toes

Ah, what could be cuter than puppy toes?

There is one day in the care of puppies that I just hate and yesterday was that day.  The horrible day when the rear dew claws are removed.

Vets are increasingly reluctant to remove these claws.  I have to say that I can't blame them - after all, "removing dew claws" is a polite way of saying "chopping off toes".  So it came to pass that with the Riemu litter, my new vet was one of those who would not do the procedure.  As it was, there was only one puppy with a rear dew claw - and she had it on only one paw.  So I took advice.  I spoke to other Lapphund breeders both in the UK and abroad.  There were several breeders who either didn't bother to have them removed or who were in the same position that I now found myself - their vets would not do it.  And they had never had problems.

In Scandinavia it is actually illegal for these claws to be removed - like tail docking here.  And that was the fact that finally made up my mind.  And, after all, the only thing worse than handing over these tiny puppies to have their unnecessary extra toes chopped off would be handing them over for this procedure to someone I didn't already know and trust.  So I made the decision not to have that single claw removed from that single puppy.

And what happened?

Before that puppy was 2 years old, she ripped that blasted dew claw and had to have it removed under general anesthetic.  And that is the reason for having them removed at 3 or 4 days old.

So this time, although my regular vet still won't remove them, I did find a vet I do know and trust who was willing to do so.  And so yesterday I took Mini with her single rear dew claw and Tuulen with his pair of rear dew claws, to have them removed.  Chopped off.  Aw, poor puppies!

Do I regret it?  Well, no.  Does it hurt them?  Frankly, yes.  So how can I not regret it?  Well, it takes a second to remove a claw, it only hurts them for that second, and then they have a lifetime of not risking the excruciating pain of injuring it as an adult. 

Below you can see the little mark where Mini's was removed.  That is followed by some random shots of irresistible puppy toes.