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Dewclaws and the CMD

The Colorado Mountain Dog Standard calls for a clean-legged dog, but clarifies that this trait is the lowest priority.

One of the main reasons for the dewclaw clean standard is distinction from the GP. And that is a very important consideration.

The CMDR doesn’t encourage removal, because that masks the genetics.

The inheritance of dewclaws are regarded as dominant/recessive, and the way their inheritance works is unclear. In my last breeding I paired a dog with small singles to a dog with big doubles, and the pups in the litter had doubles or singles or were clear.

Dew claws are a low priority which means you would select for breeding stock on all other traits first, before selecting a pup for having no dewclaws. Many aspects of health and function are more important.