Dew Claw Questions/Removal - New Born Shelties Questions

Hey there Chazhound!
It's almost Christmas and guess what my dog, Bobo has blessed me with!
Tiger and Bobo's FIRST LITTER OF PUPPIES!!! (Yayy, does 3 puppies count for a litter? Haha )

Background info: Tiger and Bobo are both pure breed Shetland Sheepdogs (Shelties). We are not breeding our dogs.

Well, the puppies (2boys 1girl) are going to be 2 days old tomorrow and I noticed that one of the puppies had 6 toes on both of his hind-legs; two which are duclaws I am guessing. I am planning on removing the dew claws myself for the first time and I needed some advice and help so I would not leave the puppies crippled for the rest of their lives if I remove them incorrectly

I have done research and it is highly recommended to remove the dew claws at 3-4days of age BEFORE they open their eyes. However....

I was wondering these questions:
-Does every puppy have them?
Why I ask: The two other puppies seems to have perfectly fine 4 or 5 toed paws.
-Do I remove the dew claws that corrects structure of the paw? How would I know what to remove?
Why I ask: I can kind of depict which 2 toes are the dew claws and removing these two toes allows the "paw" to show through.
-Do I have to remove something on every leg/puppy ?
Why I ask: It's only this puppies hind legs that seems to have 6 toes.
-Does every leg have dew claw(s)?
Why I ask: The puppies front paws seems to have 5 toes, but I'm unsure if you're supposed to remove the toe that is equivalent to a human being's thumb.

Are there other things I have to do for new born Shelties before they get their first set of shots at 3 weeks (I think its 3 weeks)?

Thanks in advance!!
And Happy Holidayss.
-Anna

I'll let experienced breeders chime in.
However, if your dogs had a litter, you're breeding your dogs.

I'd also not remove dews at home, you should go to a vet where they can make sure everything is done correctly and with no scarring.

I would take the puppies to a vet.... I am sure experienced breeders know how to do it but this isnt something I would want to learn by experience.

I'm not breeding them.
Bobo getting pregnant was a mistake, and the parents would both be spayed/neutered when the puppies are old enough.
Thanks.

Do NOT remove the dewclaws yourself under any circumstances.

Don't do them yourself. My breed always has dewclaws done and I take mine to the vet. Its good for the vet to give the mom and pups a check up on day 3 anyway, so since you will be there anyway....



no not every puppy will. some might have hind dews on one paw on none on the other. Some may have double dews and some may have none.

I wouldn't do it yourself. If you were going to be breeding I would get the vet to show you how (if you wanted to do them on your own) and get the proper tools etc and then do you first few under the supervision of a vet.

Pups should NOT get shots before 6 weeks. Their immune system is not ready to do anything with the shots reliably before then. So the shots won't take.

no need to wait on the male.

Please get the male neutered ASAP. And since you got your dog off of Puppyfind, that shows she is not from the most reputable of breeders. It would be wonderful if you could spay/neuter ALL the pups before they go to new homes so the cycle doesn't continue.

Cartman (7 year old dachshund) STILL has a declaw. He was from a byb...and they didn't remove it, and we never got it removed (But were always meaning too!). It hasn't caused him any trouble, but there still is a chance it could be ripped off somehow.

NEVER remove them yourself!! Have a vet do it!

Where did you hear 3 weeks?

I am personally wondering why someone who obviously has no idea what shes doing, is doing with a litter of puppies.

Please get correct information from your vet!!

I dont know about removing the extra toe... but congrats to your new pups...

Use the vet for dew claw removal.

You state this is their first litter. Hopefully it is their LAST. Take the male in for castration when you go to get the dewclaws done on the puppies.

Get the female spayed when the litter is about 12-15 weeks old.

Take them to the vet and have him remove it. You shouldn't be doing that since you don't know which claws are dewclaws or not. Since this will be the only litter, no need to learn yourself. I know of people botching the job so to speak and leaving scarring or not removing the dewclaw completely. Safest bet is to go to the vet.

I do want to point out that reputable breeders can and do leave dewclaws sometimes depending on the breed. Some breeds (like papillons) removal is optional, and others it's required to keep them. We have three paps with front dews and one with none, but all ours have very tight dewclaws and they actually use them quite often to grip things.

Shelties should have them removed, particularly back ones where they're not very attached.

I do my own at home...and there was a first time. Since you are apparently not planning on doing this seriously and with an eye towards improving your breed do as the other state and that them to your vet.

The way I do it is about 98% bloodless and was taught to me by another breeder and I've made changes to improve that.

Good luck with your puppies and placing them in wonderful lifetime homes.

go to the vet with the pups, get the dad neutered NOW and get the mom spayed later. accidents do happen, i understand that, but i do think if your going to keep an unfixed male and female dog in the same house.. your asking for trouble. when dogs want to do something, they usually will find a way to do it, if you arent very very good about keeping them separated AT ALL TIMES. sometimes you can barely tell when a female is in heat.. but beleive me.. he can tell.

go to the vet, have the dew claws removed, start interviewing and looking for new homes for these guys NOW so your not in a crazy rush when they are 8 weeks old and tearing down the house.
shots should be at 6 weeks.
do some research:
http://www.google.com/search?hl=en&q=raising+a+litter+of+puppies&btnG=Search
and do the best you can

the pups and mommy NEED to see the vet at 3 days anyway so get them in, the vet will do the dewclaws (usually for a very small amount too it only cost $7 per puppy to do vixies litter) and give both mommy and all the puppies a good check over.

this is also importantbecause you have abaoslutly no way of knowing if mommy is retaining puppies or produicing properly...
also while your there make an apt for ASAP to get the father of the litter neutered, AND you can usually prebook a spaydate for the female (the vet will let you know aprox how long after weaning would be best for her)

there is absolutly NO reason to be removing the dewclaws yourself, the only time i would say ok to doing dewclaws is if you have an EXPREINCED and repuatable breeder who has done MANY litters themselves SHOW you...
since this was an accidental litter and you say wont be happening again you have absolutly no reason to learn so just have the vet do it.

no shots untill the puppies are AT LEAST 6 weeks and they shouldnt be going to their new homes untill AT LEAST 8 weeks old.

:yikes:Why on earth would you want to do it yourself???

The proper age to have them removed is between 2-5 days depending on which vet you ask. Since the pups are already on the ground there's absolutly no way you can learn how to do it yourself in less than a week. Call your vet and set up an appointment to have mum checked and the dewclaws removed on the pup. While your thier start learning about everything you need to know about raising a litter, I'd recomend you bring a pen and paper with you so you can write it all down.

The male can be neutered now and there's no reason to wait since he's already shown he's capable of getting the deed done. It's normally reccomended to wait a month after the pups are weaned to get mom fixed, but you should confirm the timeline with your vet. Pups should never ever start their vax until 6 wks of age, though most vets prefer to wait till 8 wks if possible. You'll also need to find out about deworming the pups and how/when to start weaning them.

You should start screening new homes for the pups now if you haven't already. It's recomened to keep the pups with thier litter till thier 8-12wks old, the older the better. Also note that in many states it's illegal to sell a pup under 8 wks of age.