# Does Your Dog Use His Front Paws A Lot?



## julius (Mar 18, 2014)

Julius uses his front paws a lot, almost as if he thinks they're hands! When I give him a toy, be it a deer antler, nylabone, kong, etc., he will usually lay down and grip it with his front two paws, and then go to town grinding on it. This usually is just cute and funny, but I've noticed now that his nylabone has some nice shreds in it, the hard plastic has started to dig marks into both his paws! He has two spots on each paw when the skin has been rubbed off. He keeps licking them, so they haven't healed in over 2 weeks. Is this something to worry about? Is it kind of normal? Are small spots like that no cause for concern?

Thanks


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## Sarah~ (Oct 12, 2013)

Both of my dogs paw at me for random things. Attention, something I have the think they will get, etc. They use their paws to hold toys and bones down too, to hold it still while they chew. Never really had problems with spots on the paws, though.


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## Remaru (Mar 16, 2014)

Duke is an American Bulldog, he uses his paws like hands.  He is more likely to slap the other dogs if he doesn't like what they are doing than use his mouth. He will take one paw and knock them over or tap them to see what they are doing almost like a person tapping some one on the shoulder. He was quick to learn all of the touching cues like "give paw" "high five" and "wave". If he thinks something is wrong he will come sit next to you and put his paw on your leg like "go on, tell me about it." He also likes to be hugged and will put at least one paw around you if you hug him (I know hugging is usually a doggie no no but both Duke and Remus enjoy it). Remus is not as much for using his paws though he is a jumper. Still working on it but he is young and very "excitable". He likes to wrap his "arms" around people particularly when they are hugging. So if I hug my kids or my hubby he will jump up and hug us too. He also "touches" the other dogs with his paws but it just as likely to use his nose. I wonder if it isn't the difference between a short muzzled dog and longer muzzled dog but now we have Freyja and she uses her front paws a ton. She likes to hold things for chewing, poke at the other dogs and cats and dig. She digs at fabric like towels. Blue is not as keen on using her paws other than for touching people to try to get attention.


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## Kayla_Nicole (Dec 19, 2012)

Murphy and Alannah both use their paws all the time. For holding toys and things they are chewing on, and for pawing at us and each other. When Murphy is asking to be pet, he will sit and "give paw" until we pay attention to him. Murphy also hugs with his front legs (wraps them around our shoulders and legs.


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## Kyllobernese (Feb 5, 2008)

It took me the longest time to get Kris to just sit when she came up to me when I was sitting. She insisted on having at least one foot on me. My little dogs have learned to stay clear of her when she starts waving her feet around and stepping on them. Remmy, in particular, gets really mad at her if she steps on him and growls and goes after her so she lies down. If she is getting too rough with one of the other dogs, all Remmy has to do is start walking towards her stiff legged and she lies down. She would probably have a good time playing with a Boxer.


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## Amaryllis (Dec 28, 2011)

Kabota is as inclined to use his paws as his mouth. He will smack me with his paws and occasionally pets me, too. 

As for the raw spots, you do need to do something so they can heal. Wrap the paws or get an e-collar (elizabethan collar) so he stops licking them. Then, throw away the nylabone and get some antlers or bully sticks for him to chew on. Just as satisfying to chew on without damage to his paws.


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## Perrin (Feb 7, 2014)

My puppy definitely uses her paws a lot, I think too much! I have two problems regarding her pawing that I don't quite understand. I hope I am not hijacking this thread, I have searched for answers to my questions and this seems like the appropriate thread to put them.

Problem 1: She lifts one of her front paws and waves it at other dogs, sometimes trying to bat them in the face, when playing. It seems like incredibly rude behavior to me and I am worried that she won't grow out of it. At first, in puppy class I think she was just being appeasing because she is was very very shy around other dogs. Now, she is 5 months old and she did it to an adult toy poodle, and she didn't stop even when the poodle warned her with growing. I had to pick her up and remove her. Anyone familiar with this type of "play?" 

Problem 2: Sometimes when I am playing with her, she uses both her front paws to grab my leg or arm (like a hug). I don't know if this is problematic behavior or not, so I am playing it safe and discouraging it. Anyone else have experience with a dog doing this?


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## Hambonez (Mar 17, 2012)

Ham uses his front paws to hold his chewies (though he also likes it for us to hold them for him). He doesn't have a ton of range of motion in his legs because they're so stubby.


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## Rootin'Rigby (Dec 21, 2013)

YES! Rigby does it all the time. He will lay on his back and hold a toy in his paws and chew on it. He'll also bat a toy around the living room with his front paws like a cat. And when we come up to the door to come inside, he'll paw at the door. He cracks us up!


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## Amaryllis (Dec 28, 2011)

Perrin said:


> My puppy definitely uses her paws a lot, I think too much! I have two problems regarding her pawing that I don't quite understand. I hope I am not hijacking this thread, I have searched for answers to my questions and this seems like the appropriate thread to put them.
> 
> Problem 1: She lifts one of her front paws and waves it at other dogs, sometimes trying to bat them in the face, when playing. It seems like incredibly rude behavior to me and I am worried that she won't grow out of it. At first, in puppy class I think she was just being appeasing because she is was very very shy around other dogs. Now, she is 5 months old and she did it to an adult toy poodle, and she didn't stop even when the poodle warned her with growing. I had to pick her up and remove her. Anyone familiar with this type of "play?"
> 
> Problem 2: Sometimes when I am playing with her, she uses both her front paws to grab my leg or arm (like a hug). I don't know if this is problematic behavior or not, so I am playing it safe and discouraging it. Anyone else have experience with a dog doing this?


1. Some dogs are very inclined to use paws in play, notably boxers. Some dogs are okay with it, some dogs get angry about it. I wouldn't let her play with random dogs if she isn't responding to warning growls. (It could just be her age. She has just aged out of the "puppy pass", so she may not understand the growl is for her.)

2. If she's not humping when she "hugs" you, I wouldn't care. Kabota likes to "hug" my arms when we're cuddling. If he were humping me, I wouldn't allow the hugging at all.


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## melaka (Mar 31, 2010)

My dog will hold things with her paws, and she also cleans her face by licking her paws then rubbing them on her face, like a cat. She'll also sometimes just put her paw on my arm, or even pat my arm a few times, almost like a person would who's trying to get your attention.


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## JeJo (Jul 29, 2013)

Kay does not use her paws overly much, other than to hold her filled Kong in place, or a raw meaty rib bone while gnawing, and to reach in/under/behind something to get an errant tennis ball. Oh, and in reaction to my "Ya wanna play? You do-oo? Ya-ya-ya?" pre-fetch revving, she is known to rear up and throw her "jazz paws" up in the air. For getting personal attention, though, (for a skritching session or to be let outside, she is 'unarmed' and just rests her big ol' head on my leg giving me a mesmerizing stare...that. I. must. obey.

As for Julius' paw/hot spots, I too would discourage her from licking them to prevent the wounds from getting worse as well as to keep the licking from becoming a habit. Staying away from the irritant (nylabones in this case) is a good idea.


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## Jen2010 (Feb 12, 2013)

Our dog uses her paws quite a bit, but she's half Boxer so it's normal for her. She definitely used them more when she was a puppy though.


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## Foresthund (Jul 17, 2013)

Yes,he will hold things above his head with his paws and sometimes catches frisbee's with them and if he doesn't catch them he will paw around the dirt or snow where it landed so he can grab them. I trained him not to paw me but he will paw at cats and other dogs. I have seen him clean his face like a cat but he does such rarely. I've also seen him pop balloons by standing their and sticking out his paw and stomping on them. He had his dew claws removed before I got him which they say limits these things,but I haven't seen it.


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## Perrin (Feb 7, 2014)

Amaryllis said:


> 1. Some dogs are very inclined to use paws in play, notably boxers. Some dogs are okay with it, some dogs get angry about it. I wouldn't let her play with random dogs if she isn't responding to warning growls. (It could just be her age. She has just aged out of the "puppy pass", so she may not understand the growl is for her.)
> 
> 2. If she's not humping when she "hugs" you, I wouldn't care. Kabota likes to "hug" my arms when we're cuddling. If he were humping me, I wouldn't allow the hugging at all.


Thanks for the input. It was the first warning growl she has received, so hopefully she will learn. And there is no humping, just sort of begging us to play with her.


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## Jadesy (Mar 13, 2014)

Nylabones are nylon, aren't they? It's possible he's actually allergic to the nylon, my dog is allergic to nylon collars. That may be why there are spots on his toes.


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## Miss Bugs (Jul 4, 2011)

Gypsy is just awful about using her paws for everything, she walks around wacking things(and you) with her front paws, she also uses her paws for evil , and steals things from the counter, she is not that big but she can reach anything by shifting her angles to get the best use of her legs and can grab things from the very back of the counter
mnmnmnmnmnmnmnmnmnmnmnmnmnmnmnmnmnmnmnmnmnmnmnmnmnmnmnmnmnmnmnmnmnmnmnmnmnmnmnmnmnmnmnmnmnmnmnmnmnmnmnmnmnmnmnmnmnmnmnmnmnmnmnmnmnmnmnmnmnmnmnmnmnmnmnmnmnmnmnmn 


I felt leaving that streak of letters appropriate because its what I came back to Gypsy doing with her front paws while I was letting Baby inside...


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## shallbe (Jan 16, 2012)

Tweed does not really use his paws excessively, but when we got Jubilee we immediately noticed that she uses her paws much more. As she learned to play tug from Tweed, we noticed that she would rather try to grab the rope using her paw than to hold it hard in her jaws. She also likes to put her paw on me possessively when I'm petting her.

Interestingly, Tweed, as a cocker-mix, has an incredibly strong jaw and hold. Jubilee does not...she doesn't enjoy tug much, and will avoid pulling and always loses the game because she keeps letting go to get a better grip--the truth is she just doesn't like to bite down hard and hold. So I expect that's why she uses her paws so much.


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## Doggydad (Feb 6, 2020)

julius said:


> Julius uses his front paws a lot, almost as if he thinks they're hands! When I give him a toy, be it a deer antler, nylabone, kong, etc., he will usually lay down and grip it with his front two paws, and then go to town grinding on it. This usually is just cute and funny, but I've noticed now that his nylabone has some nice shreds in it, the hard plastic has started to dig marks into both his paws! He has two spots on each paw when the skin has been rubbed off. He keeps licking them, so they haven't healed in over 2 weeks. Is this something to worry about? Is it kind of normal? Are small spots like that no cause for concern?
> 
> Thanks


I adopted my little girl Suki and was told she was American bulldog/lab mix, she will hang onto the rope when we play tug or pull dads shoulders out of socket. I can lift her almost vertical . Ive loved and fostered many dogs and have never seen a dog use their paws in this manner. In some ways she reminds me of a boxer..


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## 3GSD4IPO (Jun 8, 2016)

My one dog lives here with another dog and two cats. He is VERY smart and he does not miss anything. The one cat is blind and he will lay on his back and play with his feet. He will use his paws to pat the dogs. 

This young dog has taken to using his paws with the cat exactly like the cat does. Does this make my dog a Copy Cat?????


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