Beauceron Dewclaws – Everything You Need To Know!

What Are Beauceron Dewclaws?

An important lesson when it comes to how to take care of a dog is knowing just what dewclaws exactly are.

Dewclaws are common in pets like dogs and cats. This potentially weightless toe develops on your pet’s legs, especially near the wrist area or carpus. You can compare it with a human thumb but with different functionality.

Although dewclaws are common with pets, some dogs may have multiple dewclaws on their rear legs. In short, it might even look abnormal for your beloved fur friend to have an additional claw hanging from its rear legs.

But do dewclaws contain bones? The answer is yes and no. For instance, most dewclaws contain bones attached to a dog’s leg with regular blood vessels, nails, and nerves.

On the other hand, some dewclaws do not contain bones and hang from the leg. However, you can have other distinct characteristics like nails and blood vessels, which means your dog will feel the pain if the dewclaw gets injured.

In short, a dewclaw is a critical body attachment that makes a Beauceron more appealing.

Are Beauceron Dewclaws Crucial?

Since dewclaws are an integral part of Beaucerons, you might want to know about the purpose that these attachments serve for your dog.

For instance, many pet owners consider that having an additional claw serves no purpose. However, dewclaws can become very useful for your dog for multiple reasons.

Benefits of Beauceron Dewclaws

Here are the benefits of having dewclaws.

• Better climbing and gripping ability

Although you cannot consider dewclaws as essential, these body attachments can undoubtedly add some additional aptness to enhance climbing and gripping.

Since Beaucerons are expert hunters, having dewclaws can enhance their hunting capabilities by offering additional friction and climbing abilities. In short, if your Beauceron is an expert in retrieving prey or climbs on most surfaces with ease, you can credit a bit of the success to your dog’s dewclaws.

• Improves stabilization

Although having dewclaws does not mean more stabilization than other dogs, it certainly helps your dog stabilize prey or objects quickly. Furthermore, dewclaws enhance a dog’s contact with different surfaces, adding more stability to the carpus.

You can witness this behavior when your dog handles a treat or toy, especially when it uses its dewclaws to secure the object. Declaws are also useful during hunting trips as your dog can get a better grip on the prey.

• High-speed stability

Since many pet owners use Beaucerons for hunting purposes, having dewclaws can help their dogs to chase prey with minimal fuss.

For instance, when Beaucerons run, they create an angle that makes their dewclaws touch the ground. This additional grip allows Beaucerons to sprint faster, even on slippery surfaces.

Furthermore, dewclaws offer additional traction and stabilize your dog’s wrist while chasing prey or guarding your home against unwanted visitors. However, dewclaws that do not contain bones might not provide these abilities.

Are Beauceron Dewclaws A Problem?

Dewclaws are common for most dogs, especially with hunting or mixed breeds. Although dewclaws do not bother a dog, sometimes they can invite trouble or cause some medical issues, which might affect the overall health of your dog.

Issues With Beaurecon Dewclaws

Here are the scenarios where dewclaws can cause damage to your dog.

• Severe injury

Hunting breeds like Beaucerons often venture into unknown and rough territories to fetch prey. These situations can be unpredictable and may cause injuries to your dog’s dewclaw while pursuing prey.

If left untreated, the injured dewclaw can develop other health issues like infections, which is undoubtedly not good for your dog. The best way to counter this problem is to check your dog’s dewclaws for injuries after every outing.

Furthermore, you can visit a veterinary expert and remove damaged nails using the recommended procedure, including sedation, pain relievers, and antibiotics.

• Disease

Since dewclaws contain blood vessels, nails, and nerves, they can develop certain diseases like cancer due to untreated injuries. Furthermore, dewclaws are often hidden under thick fur, so determining an injury can be challenging.

If your dog is behaving unusually or is licking its dewclaws, take immediate action or visit a professional veterinary expert. Sometimes, internal injuries without visible bleeding can also cause different health issues for your dog.

• Extensive nail growth

Dewclaws have identical nail growth to regular nails, so a rapidly growing nail can cause damage or even pierce your dog’s skin. Since dewclaws have different sizes, you may fail to notice extensive nail growth if your dog has a small dewclaw facing inwards.

It can be a painful experience for your dog and even cause extensive damage if not treated early. The best solution to this problem is to trim your dog’s nails regularly, including the dewclaws.

Should You Remove Beauceron Dewclaws?

As mentioned earlier, you can remove dewclaws at an early age to minimize pain and other complications. However, if your dog is completely fine with its additional asset, it would be best not to remove your dog’s dewclaws.

Since dewclaws serve a crucial purpose, removing them might take away the additional benefit that your dog can utilize. However, if your dog develops a health issue or suffers an injury, removing a dewclaw might be the best option.

Furthermore, most veterinarians prefer to remove loosely-attached dewclaws if they are on the rear legs. Likewise, veterinarians also remove double dewclaws that do not provide any benefits to a dog.

However, if you want to take your dog to a show ring, you should avoid removing dewclaws from your Beauceron, as most kennel associations disqualify any Beauceron if it is missing double dewclaws.

On the other hand, if your dog is experiencing a health issue or discomfort due to its dewclaws, removing them would serve the best benefits for your dog. But if your dog is perfectly fine with its dewclaws, opting for a dewclaw removal process is undoubtedly not worth it.

The best thing to do is follow a scheduled hygiene routine and trim your dog’s nails, including dewclaws, to ensure more safety for your Beauceron. Remember, removing dewclaws without any reason might invite different health issues.

How To Remove Beauceron Dewclaws

Generally, breeders remove dewclaws at an early age (3 to 5 days) under the guidance of experienced veterinary professionals. The procedure involves using general anesthesia to numb the specific area before the surgery.

Once the veterinary expert determines that the anesthesia has done the job, he will begin the procedure of removing the dewclaw. After completing the surgery, the vet will proceed with prescribing pain-relief medications, including antibiotics, to help heal the procedure.

Furthermore, pet owners must ensure that they cater to these prescriptions without fail and implement ways to restrict specific activities like running till the wound heals. Additionally, you can also employ a cone to prevent your dog from touching the specific portion.

So when will dewclaw removal heal? The healing process depends on the pet owner’s care and how your dog goes through the recovery process. Generally, the recovery process might take up to 2 weeks, depending on which age you performed the surgery.

Here are the things that you need to follow to speed up the recovery process.

• Follow the prescribed dose of medication provided by the veterinary expert.
• Change the bandages daily to avoid infection.
• Check your dog regularly for signs of discomfort, such as limping, licking, or biting.
• Ensure that there is no bleeding or swelling from the affected area.
• Use other alternatives like a cone to prevent your dog from accessing the affected portion.

If you follow the above steps, your dog should heal within two weeks. However, if you notice that your dog is still in discomfort after two weeks, it would be best to visit your veterinarian for medical examinations.

Final Thought

So are Beauceron dewclaws a problem? Dewclaws often serve as an additional feature to aid stability and grip, so removing them would strip your dog of the added advantage.

However, if your dog experiences a health issue due to its dewclaws, removing them would be an ideal solution. In short, having dewclaws can have advantages and disadvantages, so it would be best to determine whether your dog is perfectly fine with its dewclaws.

We hope that this article will help you make an informed decision on dewclaw removal and how you can treat your dog if you have to conduct a dewclaw removal surgery.