How Do You Dew? 

The pros and cons of keeping or removing your pup's dewclaws.

Ask a group of breeders and handlers if their dogs have dewclaws and you'll get a mixed response. “They’ve got to be removed,” says one group. Those folks don’t believe dewclaws are essential to a gun dog’s performance. In fact, they’ll cite numerous examples of how a broken or torn dewclaw has landed their dog on injured reserve. Others believe that the dewclaws are part of the dog’s anatomy and should be left intact. They’ll reference that removal can cause arthritis later on, and that with some normal and preventative maintenance they won’t break or tear. Let’s take a look into dewclaws and examine the pros and cons of their removal.