As we see it, an educated dog owner is a good dog owner, and knowing the names of your dog’s parts is a good start. Disregard all the letters in this picture except for “E” (it’s a picture we found on Wikicommons and shows what we want to show, but we’re stuck with the other letters). Do you know the name of the pad to which the letter “E” is pointing, and why does the dog even have a pad way “up there?”
It’s the carpal pad, and it does some cool stuff.
It helps a dog keep his balance as he’s working his way down an incline. It not only helps prevent sliding, it also works like a brake as the dog navigates down a steep or slick slope (or the teeter totter on an agility course). The other pads act like shock absorbers and bear most of the dog’s weight when he’s walking or running, as well as protecting the bones and joints in the paw. When you picture the angle of a dog’s foot as it treads down a nearly perpendicular slope, it makes perfect sense for the dog to have a pad exactly where the carpal pad is located.
Sigh. As long as you’re here, let’s go ahead and name those other pads. The four up front are the digital pads, and the biggest one in the middle is the metacarpal pad (for our German speaking friends, its: A: Krallen, B: Fingerballen, C: Handballen, D: Daumenkralle, E: Handwurzelballen). All these pads have a thick layer of fatty tissue that insulates the inner foot tissues from extreme temperatures so it doesn’t conduct cold as quickly. (whales and blubber comes to mind.) As the paw gets cold when it hits the ground, arteries transfer the chilled blood back to the body where it warms up again. Our dogs really are amazing.
Image from Wikicommons