Double dewclaws deformity

[ajemons]

My 7 month old puppy has been to see an orthopaedic specialist and the news was all BAD.
She has deformed arthritic hock joints, 1 far worse than the other, and the leg is atropied and 20mm shorter than the other due to lack of use.
I am getting a copy of his report to my vets, but at present I cannot remember what he called, I will update later when I have the name if anybody's interested.
He told me although it's rare, it's normally seen in Bernese Mountain Dogs and is related to polydactylism (extra digits). My pup was born with double dew claws on the rear.
Has anybody heard of this ? If so at what age did the dog have to be put down due to arthritis.
All I can do is protect the joint. She's started monthly injection for artritis (at 7 MONTHS OLD !!!!!). I will continue with glucosamine, chondroiten and fish oil capsules also.
How I feel at the moment if I had any puppies born with double rear dewclaws I'd cull them at birth. What future has this poor little dog got now ? I have to keep her excersise restricted to lead walks only to protect the joint.
I bred her, so please don't blame the breeder. All normal health checks were carried out on parents with flying colours. I am totally floored. I just thank God that I kept her and didn't let anybody else have this heartbreak.
Her Mum has already been speyed.
I really want to know how long I can expect her to be comfortable, can anybody shed any light ?

[XplosiveZ]

My rottweiler has a double rear dew claw? People say its only nesscary to remove them if hes a hunting dog which hes not..

[Liz]

All of my litters have had puppies with double and even triple rear dews. None of them have had arthritis, or any orthopedic issues such as you describe. We've had one dx'd with severe HD and he lived to be 12 with no serious issues after his gold bead implants. Chrome's sister, Chaos has mild HD also, she'll be 11 this year, Chrome is OFA Excellent. Elfi and Elektra both had triple rear dews. Both are OFA good, elbows clear.

I've never heard of this association before, nor can I find any cites using various search engines. Where are the literature cites for this supposed relationship?

Liz

[frontierrots]

I have seen MANY Rott pups with double rear dewclaws and they all lived fine lives after being adopted from the rescue group I used to work with. Of course we had them removed when infants but none ever suffered any issues let alone hock or arthritis ones

In cats extra toes is a desireable thing with many people and I have seen literally hundreds of them and they too were all fine

I think your vet is full of hot air as I have never ever heard of any ailment in dogs or cats relating to extra toes ever and I have been in the breed 24 years and did rescue for 10

As a matter of fact some breeds, Great Pyrenese for one are REQUIRED to have double rear dewclaws

[jayneliz]

I agree that multiple dews aren't the source of your dog's problems.

How long can you expect her to be comfortable??? That's not an question with an answer, is it?

When you think about lameness in dogs, remember - scads of HUMANS live in chronic pain every day! I have a job that requires a lot of walking, but I go despite the fact that I have a broken bone in my back and a backache. I may limp a little, but it doesn't mean I need to be euthanized.