Wow... It is just amazing what you can learn on this site..
Excellant information here and I just wanted to add... a Big Thank you for all the wonderful advice..

The vet I took my pups to did it this way. Sure, they screamed and hollered but there was very LITTLE blood involved. My friend did her pups with scissors. I was traumatized for life! :eek: What can I say, she's more of a woman than I am. I'm a wimp at stuff like this! LOL

docking
 

I do not like rubber bands or tying anything on tails or claws. It is just so fast to clamp them..plus I think she cry very little here because they are home with mom in the bed. I have very laid back moms, they lick babies faces while I "operate"..LOL

tail docking
 

I use the same method as Yorkie Rose; however, I always do the tail and dew claws on the 2nd day of life while the nails and tails are still small. No bleeding and never had infection.

njgiger

My wonderful mentor taught me well and gave me wiggle room. My rule is that the puppy has to weigh at least 2 ounces before tails and dewclaws are done. The woman I am mentoring has a very tiny female that was not 2 ounces at day 4. I did her brother and told her to take teensy to the vet. Well, this wee girl will not be a docked Yorkie..

Tail docking
 

A lot of the things I do or don't do is a result of having worked ob-labor. delivery, postpartum, and new born nursery, as well as newborn intensive nursery for many years. Many years ago a newborn human male would be delivered by an obstetrician, who would also care for the newborn. Much of the time the baby would be circumcised the day of delivery because of the physician's time constraints. However, after much research, it was shown that the process of being born was enough stress for the first day. The stress of having circumcision was delayed for a time (days) until the newborn was more able to cope with it. So I applied the same principle to my pups; however, if a newly born pup is stressed by not eating well, and all of the stresses of not being a well puppy, I delay this for for several more days. The only 2 pups that I had born who were under 2 ounces did not thrive and were not unstressed enough to go ahead with the tail docking and removal of dew claws and ultimately died. (I really hate to do tail docking and dew claw removal and so have to really psych myself up to do it, if you know what I mean. I appreciate your reply and the fact of using weight as a criteria for these procedures is another good way to decide when to do them.

Thanks,

njgiger

I have found the best way to do the dewclaws is with curved surgical scissors from the vets office, its a clean cut that does not leave a bump, they cost ruffly $40,but well worth it. Instead of using scissors for the tail a brand new sharp pair of wire cutters works best. A rule of thumb pups tails and dewclaws should be done with in the first three days, If you wait till after you will have more problems with bleeding.

Are surgical clamps the same thing as hemostats? I thinks next time that I have a litter of puppies I may just try and do it my self. My vet isn't open on the weekends and therefore didn't get my babies in to him until Monday the
5th day. The puppies cried all day long. If I had know how I would have done them myself on Sat. which was the Any way I have a small hemostat that clamps shut if I got a larger one would this work? Thanks Deb:confused:

how in the world did this old thread get back? SPOOKY:eek:

What is the price range or normal vet fee for this kind of thing.

Anyone here live in Los Angeles area who does this to their own dog? Maybe can show me? I dont like the idea of exposing my babies to all the germs at the Vet either... *shudders*

where can i buy the clamp to use ? and what is it called ? when you say afew min. what do you mean exactly ?

YORKSHIRENTERRIERISTIT

Here you can see a lot of undocked tails.

and one more

http://i7.photobucket.com/albums/y29...93/nimetn2.png

The "uk" -- now it makes sense. I was watching a show on Animal Planet, "It's Me or the Dog" and they had a darling Yorkie and it had a long tail. I believe that show is produced and filmed in the uk.

I personally like the looks of a docked tail but that's JMO.

Aaaaahhhhhh! It's the return of the 3-yr-old thread that just won't die! :eek: :p

LOL! I did't even notice how old this thread was, til you mentioned it! LOL

Here is a video clip of how it's done with the clamps...in case anyone was interested.

That is a very good, very clear illustration of the procedure.. thanks for posting it! :):thumbup:

I use to dock Boxer pups But have never did the dew claws.

We had a vet doour first litter an dthose babies cried alot and they bleed alot, so I started doing them my self and did a much better job.

My sister had a Rott pup and the vet did a terrible job. The pup was to old and he had to stitch it but the stitches kept coming out not enough skin to pull together to stitch and he woke up to a bloody mess, Rushe dthe dog back to the vet an dthey redid it. same thing happened again and it got an infection. it did finally heal up but I would never take and older pup or an adult dog to have this done.JMO

I think it's doing the dew claws that would concern me more than docking the tails.

I found a video clip of cutting off the dew claws...looks fairly easy



Here's one that the looks like the vet's office...looks more painful for puppy...

It says the videos are 'no longer available.' :(

That's wierd. When I do a search, it still works.

Okay, let's try again.

Here is the one at the vet's office


Here is the one using foceps


Otherwise, just go to www.Youtube.com and do a seach on "dewclaw removal" and these videos worked...

Is that tool also called
 

Is that surgical clamp also called a hemi stat.. I think we have some of those I may have from work if that is the other name.. I am not sure I can do my own, I am going to ask the vet about this method and if he would let me watch.. I am sure he wont, but it will be worth a try... ;-)

Dew claws are a bit trickier in that you have to make sure that you remove the whole joint or the claw will grow back. I hate doing dew claws but tails don't bother me. The woman that taught me didn't clamp she just cut and cauterized. I've done it both ways and much prefer to use a clamp.

Whoa!!
 

I played this video and my momma to be expecting any moment...came unglued....duh... I wasn't thinking...now she is looking for the puppies...:p:rolleyes::embarasse I am so dizzy... sleepy I guess...
I feel bad she is looking around and around...I have to calm her down...

Oh my gosh...when I first read this I thought you meant YOUR mom. I had to read it a few times before I realized you meant a doggy mom!

:lol tears

How cute!!! She'll be a good mommy!

When it comes to these guys they know what they are talking about when it comes to docking & dew claw removal!!! I did it on my first litter, I was so proud of myself. I somehow missed the dewclaws on one but that's okay. I did the hemostat & twist method on their tails & they are perfect, they didn't cry all that much either. The dew claws were a little more difficult because my hemostats were to big but figured it out in the end. I haven't given any shots myself yet but I plan on it.

These guys are wonderful & they will try to answer any questions that you have. They have helped me so much. Good Luck!!!

rubber band
 

Has anyone used the rubber band method?

I don't know about other states, but that's actually illegal here. You could be charged with a felony count of animal cruelty. :thumbup:

I have to agree with that. There are other alternatives to that method that are more humane, IMO.