Broken claw removed while leaving the toe?

Question

My Shih Tzu broke his front dew claw right at the base of his toe pad while playing outside with my other dog. I called the vet and took him in. The vet said he had to 'remove the dewclaw' and put him under to do it. When I picked him up, they told me that the claw would never grow back, but the toe is still there. My understanding is that if they just cut the claw back, it will grow back. I'm not complaining about them leaving the toe; I HATE the idea of declawing (both my cats have all their claws and my Great Pyrenees has all of her extra dewclaws). So please, no hateful comments about the evils of declawing. You'd be preaching to the choir :) I'm just confused. Will the claw really not grow back even though the toe and pad are still there? Is there a procedure that removes the nail bud and leaves the toe? I'd ask my vet, but they're closed for the weekend. Thanks.

Answer 1

it depends if they got every last bit of the nail.  One of our bull terrier females had hers removed and the toe left, months later it grew back but at an horrible angle in the end after tearing it off at the base numerous times pebbles had to have the whole toe amputated.

Answer 2

when an animal is declawed, it is considered an amputation.  Meaning, that the entire top 1/3 of the "finger" is removed so that the nail will not grow back.  This is why people feel it's cruel.  I'm sure they did not remove your dogs toe, or any part of it, or legally they would have had to tell you that, but the claw may have had to be cut back to the point where it simply can't grow anymore, even though the whole toe is still there.  Does that even make sense?  

Think about it like this ... if you were a cat/dog, and a vet was going to de-claw you, they'd cut your finger off, from the top knuckle.  They did NOT do this to your dog, but the damage that was already done may have already pulled away at most of that area, even tho his "top knuckle" is still there, his nail could be missing and have been damaged enough to never have a nail (claw) again.  Hmm, I hope that makes sense...?

Answer 3

Dew claws are often removed on dogs, just for this reason - they tend to get caught on things, and can easily be ripped out.  Dew claws removed is not the same a declawing an animal.

Depending on what the vet had to do to repair the damage, if they surgically removed the dew claw from the base, it will not grow back.  This is a good thing, as you won't have to worry about any future damage to the dog.  Removing the dew claw will leave the bad there, but there is nothing left inside to regrow.

If you clip a dog's nails, yes, they grow back just like a human nail grows.

Answer 4

no the claw most likely will not come back. Why would people yell at you? You had to get that claw removed because of a injury.

Answer 5

i don't think the dew claw grows at all. period.

not like the dog really needs it or anything.