Dewclaws on dog
“The Dewclaw is the tiny fifth claw of a dog’s leg above the other toes, so called, rather romantically, because it brushes the dew from the grass. Dogs almost always have one of these tiny talons on the inside of their front legs and sometimes also on their hind legs.” - Whatchamacallit: Those Everyday Objects You Just Can’t Name (And Things You Think You Know About, but Don’t)
Expectant Puppies *click for flickr photo page*
My pup Spencer, a Pug dog, has dewclaws. Nemo, a cocker spaniel, either doesn’t have them or had them removed before we got him.
Some say they are useless and should be removed, but they can also help the dog climb, scratch, pick their teeth, move things and hunt.
Apparently, people would go to strange lengths to remove them. According to the Dog in Health and Disease (1887):
The Dog in Health and Disease *links to Google Book page*
“Regular dog-fanciers bite off the tail, but a pair of scissors answers equally well; and the same may be said of the dew-claw. If, however, the nail only is to be removed, which it always ought to be, the teeth serve the purposes of a pair of nippers perfectly, and by their aid it may be drawn out, leaving the claw itself attached, but rendered less liable to injury, from having lost the part likely to catch hold of any projecting body.“
They would bite the dewclaws off…
Stan the T-Rex at Manchester Museum *click for wiki page*
Tyrannosaurus Rex had them, so do Ocelots, lions (all cats), wolves, dogs (all canines), deer (hoofed animals), and many birds and reptiles.
Asiatic Lion Cub with DewClaw *click for larger*
More info: Paws for Thought: Comparative Radiologic Anatomy of the Mammalian Forelimb.
«Hello everybody!» Baby Meerkat via 'Tambako the Jaguar'
Not every mammal has dewclaws. For one instance look at this adorable Meerkat baby! (Humans and primates don’t have them either, but we’re not as cute.)
