Credits: Social Media
Study discovers adorable reason why dogs choose to be left or right-handed
Just like their favorite humans, dogs can also be left or right-handed and the reason behind their preferred paw is too cute.
Recent research showed your pet canine can understand more than just the basic commands and instructions like sit, fetch, and more. And the study we’re looking at proves dogs are even more like us than we thought.
Study uses different tasks to find paw preference in dogs
The research conducted by Sebastian Ocklenburg and colleagues in 2022 aimed to find if dogs too were left and right-handed like humans.
They used 60 dog owners with 40 pedigrees and 20 mixed-breed dogs and presented them with two different tasks – the paw and reach test.
The first test was simple and required the dog owner to put one of their hands in front, while the other was hidden at the back.
They had to alternate their hands to do the task twice daily for ten days and record their pupper’s preferred paw.
Whereas, the reach test was conducted by placing the dog’s favorite toy in an area that was small for the head to get through but big enough to be accessed with the paw. It was then recorded if their pooch used the left or right paw to reach the object.
Reason why your dog is left or right-handed
The results of the study purr-fectly made sense. It was found that dogs that belonged to left-handed people had a preference for their left paws and vice versa.
“Left-handed owners were more likely to own a dog with a left paw bias, and right-handed owners were more likely to own a dog with a right paw bias,” the study notes.
Reportedly, your pet pooch learns to use one paw to better interact with its owner while training, playing, receiving treats, and more. Which means, they imitate your hand preference.
The study further determined that female dogs have a right-handedness bias throughout their lives, while male dogs use their left paw more in puppyhood and prefer their right paw more with age.
