# Dewclaw



## John Sosa (Nov 8, 2006)

I have a litter of 5 malinois puppy,they are 1day old, my question is, should i remove their dewclaws or not? why?


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## Molly Graf (Jul 20, 2006)

remove only rear dewclaws. The Shepherds should keep their front dewclaws as they are attached by bone and they do use them. Removing front dewclaws is like amputating a toe - very painful and definately not necessary for most breeds. The breeds who do have front dewclaws removed are done for looks, not for utility. And Malinois are definately not bred for looks LOL.

molly


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## Lacey Vessell (Nov 18, 2006)

I think dewclaws/no dewclaws on a Malinois is a personal preference. I could not find anything in the (FCI) standards to say they must be present. AKC standards does not fault one way or another. Both my mals have their front dew claws, never had rear ones. Only had one problem, with dewclaw damage, in my almost 7 year old working Mal, where the nail was torn off during a track. Taught me not to be negligent about keeping them cut back. Healed fine, no problems since. If the dewclaw was not close to leg or lacked bone to where it would be prone to injury - I would have it removed as was the problem with our Rotty's dewclaw. Very painful for her  



> And Malinois are definately not bred for looks LOL.


Beauty is in the eye of the beholder. If it was a perfect world, I would like to think and hope that Mals would never be bred for looks - I prefer them being bred strictly for what they bring to the table concerning working abilities. I don't want Mal's to ever become "popular" with the general public either - it has lead to the downfall of so many breeds. MALINOIS ARE UGLY


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## Maren Bell Jones (Jun 7, 2006)

Mine has double dew claws for some crazy reason. He will be two years old next month and hasn't snagged the rear ones that I know of. I'm not so sure about the rear ones not being attached. Out of his four rear dew claws, only one feels "loose" like there isn't bone connecting it to the rest of the leg. Probably have to x-ray it to find out for sure though. He has however snagged a front one playing tug in the living room. I don't even know how he did it except all the sudden there were drops of blood all over the floor. Healed pretty fast though. And yes, I've already noticed that some show Malinois already look different than those from working lines. Can't wait until they start looking like their front legs have a box that they are standing on while the back legs are still on the ground. :evil:


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## Sam Trinh (Jul 31, 2006)

Do you all mean that people who tell me my Mal is beautiful are lying to me  I hope the Mals remain unpopular as well, and either tell non-working people that they are the worst dogs ever or that he's a mix.

I just had his rear dewclaws taken off, i didn't want them to tear through when he is on icy snow. Neither of them were attached at all. i would have them removed its a whole lot cheaper for the owner if it is done early...


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## Jeff Oehlsen (Apr 7, 2006)

On the other hand, and to be stinky, you are breeding Mals, let alone dogs and don't know some really basic puppy stuff? 

Nice. I am sure they will do great in the show ring. :x :x :x


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## Bob Scott (Mar 30, 2006)

John, it seems your asking questions about things that should have been worked out or researched before you had this litter. 
Is that an honest assessment? 
What are your goals with this litter? 
Do you have any previous expierience with breeding of training?


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