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Is my Great Pyrenees' 6 toes normal? Can all my dogs eat same food?

Updated on September 23, 2025

Pet's info: Dog | Great Pyrenees | Male | unneutered | 2 months and 30 days old | 35 lbs

Hi, I have 2 questions if you do not mind. My first question is that if it is dangerous/unhealthy to have 6 toes for my Great Pyrenees dog. I do not want to make him go through unnecessary surgery and pain. My second question is that I have small, medium, and large breed dogs and was wondering if it is fine to have them all eat the same food or should the food they eat differentiate (i.e. should the great pyrenees eat large breed food and pitbull eat medium breed food)? Thank you!

1 Answer

Most Helpful Answer

Answered By Dr. Heidi DVM, CVA, CCRT, CVTP, CVSMT, CVCH

Veterinarian, Certified Veterinary Acupuncturist, Certified Canine Rehabilitation Practitioner

Published on January 13, 2018

It is very common for Great Pyrenees to have double dew claws, so they have 6 on all feet. They normally do not cause any problems and we do not commonly remove them unless the dog is going under anesthesia for another reason and the nails have been causing problems. People often remove them at birth because they are worried that they will get caught on something and tear, but I have never seen that.
It is important for a large or giant breed puppy to have food specific for their size when they are growing because they will be growing for a longer period of time than a smaller dog, and we do not want them to grow too fast. Once a dog is an adult, they can eat adult dog food that does not need to be specific to their size. Some people like to feed smaller dogs smaller kibble size, but that is often the only difference between the adult foods.
I hope that was helpful and answered your questions. Thanks for using Petco Pet Education Center, formerly Petcoach.

1Pet Parents found this answer helpful

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