So I have seen a dewclaw ripped from it's bed and 1/2 way up it's leg on my lab while hunting Ptarmigan when I lived in Cassiar. The snow had a crust he was able to run on but he broke through catching his dewclaw. I personally will not leave dewclaws on a dog front or back. Most back DCs are not attached with bone and are just flopping around waiting to rip so at the very least they need to go. JMHO. As far as Tracy's pups go, I believe that her decisions to remove or not comes from the fact she is a vet and bound by their association rules and they have mandated no tail docking or dewclaw removal. Again JMHO, not speking for her.