I just sent a down payment for a 7 day old puppy today. I have been so excited about getting the puppy, I am reading up on training and care just about every night. I have seen a lot of differing opinions on dew claws. The breeder I am getting my puppy from does not clip the dew claws at birth and I asked him to see if he could get it done, however, his vet said that he would have to put the puppy under to get it done so I might as well wait until I get him neutered at 6 months. What do you think about this, is this a big deal???

Should I even bother getting them taken off? I heard that most hunting dogs do have them removed, because if they injure them in the field it could be very painful for them. I also read that some people do not remove them because it helps the dogs in turning. I think most of these people were talking about agility trials. What are you thoughts on this as well???? I'm going to use him for duck, geese and grouse hunting, as well as being a home pet.

Any help would be apreciated....

Oh and my backyard has a wooden fence around it so there isn't any chance of a dew claw getting caught on that, however, I do have a link fence around my garden and that could be a problem....