Dew Claws

Our boy has had a problem with his dew claw, he caught it a few days ago and it split. However, Dizzy licked it and bit it and it was half hanging off. We put some kiddies numbing ointment on it. Then we wrapped a solid barrier around it, taped up his paw, and the vet said he would see him next morning.

He went straight into surgery to have the twisted ripped claw taken off, ie Dew Claw amputation and disarticulation and has part of his bone taken away too. He has also had the same done on other legs to avoid this happening again. I am not exactly sure why they have to cut a bit of bone at the base of the claw, he said partly infection and partly ‘disarticulating the toe’.

He is in recovery at the moment, and we pick him up later no doubt with a ruddy great lampshade on his head. My girl here was distraught, she has never been on her own really without Dizzy there and although he finds here a nuisance and often changes rooms to get away from her, she clearly relies on him.

Dizzy looks as if he has had problems with toes before, and his claws/toe bones do seem to jut out at really odd angles even after clipped. My suspicion, is that he might have suffered a broken toe before or has joint problems. Then he runs in a strange way, so we always have had to tape down the dew claws if we let him off the lead because the way he bounces forward he catches the claws on his other legs. So he is better off without them.
He has infection in that leg/toe apparently so we need to treat him with antibiotics.

While he was under anaesthetic, we got them to do his teeth which were badly scaled, and apparently they have come up spotless. He should be waking up round about now, and we pick him up in a few hours.