According to the way the right and left lobes of the human brain are used, people become right or left-handed. A study conducted in 2010 showed that 13.1% of the American population is left-handed. As in humans, dogs can be right-handed, left-handed, or use both sides equally. Are you wondering which one is your dog? Let's find out by doing some tests.
1. Let's get our hands on a piece of delicious dog treat. After giving the dog a sniff and attracting the attention there, let's hold the treat in our closed palm and hold it in the middle front of the dog. Whichever hand the dog is prone to using, they will try to reach the food by patting it with that paw.
After doing the first test, let's continue with other test to make sure:
2. This time fill the dog treats in a closed container. If there is no hole in the container, let's make holes where the smell can come out. When we put the container on the ground and hold, whichever paw the dog is trying to knock over, he/she is using that paw.
If your dog used one hand in the first test and the opposite in the other test, there is a high probability that he/she can use both hands equally. To be sure exactly which hand the dog is using, you can use the reach out of treat, cupping it, or hide-and-find methods. Whichever paw the dog tends to use, that side is dominant. Studies shown that male dogs are more likely to be left-handed than female dogs[1].
[1] Based on the study of Kirsty Laverack and Elisa Frasnelli of Lincoln University in the UK; analyzed data collected in the BBC’s ‘Test Your Pet’ survey.