texas we don't have to deal with heavy snow just thick and hard brush and briars . ran dogs with them and they eventualy get torn in the brush . ran them without them and never noticed any trouble , even in 13 year old dogs that were ran in the brush for 13 yeara on a constant basis . but you boy's and gal's do what you want , i cut them at 3 days old .
I had them removed on my pups in the past and probably continue to do so. I posted the article because at least it's an explanation of what they are there for. The Sandhill and Monaghan blood in my Cats throws a lot of front and rear dew claws. We hunt in extremely thick vegetation in the coastal marshes of La. and have seen a few get ripped loose. Very painful for the dog so I just remove them at 3 days old.
