Dewclaw
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A dewclaw is a vestigial digit of the paw of many mammals, birds, and reptiles (including some extinct orders, like certain theropods). It grows higher on the leg so that in digitigrade species, when the animal is standing, it does not make contact with the ground.
[edit] Dogs
Dogs almost always have dewclaws on the inside of the front legs and occasionally on the hind legs. Unlike the front dewclaws, the rear dewclaws tend to have little bone or muscle structure in most breeds. Occasionally some dogs will even have more than one dewclaw on the same foot; often at least one of these dewclaws will be poorly connected to the leg and may require a dewclaw removal. When a dog has extra dewclaws in addition to the usual one on each front leg, the dog is said to "double dewclawed." There is some debate about whether the dewclaw helps dogs to gain traction when they run because, in some dogs, the dewclaw makes contact when they are running and the nail on the dewclaw often wears down in the same way that the toenails on their other toes do, from friction with running surfaces. However, in many dogs, the dewclaws never make contact with the ground; in this case, the dewclaw's nail never wears away, and it must be trimmed to keep it at a safe length.
The dewclaws are not dead appendages.[citation needed] They can be used to lightly grip bones and other items that dogs hold with the paws. However in some dogs these claws may not appear to be connected to the leg at all except by a flap of skin; in such dogs the claws do not have a use for gripping as the claw can easily fold or turn (this is esp. true for most dewclaws on the hind legs), and it may be better to remove the dewclaws instead.
There is also some debate as to whether dewclaws should be surgically removed. The argument for removal states that dewclaws are a weak digit, barely attached to the leg, so that they can rip partway off or easily catch on something and break, which can be extremely painful and prone to infection. Hunting dogs for example, can easily tear the dewclaw when running in overgrown vegetation. There is also a slight risk that the dog may scratch and damage the eyes when rubbing its face with its front paws. In other cases, a dog may begin to compulsively lick or bite the dewclaw until it is inflamed, posing risk for infection. Dewclaw removal is usually done when the dog is a puppy, sometimes as young as 3 days old, though it can also be performed on older dogs if necessary (though the surgery may be more difficult then). The surgery is fairly straight-forward and may even be done with only local anesthetics if the digit is not well connected to the leg. Unfortunately many dogs can't resist licking at their sore paws following the surgery, so owners need to remain vigilant.
In some countries removing the dewclaws is illegal, as removing it is said to be unnecessarily painful to the dog, in addition to the claim that the dewclaw will rarely or never suffer injury leading to amputation.
In addition, for those dogs whose dewclaws make contact with the ground when they run, it is possible that removing them could be a disadvantage for a dog's speed in running and changing of direction, particularly in performance dog sports such as dog agility.
There also exists in folklore[weasel words] a story that claims that dogs that have not had their dewclaws removed are immune to snakebite. In America, some pups are commonly sold by breeders "dewclawed", that is with the dewclaws removed (as by a vet) for perceived health and safety reasons. A few breed standards also call for it.
