Elitehaus

08/27/2024

Bran and Balon want to wish everyone a happy National Dog Day! ❤️🐶🐕🐩🦮🐕‍🦺🐾🦴❤️

08/26/2024

Elitehaus When Legends Rise
Baxter vom Apexe IGP1 x CH Guardian Sunrise Alana BH-VT

08/23/2024

Stowe (Doberman) and Val (Beauceron) working on obedience commands.

08/21/2024

Tina loves her ball ❤️❤️

08/21/2024

“Stowe” on the left (Doberman) and “Val” on the right (Beauceron).

Stowe is enrolled in our Bachelor’s Degree Training Program and is doing phenomenally. Val is working toward her CGC, CGCA, and CGCU. Both girls are working on their down stay with distractions.

Elitehaus.net

08/20/2024

Beautiful “Stowe” working on her down stay.

Elitehaus Brienne
Intl Ch Falconcreek Moreau x Rus Ch Guardian Sunrise Alana BH-VT

08/16/2024

This is why we don’t remove the dewclaws on our pups.

Dewclaws! They are IMPORTANT! Many dog breeders routinely, and without much thought, amputate puppies' front dewclaws when the pups are 3-5 days of age. Why? The thought is to prevent potential injuries, such as tears of the digit, later in life. BUT do you realize that the dewclaw is a FUNCTIONAL, IMPORTANT digit? I am thankful that my own dog's breeder did not amputate Dunkin's front dewclaws. Do you also know that with appropriate exercises, the muscles of the dewclaw can be strengthened to help promote and maintain appropriate function and close apposition of the dewclaw to the side of the paw? Below is an article by a friend and colleague, Dr. Chris Zink, that explains the importance, anatomy, and function of the front dewclaw.

"Do the Dew(claws)?
by Chris Zink, DVM PhD DACVSMR

As a veterinary sports medicine specialist, I work extensively with canine athletes, developing rehabilitation programs for injured dogs or dogs that required surgery due to performance-related injuries. I have seen many dogs, especially field trial/hunt test and agility dogs, that have chronic carpal arthritis, frequently so severe that they must be retired or at least carefully managed for the rest of their careers. I noticed that very few of those dogs had dewclaws and began to wonder whether these appendages might, in fact, protect a dog from injuries. What I learned might surprise you.

The Anatomy of Dewclaws
Miller's Guide to the Anatomy of the Dog, a veterinary anatomy text, has an excellent figure depicting the muscular anatomy of the distal forelimb. There are 2 functional muscles, the extensor pollicis longus et indicis proprius and flexor digitorum profundus, which are attached to the front dewclaw by 4 tendons (references in blog). Each of those muscle/tendon units has a different function in movement. That means that if you cut off the dew claws, you are preventing the muscles that were attached to the dewclaws from functioning.

In contrast, rear limb dewclaws do not have muscle/tendon attachments, so their removal might be appropriate, except in the breeds such as Briards and Beauceron in which they should be retained.

Dewclaws Do Have Functions
If there are muscles and tendons attached to the dewclaws, then they most likely have a function. Broadly speaking, dewclaws have at least two different functions:
1. Grasp the ground when the dog is turning to prevent torque on the forelimb. Each time the front foot lands on the ground, particularly when the dog is cantering or galloping (see Figure 2), the dewclaw is in touch with the ground. If the dog then needs to turn, the dewclaw actively digs into the ground to stabilize the lower leg and prevent torque. In Figure 3 you can clearly see the dewclaw of a Corgi herding a sheep extended, ready to grip the ground. And in the image at the top of this article, you can see the dewclaws of a dog extended, ready to grip the water!

Do the Dew(claws)?

If a dog doesn't have dewclaws, the leg will twist on its axis, creating increased pressure on the carpal bones, as well as the elbow, shoulder and toes. A lifetime of this kind of torque and the result can be carpal arthritis or injuries to and subsequent arthritis in other joints of the forelimb, such as the elbow, shoulder, and toes. Remember, the dog is participating in the activity regardless, so there will be concussive pressures on the leg, and if the dewclaw does not help to stabilize the leg, those pressures will be transmitted to other areas of the leg, especially the joints.

2. Grip objects. We have all seen dogs using their dewclaws to grip an object such as a ball or bone (Figure 4). I've even seen many photos of agility dogs gripping the teeter for stability (Figure 5). But did you know that the dewclaws' gripping ability can, in fact, save your dog's life? Check out the video "Dewclaws Do Have a Purpose" for "gripping" views of dogs attempting to get out of water onto ice without the help of those ice picks on the inside of their legs. The video also shows dogs using their dewclaws to grip the ice and escape from a potentially fatal situation. I have known several dogs that drowned after falling through ice in the winter. None of them had dewclaws. If they had, perhaps they would have survived and spared their owners the incredible heartache of watching their dogs die unnecessarily.

Arguments for Removing Dewclaws
1. The dewclaws will get injured. This is the most common reason I hear for removing dewclaws. A friend of mine had such a severe dewclaw injury in one of her dogs that she swore she would remove them on all the dogs she bred subsequently.

But the data indicate that dewclaws are not injured very often. A study published in 2018 showed that the dewclaw was the LEAST likely toe to be injured in agility dogs, in which landing and turning from jumps and other obstacles put the toes at risk for injuries. Thus, it makes no sense to remove the dewclaws because of risk of injury. And, of course, no one would consider removing the 5th digits in the front feet, which are by far the most commonly injured toe.

2. Owners forget to trim the dewclaws. Surely this is a matter of education. Do we really want to remove a functioning digit in all dogs, just because some owners need to be reminded that they must remember to trim the dewclaws?

3. Dewclaws make the forelimb look less straight when viewed from the front in conformation. The AKC states: "The breed standard describes the characteristics of the ideal
dog to perform the function for which it was bred." While we could have long discussions about the veracity of this statement, it is interesting to note that there are VERY few breed standards that require dewclaw removal. I know of only one - the Vizsla breed standard.

A Plea
So, here's a plea to retain dogs' dewclaws. They are a functioning digit. They are the toe least likely to be injured. Isn't this enough to convince us not to do the dewclaws?"

08/09/2024

“Viper”
Beautiful daughter of Guillitte Fanneli IGP3
She would make a lovely addition to an active family.

08/05/2024

Handsome “Venom” - son of our Guillitte Fanneli IGP3. 🥰🥰🥰

08/03/2024

Many of our potential puppy homes ask if we have a spay/neuter contract. We are actually opposite of most breeders and it is in our contract that we recommend waiting until at least two years of age to spay/neuter. If you wonder why, there is a recent UC Davis study that explains this. Their recommendation for Dobermans is to leave males intact and wait until at least 24 months for females.

For those interested in the study itself:
https://www.frontiersin.org/journals/veterinary-science/articles/10.3389/fvets.2024.1322276/full?fbclid=IwZXh0bgNhZW0CMTEAAR3Wd_pmKtPHz_3kvkq4bUP2MisVODXUIJF9zLABa7VoxSdAoO3l11rrs1M_aem_9ZG9APQIpn-9ujIUx3jbnA

08/03/2024

Elitehaus Balon
Intl Ch Falconcreek Moreau x Guardian Sunrise Alana BH-VT
13 weeks

08/02/2024

Elitehaus Baela
Intl Ch Falconcreek Moreau x CH Guardian Sunrise Alana BH-VT
13 weeks

08/01/2024

Elitehaus Balerion
Intl Ch Falconcreek Moreau x CH Guardian Sunrise Alana BH-VT
13 weeks

07/31/2024

Handsome Ryker is growing up so fast! ❤️ Thanks to Waylon for the update!

07/30/2024

Elitehaus Aurora
Gorgeous two year old female protection dog. Great with children and other dogs and a perfect jogging/hiking companion. She is excellent out and about in public and is a pro when it comes to chilling on restaurant patios.

07/28/2024

Elitehaus Riddle - 8 months - Can you guess what his favorite activity is?

07/28/2024

"Quill" at 9 months - he is excelling in protection work but is also very gentle with children, settles easily, and is great in public. Seldom do you see a dog that "has it all," but this boy certainly does.

07/24/2024

Cowboy is having fun modeling puplids for Scheels. They couldn’t have found a more handsome model! Thanks to Cowboy’s owner Luke for sharing! ❤️

07/15/2024

“Veyron”
Intl Ch Elitehaus Bugatti La Voiture Noire WAC
Get Ready for Hi-Fi IGP1 x Oneway’s Bella (Ch Shadeko’s Red Alert)

07/13/2024

“Balerion”
10 weeks old

07/12/2024

Tybalt having a hard day at work. 📥📈🗄️📎🗃️📋📑💪😆

07/08/2024

“Remi” doing his job protecting his handler. ❤️
Elitehaus Lupin - 13 months old
Galileo vom Noblesshof IGP3 x Guardian Sunrise Lia (CH Arce Deos Axel IGP2)

07/07/2024

Guillitte Fanneli IGP3
Gilli doing what he enjoys most!

07/07/2024

Gorgeous “Kira” ❤️
Elitehaus Ysolde
(Baxter vom Apexe IGP1 x Glory and Gore de Badea Gheo)

07/04/2024

Kilo and Ryley wanted to wish everyone a Happy 4th!

06/29/2024

06/28/2024

“Val” had a great time on vacation! 💦🦆🐟🎣🛶🦦

06/26/2024

Quill living it up! 🌊☀️🏖️🏝️🐚

06/25/2024

Rodie loving Florida life! 🌊🏖️☀️

06/25/2024

Handsome Kilo 🥰