Four in five dogs show a genuine preference for which paw they use
Across species and millennia, the body has quietly declared its preferences — and now science has turned its attention to the paws of dogs. New Italian research confirms that roughly four in five dogs consistently favor one front paw over the other, a trait researchers call 'pawness,' echoing the laterality long observed in human hands. The finding suggests that this bias is not habit or training, but something deeper — a signature written into the nervous system itself, hinting at shared neurological architecture between humans and their oldest companions.
- Eight in ten dogs reliably favor one front paw — a majority large enough to reframe this as biology, not coincidence.
- The preference surfaces in unremarkable moments: a paw reaching for a toy, a foot leading down a kerb, a knock at a familiar door — quiet patterns hiding a neurological story.
- Animal behavior specialist Sarah Rutten brought the Italian findings to a broad audience on 3AW Breakfast, signaling that the science has crossed from speculation into confidence.
- The parallel to human handedness raises urgent questions about brain hemisphere dominance in dogs — and whether we have been training and assessing them without accounting for something fundamental.
- Researchers and trainers are now looking ahead to whether knowing a dog's paw preference could reshape individualized training, behavioral evaluation, and even the physical design of pet environments.
Most dog owners have noticed it without naming it — the same paw always raised at the door, the same foot leading off the couch. New research from Italy has given this observation a scientific footing: approximately 80% of dogs display a genuine, consistent preference for one front paw over the other, a trait researchers are calling 'pawness.'
The parallel to human handedness is difficult to ignore. Just as people tend toward a dominant hand, dogs show a reliable lateral bias — reaching for objects, controlling toys, or stepping off kerbs with the same paw, time and again. This doesn't appear to be learned or trained. It seems to be neurological, wired into the animal at a level below habit.
Speaking on 3AW Breakfast, dog behavior specialist Sarah Rutten outlined the Italian findings for hosts Ross and Russel, noting that the data is now robust enough to speak with real confidence. The 80% figure is significant — too large to be dismissed as individual quirk, and suggestive of a genuine feature of canine biology rather than an outlier pattern.
What the research quietly opens up is a larger question about how dogs' brains are organized. In humans, handedness maps onto hemisphere dominance. If the same holds for dogs, then paw preference becomes more than a curiosity — it becomes a window into individual neurology, with potential implications for how we train, assess, and even build spaces for our animals. For now, the science simply confirms what attentive owners have long sensed: your dog has a favorite paw, and it chose it for a reason.
Most dog owners have probably noticed their pet favoring one side over the other—the way a dog might always paw at the door with the same front leg, or step down from the couch with a particular foot leading. It turns out this isn't random habit. New research from Italy has confirmed what animal behaviorists have long suspected: about four in five dogs display a genuine preference for which front paw they use, a phenomenon researchers are calling either left or right "pawness."
The finding mirrors human handedness so closely that it's hard not to draw the parallel. Just as most people are right-handed and a smaller portion left-handed, dogs show this same kind of laterality—a consistent bias toward one side of the body. The preference shows up in everyday moments: when a dog reaches for a toy, when it paws at something to control it, when it navigates a set of stairs or steps down from a kerb. It's not a learned behavior or a response to training. It appears to be something more fundamental, wired into the animal's neurology.
Sarah Rutten, a dog behavior specialist, discussed the Italian research on 3AW Breakfast, explaining to hosts Ross and Russel that the data is now robust enough to speak with confidence. Eighty percent of dogs, she noted, show this tendency to rely on one paw more than the other. That's a significant majority—large enough to suggest this isn't an outlier or a quirk of individual animals, but rather a genuine feature of canine biology.
What makes this interesting isn't just the fact itself, but what it suggests about how dogs' brains are organized. Laterality in animals often correlates with how their nervous systems are structured. In humans, handedness is tied to brain hemisphere dominance. The same may be true for dogs. Understanding that individual dogs have these preferences could eventually change how we think about training, behavior assessment, and even how we design environments for our pets.
For now, the research simply confirms what careful observers have long noticed: your dog probably does have a favorite paw, and it's not by accident.
Notable Quotes
Eighty per cent of dogs have a tendency to use one paw or the other more than they would normally. They're calling it either 'left pawness' or 'right pawness'.— Sarah Rutten, dog behaviour specialist
The Hearth Conversation Another angle on the story
So eighty percent is a pretty high number. Does that mean the other twenty percent are ambidextrous?
Not necessarily. Some dogs might genuinely use both paws equally. Others in that twenty percent might have a preference that's just weaker or harder to detect. The research is looking at clear, consistent patterns.
And this pawness thing—it's not something the dog learns, right? Not like a trick?
Right. It appears to be innate, something about how their nervous system is wired. A dog doesn't decide to be left-pawed the way a person might learn to write with their right hand.
Does it matter which paw a dog prefers? Does a left-pawed dog behave differently than a right-pawed one?
That's still being explored. But understanding the preference could help trainers and behaviorists work with individual dogs more effectively—tailoring approaches based on how that particular animal is naturally inclined.
So if I watch my dog go down the stairs, I could figure out which paw it favors?
Exactly. Stairs, reaching for toys, pawing at doors—those are all moments where the preference becomes visible. It's something any owner can observe.