How to Determine if Dogs Favor Their Left or Right Paws

Most dogs, like humans, are right-handed, or in this case, right-pawed, says a 1987 study published in the International Journal of Neuroscience. A 2004 study published in Behavioural Brain Research isolated a gender difference in paw preference with males preferring their left and females their right. The former study used adhesive plaster on the eyes and the latter, adhesive paper on the snout. The paw chosen to remove the substance determined the dog's preference. Dog owners can use simpler tests for dog handedness.

Things You'll Need

  • Blanket
  • Bowl
  • Food
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Instructions

    • 1

      Command your dog to give you its paw. If your dog has never been trained to give you its paw, it may not respond. Kneel down in front of the dog and hold out your hand to see if the dog will give you a paw. If the dog is already trained to give a paw, the test is more of an indicator of how the dog was trained than a true preference.

    • 2

      Place a blanket over the dog's head and observe which paw the dog uses first to remove the blanket.

    • 3

      Place a training treat on the floor and put a bowl over top of the treat. Observe which paw the dog uses first to try and move the bowl to get at the treat.

    • 4

      Put some peanut butter on the dog's nose up away from its tongue. Observe which paw the dog uses first to get the peanut butter off its nose.

    • 5

      Collate your data to determine your dog's paw preference.