Have you ever seen a dog high-five? How about all of those cute videos where a dog slaps his paw down on top of family members’ hands when they’re playing “red hands”? Have you noticed that most dogs use the right paw and some the left?
Dogs do use one paw more than the other. It’s certainly not as big a deal as it is with humans, where 90% of us are right-handed and less than 1% are ambidextrous. It’s interesting to know, however, and may be important to know if a dog is feeling anxious (more on that later).
In honor of International Left-Handers Day on August 13, you can use the tests below to find out whether your dog is left-pawed or right-pawed.
Tests to find your dog’s dominant paw
To find out if your dog is a righty or a lefty, you can try the following tests, and it’s a good idea to perform each one more than once.
If the results aren’t clear, you need to try again on another day, as results might vary depending on the dog’s mood, but it’s also a good possibility that your dog has no preference as to which paw is more important.
1. Stepping test
One research project that’s quoted a lot suggests a stepping test. Just put your dog in a down stay, and then when you call them to you, notice which paw they step off of first. The test should be done several times to make sure there’s no bias.
2. Kong test
Another popular test is the Kong toy test. You hand your dog a Kong filled with peanut butter or some other treats and watch which paw the pet uses to hold down the Kong when eating.
3. Tape test
One way to confirm your findings is the tape test. Put a piece of scotch tape on the bridge of your dog’s nose and watch which paw they use to remove it.
4. Hurdle test
One study used hurdles, and the foot that the dog used first when stepping over the hurdle was considered dominant.
5. Bowl test
The last test is similar to the first. Put down two food bowls on either side of the room and release your dog. They’ll usually choose the bowl on the side they prefer, but you might need to do this several times to find a pattern.
How many dogs are right-handed and left-handed?
Results vary depending on the dogs in each study, but there are always over 50% “righties,” and about 25% of all dogs use both left and right equally often.
Which paw a dog uses more often isn’t that important to the dog. Some researchers think that it just depends on what task the dog is performing, and others have noticed that there’s a training bias. (If you always choose to shake with your right hand, your dog is probably going to do the same. That alone does not make the dog right-pawed.)
Stress may change paw preference in dogs
One big difference between dogs and humans is that they may be able to change their dominant paw depending on how they feel. If you take your dog to a fireworks show for the Fourth of July, and they’re stressed out, they may be more likely to use their left paw more often when back home and then go back to being a righty when things are calm again.
Not all studies back that up though, and others suggest that this may just be task-specific, so unless your dog is nervous and very prone to anxiety, which paw they use isn’t that important.
Still kind of fun to run the tests though!
