Thank you Mary Ann. I guess the only time my dogs cantered or galloped was when they took the jumps and they did not seem affected by the lack of dewclaw. I am curious how horses function as the movement you describe is very easily seen in the galloping and cantoring horse although I always thought that the idea of good pasterns was to keep the carpal joint from actually making contact with the ground. Horses do not have dewclaws as we know and were bred to run, unlike our Bernese.
Ideas :) Susan Ablon Gweebarra BMD Balch Springs, Tx http://www.pageweb.com/gwebara On Wed, 4 Dec 2002 12:59:44 -0700 "Mary-Ann Bowman" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> writes: > Hi > > Happy to provide info :) > > "A discussion of the dog's foot would not be complete without > mention of the > dew claws. In most dogs, the dew claws are attached to the bones of > the > pastern by a joint. When dogs canter or gallop there is one moment > when a > single front leg remains on the ground, bearing the dog's full > weight. At > that point, even in the lightest dogs, the pastern is flat on the > ground and > the carpal pad is cushioning the carpal joint as it hits the ground. > At that > moment, the dew claw is in contact with the ground and can catch the > ground > as the dog rotates its leg on turning. This allows the dog to take > full > advantage of the ability of the front leg to rotate in its axis. > Some people > who compete with sighthounds in lure-coursing have observed an > increased > incidence of front leg and foot injures in dogs who have had their > dew claws > removed. For this reason, some people prefer not to have their > puppies dew > claws removed. They prefer to give their performance dogs the > advantage of a > functional dew claw and risk possible injury to the dew claw that > might > necessitate its removal later in life." (Zink, C. and Daniels, J. > (1996). > "Jumping from A to Z." Lutherville, MD: Canine Sports Productions.) > > Mary-Ann Bowman > > >
