Monday, March 21, 2011

Dew Claws

Wow, went to a wonderful seminar this past weekend (Chris Zink DVM) on coaching the canine athlete. Learned that dew claws are a very important part of your dog's balance and that they should be left on! How often do vets tell us to remove them because they could get pulled off and injury would occur? Well, all you have to do is watch the videos from Chris' seminar of agility dogs running, turning, jogging over the dog walk, going up the A-frame and you'll see how much these claws are used. They flex, they move and they grip! Saw a dog using his to keep himself from falling off a dog walk. Amazing stuff.

Without their dews, injuries like torn ligament, tendons, etc. are at a higher risk to happen because they don't have as good of balance on turns, etc. I think I'll take the chance my dog might rip a dew claw vs. a surgery on a torn cruciate!

Food for thought, eh?!!! Always learning something new here!

Deb Schneider
Everee, Eli & Corky