Wolves, coyotes, foxes, dogs….these are all canines. As canines, their paws are typically oval shaped, and when they leave footprints, the front and hind paw tracks are identical. Because they are canines, they are “diagonal walkers,” and that means they lift their front and hind legs on opposite sides at the same time. For this reason, their tracks are staggered.
As a rule, our breeds either have cat feet or hare feet (some people throw in webbed feet as an additional type of foot), and by and large, their overall shape is an oval.
Many breeds also have larger front feet than rear feet, and it’s written into their breed standards. While the Dachshund is the only hound with such verbiage (“hind paws – smaller than the front paws”), several terriers have similar wording: The Sealyham Terrier, Cairn Terrier, Scottish Terrier, and West Highland White Terrier, to be precise. It makes perfect sense that these “excavators” of the purebred dog world (Dachshunds and terriers) would have bigger front paws, they need them to dig away dirt to get at vermin. Smaller back paws don’t block the earth being flung back, and they provide better maneuverability because in a tunnel, because some of the vermin they go after are foul tempered critters who fight back with a vengeance. These dogs need to be able to back out in a hurry.
These are not the only breeds, however, with smaller back paws as written in their breed standards. The Polish Lowland Sheepdog has “front feet larger than the rear feet,” as does the Cardigan Welsh Corgi (“feet…are slightly smaller and more oval than front”), the Bergamasco (“rear feet are the same as forefeet except slightly smaller”) and the Dogo Argentino (“hind feet – Similar to forefeet, though slightly smaller). Not to be left out is the Löwchen (“the hind feet…are slightly smaller than the forefeet), the English Springer Spaniel (“The feet are the same as in front, except that they are smaller and often more compact”), and the Neapolitan Mastiff (“hind feet same as the front feet but slightly smaller”).
Do you know if your breed’s front feet are larger than their rear feet, and why?
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