Why do dogs have pads on their feet? – Izzy, 10, Louisiana
melissamayerDear Izzy,
My coworkers sometimes forget that I’m a cat—until I reach out a paw to shake their hand. At first glance, cat and dog paws seem very different from human hands and feet.
I talked about that with my friend Natasha Hottmann. She’s a veterinarian at Washington State University.
She told me that a dog paw is actually super similar to a human foot. Dogs just walk on their toes—like they’re wearing invisible high heels. That’s called digitigrade locomotion.
“People think, ‘Oh, their knee is backward’ or something—but it’s not their knee,” Dr. Hottmann said. “It’s the point of their heel, which is … » More …
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