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I observed ten dogs and six cats to determine if pets have a preferred paw. Data was collected through observation of pets at play and while pets performed various tasks.

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Dogs who previously knew the "shake" command were told to sit and shake. The dogs were then praised and sent to play. Dogs were called again and the sit and shake commands were repeated followed by praise and release. Offer a different hand for each shake command, alternate between left and right. Repeat this process until each hand has been offered to the dog three times. Record which paw the dog offered each time.

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Humans have a preferential hand that they use to perform activities involving motor skills, even people who are classified as ambidextrous. Are pets the same? My experiment hopes to answer this question through careful examination of both cats and dogs as they perform tasks such as the "shake" command under varying circumstances and retrieving a treat from a tube.

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My hypothesis for this experiment is that most pets will display a dominant or preferred paw.

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Untrained dogs and cats were observed through play. Roll a ball in front of the animal. Record what paw the pet used to swat the ball. Repeat the roll from the other side, for example if you rolled the ball from the right previously then roll it from the left for the next trial. Repeat until the ball has been rolled from each direction three times.

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Place a desired object such as a toy or treat out of reach of pet. Observe what paw pet uses to reach object. Repeat 6 times. Record what paw was used each time.

(Disclaimer: This photo is not an actual photo from an experiment. It is used solely for illustrative purposes. This photo is a stock photo obtained from http://hauspanther.wpengine.netdna-cdn.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/04/CatPuzzleToys5)

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Science Buddies Staff. (2017, July 28).Paw Preference in Pets. Retrieved from https://www.sciencebuddies.org/science-fair-projects/project-ideas/MamBio_p011/mammalian-biology/paw-preference-in-pets

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Pets Who Displayed a Left Paw Preference

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Pets Who Displayed a Left Paw Preference

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Pets Who Displayed a Right Paw Preference

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Pets Who Displayed a Right Paw Preference

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A variable that I did not account for was the dog's propensity to perform tricks for treats. All ten canine participants showed obvious signs that they were awaiting a treat for shaking. Some dogs would nose their owner's hand searching for a treat. Some dogs appeared to mirror the hand given. After the "praise and release" step, most dogs would stay and offer their other paw. This behavior suggests that the dogs are merely offering whichever paw they believe will get them a reward and therefore are not demonstrating any cognitive choice in the paw offered.

One dog consistently offered his left paw regardless of which hand the owner offered or whether he received a treat or not. It is worth noting that after a couple rounds of shaking without a treat, this dog started performing other tricks. This dog never switched paws, but would wag his tail profusely between tricks as if in anticipation of a treat. This behavior also lends itself to the previously mentioned theory of the dogs disregard for which paw they used so long as they received a treat.

This does not mean that dogs cannot be used in further experimentation of this hypothesis. Since the treat variable was not accounted for prior to the start of this experiement, the data collected from the dogs is inconclusive.

It is very notable that all six cats observed showed a preference for the right paw. This is not to say that these cats never used their left paws during play or to obtain the treat or toy placed out of their reach. This means that the cats all consistently led with their right paws. Since cats are not trained like dogs, the cats were not worried about whether or not they were using the "correctt paw" to obtain a treat. The cats' only objective was to reach the object they were seeking. This data could be interpreted to mean that their behavior can be better analyzed to determine paw preference.