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Pawsitively Predominant! Do Dogs Have a Dominant Paw?

CSEF · 2017 Mammalian Biology Fourth Award

Kirsten E. Killian · Three Rivers Union School, Three Rivers, Tulare County

Overview

Objectives/Goals My objectives and goals for this experiment were to find if dogs have a dominant paw or prefer a paw. Methods/Materials I used: 30 dogs, paper, pencil, dog treats, sticky tape, and a stopwatch. I went to the owner's house held a treat tightly in my hand, and set a timer for 2 minutes. Next, I put a piece of tape on top of the dog's snout, and set a 2 minute timer. Finally, I had the dog sit and stand to see what paw they lead with. Results I found that dogs do have a dominant paw. I also learned that 60% of males were right pawed and that females tied in right and ambidextrous with 35.5% Conclusions/Discussion Since dogs do have a dominant paw, if training your dog to shake, or high five you can focus on the paw for that gender. If I could reconstruct this experiment I would get a bigger sample size and test all of the dogs in a bland room so that there are no distraction to the dogs and they are focused only on the tests.

Summary statement

I showed that all dogs, both male and female, have a dominant paw and this can make successful dog training easier.

Help received

I conducted the experiment on my own and received help from Korea Nydick a scientist at Sequoia National Park. She steered me in the right direction in where to find information about dog handedness.

Awards (1)

Competition history

  • CSEF 2017 Mammalian Biology · Entry J1308

Resources

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