Normally, I would agree with the majority,but my current friend, Junior, was born with deformed paws. Rather than the normal 4 toes, he has only 2 per front paw, and the claws(4 of them) were growing thru the sides of the inner edge. He is a healthy, and active young boy otherwise, but was in great pain as his claws continued to grow inwards. We( the vet and I ) tried several alternatives, before the final decision was made.

Do I think it effected him? Yes, most definately. But for Junior's special case, it was in his best interest.