Not always my favorite subject but a necessary one. I am seeing a new trend of leaving tails and dewclaws and everyone has their own take on it. Well here's mine, since I don't want to get bashed on social media and don't really need anyone else's replies or comments; I will always dock tails and remove dewclaws unless noted by the buyer or other health condition.
If someone wishes these to remain or one or the other we require that said puppy to be paid in full by day 4 of being born. This time frame can make it kind of difficult to choose with such short notice. The time frame for these procedures is 3-5 days after birth, after that it is a surgical procedure involving anesthetics. So the reason that a requested puppy to have intact tails and dewclaws is to be paid in full at the time is to ensure the buyer does not back out, because if that happens now we have either a non-breed standard pup and or potential risk of injuries and increased costs of having them removed later if needed.
Hope that makes sense! We do all these procedures right here on the farm. Working at the local vets office for the past few years I have assisted the veterinarian with these procedures and have studied them and am confident in my ability to perform this right here at home. This is less stressful on the puppies and less stressful for momma. I can take a few puppies at a time into the warming room away from momma so she cannot hear them and have it done in no time and then swap them out for the rest. So simple and stress free! Plus the hassle of trying to even get into a vets office right now is almost nonexistent especially with "COVID" protocols.
After working at a vets office the little time I have, I can't tell you how many cases we have seen with torn or ripped dewclaws and the result of having them either stitched back on or having to have them completely removed. When they rip they bleed a lot! Not saying this is always the case but in my experience I see no need to leave them.
Docking tails- breed standard was written for a reason. Don't try and change it now, if we get into a discussion about ethics then no one should spay or neuter either! We always add at least one suture to the tail to help close it and minimize bleeding.
In the end we do our best here to provide a stress free environment for the momma and the puppies, everything is done safely and sanitary to the best of our abilities!