason, but holds the paw up when he stops. So do I let him adjust and presumably return to normal or is this a vet visit...which is somewhat hard to arrange since an actual vet visit to our vet during Covid times is only being scheduled for emergencies. Appreciate your thoughts on this.

Bob
 
Is it just the nail that is missing or the whole structure of the dew claw? When one of our dogs lost that nail it didn't cause a limp, but it sure did bleed. I would watch him and if he's still limping in a couple of days I would try and get into your vet. Many folks here have had Lyme disease in their dogs that starts as a limp, just something to keep in the back of your mind. Most vets have lifted the heavy restrictions so I imagine you could get him in without too much trouble.

Hope he's OK.
 
Sharon7 said:
Is it just the nail that is missing or the whole structure of the dew claw? When one of our dogs lost that nail it didn't cause a limp, but it sure did bleed. I would watch him and if he's still limping in a couple of days I would try and get into your vet. Many folks here have had Lyme disease in their dogs that starts as a limp, just something to keep in the back of your mind. Most vets have lifted the heavy restrictions so I imagine you could get him in without too much trouble.

Hope he's OK.
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I'm thinking it's whole structure because when he tolerates my investigation my hand feels a smooth leg and not the bump the other paw has. I have not done a closeup look see because that's probably going to get a reaction from him that's not so friendly.

Bob
 
Wow that is most bizarre to lose the whole thing and have no blood at all. I’d say just keep an eye on it if it doesn’t start bleeding,I don’t know what if anything a vet could do for it. You could wrap it with some vet wrap I suppose if Lucky tries to lick it. He’s lived up to his name indeed...dewclaws can be quite messy and painful when they’re ripped off. Perhaps he caught it awhile back and it gradually came off, would make sense in why there was no blood now.
 
Piper's mom said:
Wow that is most bizarre to lose the whole thing and have no blood at all. I’d say just keep an eye on it if it doesn’t start bleeding,I don’t know what if anything a vet could do for it. You could wrap it with some vet wrap I suppose if Lucky tries to lick it. He’s lived up to his name indeed...dewclaws can be quite messy and painful when they’re ripped off. Perhaps he caught it awhile back and it gradually came off, would make sense in why there was no blood now.
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Well for me I have never had a dog with any sort of dew claw problem. That's three collies, and two shelties. Never an issue until now with Lucky...Sheltie number two. I had to google dew claw to gain some familiarity with it. I'm still very much a beginner still, and hoping it turns into a minor inconvenience. The fact there is no blood, he's not licking it, just favoring the leg affected by holding it off the floor until he wants to walk and then he walks, climbs stairs, run on the deck when he sees a rabbit, or squirrel worth fussing about...then he can run and stops when he is done with the fuss. Then stands there sometimes holding that paw off the floor, other times not.

Bob
 
Just throwing this out there. Did he have a left dew claw before? I only ask because Shelby only has 1 dew claw. They were all removed when she was born but 1 grew back and we never had it removed.
 
Shelby's mom said:
Just throwing this out there. Did he have a left dew claw before? I only ask because Shelby only has 1 dew claw. They were all removed when she was born but 1 grew back and we never had it removed.
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Well that's an interesting question to which I can honestly reply, "I don't know"!
I was basically reacting to his holding his left paw up, and the association with dew claw issues that can prompt a dog to do that. If indeed he never had one that would explain the lack of blood. But still leaves me wondering the reason for his holding his paw up the way he did. BTW he has not held it up at all this morning!

Bob
 
Most breeders remove the dew claws at birth, they really don't serve a purpose for our domesticated Shelties. Sometimes, one or more will grow back. My Ruffles has one front dewclaw that stubbornly came back and I have to be careful to keep it trimmed pretty short so it doesn't catch on things.

Removing a dewclaw from an adult dog is a surgical process that requires anesthesia which is why it isn't commonly done. If Lucky had lost his entire dewclaw I can't imagine there wouldn't be some sign of that. I guess this is the long way of saying is I'd schedule a vet visit, especially if he keeps limping or holding up the paw, or seems ouchy when you touch it. There must be a reason he's doing that. Is there any heat in the area when you feel his leg? If so, I would definitely check with the vet. Please let us know what happens. Pats to Lucky!
 
Here’s an interesting article about dew claws....http://www.mcrehabilitation.com/blog/the-function-of-dewclaws-101
The breeders here will typically remove the rear dewclaws but not the front. The front dewclaws do actually serve a purpose in stabilizing the leg, especially in turns. They’ve actually found that dogs tend to have more injuries to the tendons and muscles in the front leg (due to weakening) when the dewclaws have been removed. The key is to make sure they’re kept short, letting them grow too long could cause them to get caught and ripped out.
 
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