Can A Dog Be Left-Pawed?

Just like us, dogs can be left or right-pawed and this trait affects their personality. Therefore, knowing if your dog is left or right-pawed is extremely important in order to live together peacefully and to completely understand him.

This fact could even influence the type of work a dog is capable of doing, such as being a guide or police dog. Depending on which is his dominant paw, the training can be more or less difficult. In order to get to this point, you first must determine what is your dog’s dominant paw. So, how?

How do I know if my dog is left-pawed?

It’s likely that there are dogs that use their left paw more skillfully. In fact, there is a 50% chance of this happening. Knowing if your dog is left or right-pawed is important because it has an impact on their personality, creativity, and character. This isn’t something that is learned or takes place spontaneously.

As it is in humans, a dog is either born left or right-pawed. Being left-pawed could limit which activities he can do or make it difficult for him to develop some skills.

Are left-pawed dogs more aggressive?

It has been demonstrated that aggression is also an influential factor if a dog is left or right-pawed. A team of researchers wanted to know if left-pawed dogs were more aggressive than their right-pawed counterparts.

In order to find this out, they gathered 73 dogs to undergo the Canine Behavior Assessment and Research Questionnaire. This test consists of examining and evaluating the behaviors of each dog.

This test demonstrated that the left-pawed dogs are more likely to be somewhat more aggressive than the right-pawed ones. However, this doesn’t absolutely mean all left-pawed dogs are aggressive. This has sparked a controversy, since many canine educators do not agree with this study. However, you can’t please everyone.

How to know if my dog is left-pawed

How do you determine your dog’s dominant paw? This isn’t really a simple task, but it’s actually quite easy to find out.

It’s best to use a Kong-type toy and observe which paw he uses to grab it first. Of course, it could be a coincidence that he used the left one. So it’s recommended to repeat the movement at least a hundred times for several days. That way, you will get a more reliable statistic by knowing how many times he used each paw.

Are left-pawed dogs different from right-pawed ones?

It has already been demonstrated that using one paw more than the other can influence a dog’s abilities. A left-pawed dog tends to be more creative than a right-pawed one. A dog that uses his left paw more often usually gets into trouble or trespasses intro other people/animal’s confront zones, his way will always be better than others.

However, right-pawed dogs seem to have an easier time with training, such as becoming guide dogs. Regardless, whether your dog is left or right-pawed, he will always be a loving animal that needs your love and attention. Therefore, it’s not something that should influence the way you treat your dog.

Although, it’s important to determine your dog’s dominant paw to understand each other better and find out why he reacts with certain behaviors. However, this must not impact your relationship or the games that you normally play with him. After finding out if your dog is left-pawed, there is only one great truth that you should never forget: “your dog is still the same.”