Having puppies questions

[Mona]

I have had MANY, MANY dogs' dewclaws removed, and I have NEVER seen ANY differences in those dogs (other than visual) in comparison to those with dewclaws. My dogs have absolutely NO problem with holding their bones and toys in their paws to chew on them. I have personally had tails and dewclaws removed on many dogs, per breed standards and for cosmetic reasons. I have not personally had ears cropped, but my Boxer is cropped, and I like the look a lot, BUT, this is just my opnion. This said though, I do also like the natural eared Boxers, but I would want the tail docked, again, just for cosmetic reasons I guess, just because I prefer the look of it. As long as I own a Boxer and it is not illegal to dock, my Boxers will be docked.

 

[Lizzie]

The removal of dewclaws, makes absolutely no difference, to how a dog might be able to hold a bone or toy. Dewclaws are just appendages, left over from pre-historic times, when dogs did not actually walk on the tippy toes, which they do now. Some dogs have front and rear dewclaws. Obviously rear ones, do not have anything to do with holding anything. Great Pyrenees and some GP crosses and a few other dogs, have the rear ones also. They are not usually even attached by bone and can easily be snipped and removed.

Incidentally, many other species, also have this left-over remnant of a historic extra toe.

I am all in favour of removing dewclaws. I can't even count, how many dogs I've seen (mostly hairy dogs) with dewclaws which have grown so long, they have curled and grown back into the leg. Ask any dog groomer, just how many they have seen. If I had a Great Pyrenees which I was not showing, I'd also have the rear ones snipped. They serve no useful purpose at all and can be a problem. Many dogs will actually nibble on dewclaws. I suspect, thinking that they are something which shouldn't be there.

Every litter I ever produced, had their dewclaws removed at two days. It is a very minor procedure.

Cropping and docking are usually up to the breeder, unless in a country where it is prohibited. However, in the US, where cropping and docking are usually done in a given breed, if you wish to show, then it's best to have it done. In Great Danes, we do see a lot more uncropped dogs being shown and winning. However, it was a difficult process and took many years, to have judges even give them a second look. When I brought all my GDs to the US with me, none were cropped. I was mostly laughed out of the ring.

Try showing an undocked dog where it is the norm these days, and you might as well save the money. There are a couple of Rotti owners, showing undocked animals, but they are few and far between.

One thing I must add though. If you do decide to have a dog cropped, make sure you are willing and have the knowledge and patience, to attend to and tape the crop, regularly and up to a year or more, if necessary. Nothing worse than seeing a cropped dog with ears which flop. It is not a quick or easy process.

Lizzie

 

[Mona]

One thing I must add though. If you do decide to have a dog cropped, make sure you are willing and have the knowledge and patience, to attend to and tape the crop, regularly and up to a year or more, if necessary. Nothing worse than seeing a cropped dog with ears which flop. It is not a quick or easy process.

I'll say! I always wanted a cropped Boxer..until I bought a young 9 week puppy with a show crop! Thankfully, hers were standing I think by about 5 or 6 months of age! All that time, and tapping, and wrapping, and cursing, I swore I would never buy another cropped pup. Now that it is all over and they are standing nice and pretty, who knows, I MAY buy another cropped pup. Am more leanind towards NOT though! (BUT...."Never say never"!)

 

[Riverrose28]

I worked with a small animal vet for decades, and have held many a tiny puppy for its dock and dewclaw removal, hated it. The poor little things would scream and wiggle, just awful. I used to raise and breed American Cockers, Blk. & Tan, and they also had theirs removed for show only, as no one would take them out to scare up birds with coats and ears that hung to the ground and took hours to groom. Ear cropping is actually not so bad, as it is a surgery and the dog is asleep, and given pain meds after. If the cartledge is good the ears will stand without a problem. Well we had to dock the new puppies tails, as that is what the standard calls for, but, I still don't like it! Could live without it. To each their own.

 

[Matt73]

I have yet to remove our puppies' dew claws; I always say I will....but just can't bring myself to do it (or have it done); contrary to what people say, it DOES hurt them. I may do it with a short-haired breed, but I don't do it with our Berners; if people want to remove them they can do it when they spay or neuter them

 

[AnnaC]

First let me just say well done Terry for being such a brilliant puppy midwife - so sorry the little one didn't make it for you though. I do hope life turns around for your daughter and her family real soon.

Regarding the docking etc issue, we didn't dock the last JR littler we had and they all ended up with curly little tails - looked cute! I would never crop ears even if it was allowed over here in the UK, just dont like it! But dew claws, then yes, provided they are done when the pups are 1-3 days old and before they become 'attached'. Unless for medical reasons dew claws should not be removed at a later date as it is a major operation and there can be difficulties with the healing process - so Matt please leave yours alone now!

One of our JR's still has her front dews and they cause her a load of trouble every now and again when they catch on the long grass or the brambles as she belts across our fields and round our woodland. She pulls the claw half out of the claw bed and it is pretty painful! Being a typical JR she wont let us touch it, so we have to wait a few days while she licks it and fiddles with it until it loosens and drops off at its broken point - of course it grows again I wish it didn't!! But I do wish her breeder had bothered to remove them for her.

Hope your computer soon gets sorted - cant wait to see the pics of the gorgeous new cuddly bundles!

 

[Mona]

if people want to remove them they can do it when they spay or neuter them

I've done it both ways. I have personally removed dewclaws from MANY newborn puppies over the years. If done properly, right at/in the joint where it attaches, put pressure on it before making the cut, there is basically no bleeding, and yes, they do scream blue murder, but it often starts before you even cut, and stops as soon as the pup is reunited with it's dam. All I ever did was put a bit of Quik Stop Powder on it, and that was all it ever took. I never had an issue with infection or bleeding or toes growing back.

I have also had dew claws removed on both toy and large breeds upon spay/neuter, and believe me, this is FAAAAAAAAAAAAR more serious, FAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAR more painful, and more drawbacks to the healing process of having it done this way. I would take the having it done at birth (within the first 1-3 days) vs the procedure at spaying/neutering ANY day!

As for tails, I would not do that myself....VET ALWAYS! I have seen too many instances where "breeders" hacked into the tails themselves, severing the bone, rather than making a clean cut between the vertebrae, and has resulted in a lot of pain and discomfort for the dog...even after the vet "fixes" the problem at a later date, they will often still show phantom pain from the years of discomfort they have endured before that.

 

[Field-of-Dreams]

http://www.justlabradors.com/forum/lab-chat/129077-why-i-will-never-remove-dew-claws-my-puppies-4.html

I still would never do it to any of my dogs.

 

[Riverrose28]

OK, another question, do you all think I should give the MOM some puppy food that has extra calcuim and vitimins? And, one more thing do I take them back to the vet at five weeks for their first shots and expose them to virus's and germs, or do the injections myself? The only thing that concerns me about giving the injections myslef, sub-Q, is that it is the pups first and they would need to be observed for half an hour for problems, and, I'm 20 minutes away from the vets if there is a reaction! What do you guys think?

 

[Riverrose28]

How do you copy a picture from facbook into this site? my daughter took a picture of the puppies, but I can't seem to copy and past it.

 

[Mona]

I never fed the dam anything special unless they were needing it. Your girl has a fairly small litter there so she should do just fine. As to the shots. personally I would not be vaccinating at such a young age. But that said, I have also wondered in the past about bringing young puppies to a vet clinic, because afterall, what is there...SICK pets! I never wondered or thought at all about it, until one time I was on my way to the vet (80 miles away) thinking she needed a c-section, when she ended up popping the first one out before we got there. So he set us up in the basement on a couch at the vet clinic, to whelp her oout. Those pups ended up dieing. They got little pustules and ended up dieing within days. I was just sick over it, and even though the vet told me they must have picked up a staph infection from their mom while being born, truthfully, I didn't buy into that. I always suspected (and maybe wrongfully so) that they picked something up at the clinic. It had never happened to me before that, not after. I have vaccinated the puppies myself, sub-Q. I never even thought about anything happening back then, but I know with the horses, I did keep a bottle of Eppinipherine on hand for such occassions. I never had to use it, but since I was 80 miles from vet, was just something handy to have, "just in case".

 

[Riverrose28]

I was finally able to load a picture into photobucket, I was sent two by my youngest daughter, she took them with her fancy phone. It took forever to load with my dial up. Here are thelittle teddy bears!

 

[Mona]

Awww, what pretty little babies.

 

[Matt73]

We give our dogs puppy kibble two weeks from whelping. When they've had their puppies they get 4 cans of dog food, all the kibble they want (plus cooked ground beef and other treats), and a tums everyday. Our dogs are 90+lbs., though. It's crazy how much they can eat when nursing and still stay ribby.

I bring our puppies to the vet at 7 weeks of age for a full check up, vaccinations, and microchip insertion. Also, we deworm at 2, 4, 6, and 8 weeks with Pyrantel Pamoate suspension.

Oh...and we did have a puppy have a minor reaction to the vaccine within minutes (started vomiting). So I'm glad we were there (gave Benadryl IM and something else....and he was fine).

 

[Riverrose28]

Matt thanks for the info, the puppies had to go to the vet already for an exam, when they had their tails docked and dewclaws done. I forgot about benedril, as I always keep some on hand, cause I have bullies that are alergic to just about everything. So I think I'll give them their first shots at home and watch them. Oh my, I'm so in love with them, I go in there everyday and kiss and hug them, they are so cute, huggable, and kissable. When it comes time to sell them I think my heart will break!

 

[bevann]

Thanks for the photo Terry.Corgi puppies are the Cutest.I have a friend whose husband was a pro handler and she commented that she had seen many breeds of puppies but agreed that Corgis were the cutest.I raised several litters and they are fascinating to watch at play.Puppies who play like kittens.I really miss raising puppies.Enjoy them Terry and keep posting photos as they grow.Had a litter of Corgis once that were swimmer pups.I did physical therapy on them several times daily and they turned out fine.My old Corgi will be 12 on Aug 28&I think she is starting to lose her hearing-healthy otherwise.Her daughter is 10.I love their little smiling faces and big ears and stubby legs and little wiggly butts with no tails

 

[Riverrose28]

Oh Bev, you made me tear up, they are so adorable! I know when it comes time to let them go, I'm going to be so sad, and they weren't expected or planned, but they are here and so loved. The grandkids have all been here and loved on them, and a couple are starting to open their little eyes. Their little tiny legs and paws are so cute, and their little ears are to die for. Just too darn cute! My youngest daughter is coming this weekend, we are having a chicken roundup, so I'll get her to take more pictures with her fancy phone and get them posted. My cmputer is having a hissy fit and my photo gallery isn't working, but if she takes photos and e-mails them to me I can put them in photobucket, then post.

 

[bevann]

No more puppies for me here, but I get my Corgi fix occasionally.A friend who had Pembrokes has now switched to Cardigans(shows and breeds a litter once in a while)calls me when she has puppies.I have to wait until they are 4 or 5 weeks old(no danger of my transmitting anything by then)and I get to go play with them and smell puppy breath.I would LOVE to have another Corgi puppy.My 10 year old "puppy" is right near me while I am on the computer.