![]() ![]() If you look at an anatomy book (Miller’s Guide to the Anatomy of Dogs is an excellent one – see Figure 1 below) you will see that there are 5 tendons attached to the dewclaw. Of the over 30 dogs I have seen with carpal arthritis, only one has had dewclaws. I have seen many dogs now, especially field trial/hunt test and agility dogs, that have had chronic carpal arthritis, frequently so severe that they have to be retired or at least carefully managed for the rest of their careers. Christine Zink DVM, PhD, DACVSMR, “I work exclusively with canine athletes, developing rehabilitation programs for injured dogs or dogs that required surgery as a result of performance-related injuries. There is a higher risk for Carpal tears, injuries and arthritisįive tendons that attach to the dewclaw ~ from Miller’s Guide to the Dissection of the Dog.There are tendons that atrophy if the dew claws are removed.They are important when running and jumping for balance and quick turns.Why people think we need to cut off Dewclaws: There is more and more evidence that removing dewclaws can result in structural damage. Dogs also use their dewclaws for maneuvering. In my opinion, taking off the dewclaw is a more serious issue than tails. They use their tails to communicate with other dogs.Tails are used by dogs to express themselves.Docking can cause nerve damage and phantom tail syndrome.Curly tails catch debris while swimming.Long tails ruin the visual out line of the dog: It doesn’t look like a poodle.Tails get stepped on and caught in doors.Why people think we need to cut off tails: As the climate for docking and ear cropping slowly changes we will begin to selectively breed for straighter shorter tails but in the mean time litters will have a variety of lengths and curls. Since tails are docked when a puppy is only 3 days old and a poodle’s tail doesn’t fully curl until at least 4 months there’s never been a way to know what kind of tail a breeder is selectively breeding. Over the decades breeders have bred poodles without considering the natural length or curl of the tail. I have 3 breeding poodles from Russia with long natural tails and after some “getting used to” the look, I love it! After that day the puppies tails never wagged the same and I swore that I’d never dock tails again. I hated to see and hear the puppies scream as the tails and toes were cut. As I took each pup to another room to do the procedures the mom sat in her box waiting for her puppies, stressed out of her mind to have her new puppies out of her sight. They cooed and chirped and their little tails whirled like helicopters. When the time came I stood over the whelping box and watched the puppies nursing. The procedure seemed hard on both the puppies and mom and when my last litter turned 3 days old I dreaded having to put the puppies and mom through the same procedure. I also had visions of showing the puppy I kept and everyone knows that long-tailed poodles can’t win in the ring. I decided to never do this procedure again after observing my litters. After docking the tails on my first few litters I was reluctant to do it again but knew that puppy owners would demand it and frankly I worried that people wouldn’t think of me as a serious breeder if I left the tails long. To Dock or Not To Dock… (Muddy Creek Poodles will no longer dock tails or remove dew claws) ![]()
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