Senior Dog Dew Claw Problem

[ScoutRoseChucky]

My large (80lbs) older dog (10) Scout has been getting wart like lumps on him, the vet said they dont have to be removed but they can be yet the price is high. Now he has another one that came up under his dew claw and it is hurting him because it is pushing at the claw, my question is if anyone has ever heard of a dew claw being removed on a 10 year old dog.. i tired looking it up but all i hear of is about it being removed on puppies. I am just attempting to go into the vets office knowing some options. so if you know of anything i would be happy to hear from you

 

[*Lesley*]

WELCOME TO K9 sorry to hear your having troubles, I'm sure you'll get some advice shortly, I don't have any only have youngsters :thumbsup:

What type of dog is Scout he must be a big one

 

[CHRIS DOYLE]

My large (80lbs) older dog (10) Scout has been getting wart like lumps on him, the vet said they dont have to be removed but they can be yet the price is high. Now he has another one that came up under his dew claw and it is hurting him because it is pushing at the claw, my question is if anyone has ever heard of a dew claw being removed on a 10 year old dog.. i tired looking it up but all i hear of is about  it being removed on puppies. I am just attempting to go into the vets office knowing some options. so if you know of anything i would be happy to hear from you 

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Hello and welcome. We have a whippet, now approaching five years of age , who is prone to tearing her dew claws. The latest episode was last earlier this week. We don't routinely visit the vet now when she tears them,just trim the affected erea and keep en eye on things. Some months ago we did arrange for her to have them removed. The vet stated that it was a routine job but obviously more involved than would be the case if she were only three days old. He compared it with the removal of a finger on a human. The dew claw will have its own blood supply which the vet would obviously be aware of . His assessment was that the op was not a problem and recovery time would not be over long.(Can't remember exact time scale) We are now just waiting to fit the op in with hols and other committments and we'll have it done :luck:

 

[kim & Tilly]

Tilly (16months) still has her dew claws and although we havent had any problems as yet, its only a metter of time, as she races and i have found sometime she has torn the banage i use to cover them which has left the claw exposed....

So when we have her spayed in feb time we will get them done at the same time

 

[boothros]

Hello & welcome. Age should not prevent this op being done, but it will be treated quite differently from dew claw removal on a tiny puppy. My vet recomended a generally anasthetic for this op (obviously this will be reflected in the cost), and said that the after care will be more intensive. Apparantly, healing & infection prevention can be tricky & I was told that the costs of dressings and suchlike would be quite high. I was therefore led to believe that this was a somewhat needless proceedure all the time my dog remained problem free. However, with the problems you describe, it sounds like the claw removal is probably the sensible option. What a nuisance the darned wart had to come up there! Best of luck & let us know how you get on.

 

[dessie]

It will most certainly involve a general anaesthetic as it will be a surgical procedure to remove the growth plus the dew claw. Provided Scout is fit and healthy it should not be a major operation. I would not overly worry about recovery as it will exactly the same as a normal surgical site with sutures and maybe a bandage for the first 24 hours. (Personally I would not keep it covered for longer than this as it will heal better exposed to the air). Sutures should be removed after 10 days.

I would have the operation done sooner rather than later in case the wart or whatever continues to grow because the larger it becomes the more will have to be removed and it could make it difficult to close the skin in that area as there is not much surplus!!!

 

[Seraphina]

What exactly did the vet said that these lumps are?

 

[Seraphina]

I would avoid general anaesthetic in a dog so old. Ten years old Whippet is not considered very old but for some large breeds it is ancient.

 

[dessie]

I would avoid general anaesthetic in a dog so old.  Ten years old Whippet is not considered very old but for some large breeds it is ancient.

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But you can't let the dog carry on in pain if the lump is pushing the dew claw up!! The Vet should do pre-op clerking anyway and that will tell if Scout is suitable for a GA.

 

[kris]

a lady i know had her springer spaniels removed last week.she is 5 and it cost 400 pounds.the reason it was done was cos she is hopeless at doing the dogs nails and they were curving round and going to go back into the dogs leg.knowing how hopeless she is at doing nails and having to go to the vets she decided to have them removed on her vets advice.the op was straightforward and recovery was quick

 

[Seraphina]

I would avoid general anaesthetic in a dog so old.  Ten years old Whippet is not considered very old but for some large breeds it is ancient.

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But you can't let the dog carry on in pain if the lump is pushing the dew claw up!! The Vet should do pre-op clerking anyway and that will tell if Scout is suitable for a GA.

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Absolutely, but it really depends what it is and how much pain it causes. My vet removed a fatty lump from one of my Whippets with only local. She was about 14 months, we just laid her on the table I cuddled her head, it took couple of seconds to cut out and she did not even twitch. I am not suggesting to take ther dew claw under local, but it may be the lump could be done that way. I would just consider all the options.

Wart like things I imagine something on top of the skin, not deep. I would go somewhere for a second opinion, before putting the dog uner general anaesthetic . :luck: :luck: :luck: