Just as humans are categorized as left-handed or right-handed, domestic dogs also exhibit paw preferences. Researchers devised a series of behavioral and motor tests to conduct a comprehensive assessment, identifying dogs as left-pawed, right-pawed, or those that use both paws with equal dexterity.
In domestic dogs, this characteristic manifests on both sensory levels (smell, hearing, sight) and motor levels (preference for the right or left paw), establishing the dog as one of the most significant animal species for studying the evolutionary and biological mechanisms of lateralization.
For many centuries, dogs have lived alongside humans, gradually adopting many of our habits, learning to understand us, and even developing a similar way of “thinking.” This makes dogs an excellent model for investigating behavioral traits. Furthermore, in these animals, much like in humans, the “choice” of dominant paw is influenced by sex: females tend to favor their right paw, while males lean towards their left.
A research team adapted a psychological tool, the Edinburgh Handedness Inventory, originally developed in the early 1970s to determine dominant hand usage in humans.
This new test, christened the “Doggedness Inventory,” synthesized the outcomes of four physical tests—two involving paw manipulation and two tracking locomotion—to yield a combined score for paw preference across different tasks. The findings of this study were published in the journal Royal Society Open Science.
It is evident that questionnaires are not applicable for assessing animal preferences. Studies on canine lateralization predominantly rely on behavioral tests. The most common method involves observing which paw a dog uses to steady a toy while reaching for a food reward inside, although this technique has certain limitations and inaccuracies. In previous decades, tests like removing tape from a dog’s eyes, nose, or a blanket from its head were also employed, but these have been discontinued due to their potential to cause stress and discomfort to the animal.
The new study involved the evaluation of 47 healthy dogs, aged between 1 and 10 years. Each dog underwent individual testing under three distinct conditions: at home, in an open area, and within an isolated room at the Veterinary Medicine Department of the University of Bari, Italy.
Each participant completed four trials: a paw-holding toy test, a treat-retrieval test, a first-step stair ascent test from a standing position, and a raised platform traversal test.
Subsequently, the data from all four tests were combined to calculate a composite score, which then categorized each dog. The participants were classified into five groups based on their motor lateralization: strongly left-sided, mildly left-sided, ambilateral (no distinct preference), mildly right-sided, or strongly right-sided.
Moving forward, scientists intend to expand the repertoire of exercises and test them on a wide array of dog breeds. They are confident that knowing a dog’s leading paw is more than just an interesting tidbit for owners. Lateralization is associated with variations in behavior, stress responses, and cognitive abilities in dogs. Understanding a dog’s preferred paw can be advantageous for training, assessing an animal’s well-being, and selecting working dogs.
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