Quote:
Originally Posted by MyTrixie143  I do the dewclaws and tails myself.
I learned from watching videos and had someone talk me through it the first time. It all came out great and I am so glad I was able to learn.
Now with that in mind, I chose to do them myself after a horrible experience at the vet, it had nothing to do with money.
I took my first litter into the vet's to have their tails and dewclaws done. I asked ahead of time if they used the clamp and twist method as I had read this was the best way. They told me they did.
I got to go back and watch the procedure.
I will never forget the awful experience, it will forever be burned in my mind.
They vet started with these huge scissors thing that kinda looked like a mixture between garden clippers and a monkey wrench.
They cut off the tail and then they take a needle jab it into the poor end of the tail that has been cut so they can put a stitch in it. They had to do this a couple times to get is stitched.
The puppy is screaming it's poor little head off. I was horrified. Imagine accidentally cutting part of your finger off, then having a doctor not give you any pain medicine or numbing it as they stick a needle into that raw injured part as they stitch it.
They then do the dewclaws.
Despite them using a clotting agent/glue, there was soooo much blood from both the tails and dewclaws. I was so scared the puppies had lost too much blood. And they cried for a long time, long after I put them back with their mom.
A day later one of the stitches on a pup got pulled out or torn out. I had to bandage and medicate it and watch very close for infection.
It just broke my heart seeing those puppies in so much pain.
Right then decided I would never let the vet do it again.
So I was determined to learn myself. Watching the vet obviously wasn't an option. So where to turn to? Videos on the internet of course and a good friend/mentor who walked me through the whole thing.
Now I do the pups tails and dewclaws using the proper clamp and twist method. There is very little blood, if any at all and the pups only cry for a very short time. In fact as soon as you set them down they stop. The pups experience minimal pain. And no stitches or needles going up through the tail or risking the stitch getting pulled out. The tails heal up with no scarring and look great.
I for one am very glad I learned to do it myself and I am positive my puppies are thankful for it as well.
If it weren't for the videos I wouldn't have much to go by. I spent several hours watching several videos over and over and reading how it was done as well.
I realize learning to do it yourself isn't for everyone and each situation is different, but for me it was the right thing to do. I went it to it as prepared an educated as I could be and it was all well worth it.
So I have to strongly disagree, the vet isn't always the best option when it comes to this particular topic. |
Yours is an usual situation. I'm not sure what type of rapore' you had with your vet. But, when I mean learn from a vet, you learn from one that you have a relationship with, know what their practice and procedures are. Speak to them first, if you don't like what you're hearing and don't agree with what they do. Search for a new vet. Keeping in mind vets learn the basics of dew claw and tail docking, but aren't versed in each breed's standard. So, you must have input to correct measurements.