Your Paw-some Question | Why do dogs have pads on their feet?

Today Cosmo and I learned all about dog paws from our friend, WSU veterinarian Dr. Natasha Hottmann. 

• Learn more about being a veterinarian with Nat Geo Kids
• Find out how to check your dog's paws
• Can dogs communicate? Find out what PBS NewsHour thinks

Sound effects courtesy Zapsplat and Pixabay

 As always, submit burning questions at askdruniverse.wsu.edu.  Who knows where your questions will take us next.

Transcript

Hey, Dr. Universe!

Hey, Cosmo!

Where do dogs go when they lose their tails?

Oh no. I don’t know. Where?

To the re-tail store!

Hey friends, I’m Dr. Universe.

And I’m Cosmo!

And if you’re anything like us, you’ve got lots of big questions about our world. 

Today, we’re tackling a question about dog paws.

Izzy wants to know: Why do dogs have pads on their paws?

Cosmo, you’ve probably noticed that dogs and cats like us have paws that look pretty different from our human friends’ hands and feet.

Yeah, humans have really long fingers and toes!

My friend Natasha Hottmann is a veterinarian at Washington State University. She told me that paws are actually a lot like human hands and feet. 

Dogs just walk on their toes—like they’re wearing invisible high heels. 

That’s called digitigrade locomotion.

Sometimes people see a knobby bone sticking out the back of a dog’s leg. They think the dog’s knees bend backwards. But that’s not true. That bone is the dog’s heel bone.

It sticks up in the air because dogs walk on their tiptoes.

The paw pads that dogs walk on cover their toes. 

Right! Most dogs have four digital pads on each paw plus a bigger pad in the middle called a metacarpal pad. They usually have a fifth digital pad on their front paws. It sticks out to the side like a thumb. 

Those are the pads that cover the toes.

Then most dogs have a little patch of fur and a carpal pad up higher on the front legs. That’s the dog’s wrist. 

Those little pads are so cute. Do they do anything besides look adorable?

They sure do. Paw pads are shock absorbers. They protect the bones from impact when a dog runs or jumps. 

They’re also tough enough to keep paws safe from sharp ground. And they give the dog traction so they don’t slide on wet, smooth or uneven surfaces.

So they’re like built-in sneakers?

Exactly! High-heeled sneakers made of fat, connective tissue, and thick skin.

Ew.

Paw pads also help dogs stay cool. Humans do that by sweating—because sweat evaporates from skin and takes heat with it. Dogs have way too much fur for that to work. So they mostly cool off by panting. 

But dogs do have some sweat glands on their noses and paw pads—where they don’t have fur.  

So that’s why hot dogs—uh, I mean dogs who are hot—sometimes leave wet paw prints!

You got it, Cosmo. That’s all for this episode, friends.

Big thanks to Dr. Natasha Hottmann at Washington State University for helping us with today’s question.

As always, if you’ve got a science question for me, you can send it to askdruniverse.wsu.edu. That’s A-S-K-D-R-U-N-I-V-E-R-S-E dot W-S-U dot E-D-U.
 Who knows where your questions will take us next!