![]() ![]() Some vets require dogs and cats who’ve had an onychectomy to remain in their care for a week or more to ensure that they do not suffer from unnecessary pain and to monitor the healing process. The procedure is thought to cause significant pain during recovery, so the vet will likely administer pain medications and monitor your pet. Your dog will then be allowed to slowly regain consciousness while resting in a recovery kennel. After removing the problematic nails and bones, the vet will stitch the surrounding skin back up to cover the wound. Then, he or she will remove the bone in any of several ways, but a guillotine-style clipper is likely the most common tool used for the job. Once she’s lost consciousness, the vet will begin by incising the skin around the digit to expose the bone and claw. At the beginning of the procedure, your dog will be placed under general anesthesia. Your dog will be admitted to the veterinarian’s office and prepped for surgery (some vets may prescribe a prophylactic course of antibiotics beforehand too). However, if your vet recommends carrying out the procedure, you’ll likely want to know what to expect. Nevertheless, an onychectomy should always be a treatment of last resort and should be avoided whenever possible. Unfortunately, dogs can suffer from a few nail diseases – including claw fold disease, among others - which necessitate the removal of the nail and distal end of the digit. Image from University of Pennsylvania School of Veterinary Medicine. ![]() Some vets try to remove a very small amount of the bone when performing an onychectomy on felines, which can allow the cat to stand and walk pretty normally, but this isn’t really possible when performing the operation on dogs, thanks to the subtle differences in paw anatomy. It also forces the dog or cat in question to bear weight differently, as these distal digits help support their body weight. This is similar to what occurs when a cat is declawed, and it is part of the reason that the procedure is so controversial. Such a procedure would be akin to removing the ends of your fingers. Instead, the final phalange must be removed to prevent the nail from growing back. This means that your dog’s nails can’t be removed simply – they’d just regenerate and grow back. They are, as VetStreet puts it, “integrally attached” to the bone. Extending from these bones are the phalanges, or fingers/toes.īut here’s where things get a bit different: Unlike your nails, which are only connected to your phalanges by connective tissues ( primarily ligaments), your dog’s nails emerge directly from the bones. The big difference is that your dog’s paws are a bit “scrunched.” They still have wrists and ankles, which are followed by the bones in the “hands” and “feet” – known as metacarpals or metatarsals, respectively. ![]() After all, dogs and humans both evolved from the same (distant) mammalian ancestors, so they have a number of similarities. The Anatomy of Your Dog’s PawsĮven though your dog’s paws look very different from your hands and feet, they’re actually pretty structurally similar. Dog declawing is almost universally avoided outside of a few truly unusual cases, and it really doesn’t deserve serious consideration unless your vet recommends it.īelow, we’ll discuss the basics of the procedure, explore the reasons it isn’t appropriate for dogs, and discuss some ways that you can avoid or mitigate problems with claws, without resorting to extreme measures. It isn’t an ideal cat-management strategy, and it is certainly controversial among owners and vets alike.īut while some vets and owners feel that feline onychectomy is an acceptable practice, very few hold the same opinion regarding canine onychectomy. Typically, the procedure is performed to prevent cats from injuring people or destroying furniture and hardwood floors. Although it is becoming increasingly rare, many cats undergo a procedure called an onychectomy – better known as declawing. ![]()
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