Which Phalanx Did Most Canine's Loose

[Mr_Snow]

With the front feet/paws of dogs you can see the 5 digits (Phalanx's) mammals usually have, the thumb not being in contact with the ground.

But the rear paw on most dogs there is only 4. (on my sibe at least)

So my question is which "toe" did they loose; the Big toe or Pinky??

Sorry, I'm not a scientist/vet so I don't know the correct terminology.

[poodlefan]

Some breeds haven't lost any - they still have a rear dewclaw.

[Kirislin]

Of those born without rear dew claws I'd say it's the inner toe that corresponds with our big toe that they've lost. Did you know there's some breeds with 6 toes on their rear feet though, they might also have 6 on their front ones too, not sure.

[Sasha (Alexander)]

Taken from wikipedia. Duel dew claw.

Edited October 15, 2010 by Sasha (Alexander)

[Sasha (Alexander)]

your post made me interested in the subject.

i did some reading:

It is commonly agreed that they have NO function. They are vestigial

remnants of a fifth digit that was reduced in the process of evolution.

While the general pattern in mammals is to have five digits at the end of a

limb, fossil evidence shows a loss of digits, especially in animals that

maintain high speeds over long distances, as do dogs. (Horses, for example,

walk on just one digit, the third--the hoof is the remnant of one

"fingernail".) Members of the dog family (canids) similarly have small

feet, with usually four digits in contact with the ground. The small size

and weight of their limbs require less energy to move, allowing them to run

more efficiently.

http://www.madsci.org/posts/archives/2000-...81966.Zo.r.html

All wild canids in the genus Canis normally have 5 digits on the forefeet and 4 digits on the hindfeet. The missing digit on the rear is the equivalent of the big toe, the medial (innermost) digit (digit 1 for anatomists trained in North America and the United Kingdom). The loss of this first digit seems to accompany the evolution of the 'up on the toes' (digitigrade) stance of canids. The flatter footed (plantigrade) carnivores have 5 toes on each foot.

Although natural selection dumped the 1st digit from the hind foot fairly far back in the evolution of canids (and also, independently in cats) the thumb has persisted on the forefoot in digitigrade carnivores. There may well be a reason it is retained.

In my PhD work I found that really fast, slender legged dogs hyperextend the forefeet down to the stop pad when at a full gallop. They also roll slightly medially onto the inner surface of the carpus (pastern) when running. Examination of tracks in firm moist soil and examination of the feet of dogs running in grass show that the first digit of the forefoot (the thumb) comes into contact with the ground during high speed locomotion. In fast galloping dogs with small tight thumbs the claws wear with racing so that they do not need periodic trimming.

I have had dogs who had had thumbs removed get injuries in the thumb stump region unless they were run with their pasterns taped. This does not always happen but it occurs, in my experience, about as often as thumb claw injuries in dogs in which the thumbs are not removed.

http://netpet.batw.net/articles/dewclaws.html

[Mr_Snow]

Thanks Sasha, tried googling info but got lots of other subjects bar the info I wanted. thanks for clearing it up.

My poor puppydog hasn't got a bigtoe :laugh:

[Sasha (Alexander)]

Thanks Sasha, tried googling info but got lots of other subjects bar the info I wanted. thanks for clearing it up.

My poor puppydog hasn't got a bigtoe :laugh:

I read other articles talking about wolves having dew claws. so i am not sure to what to make of it.

BTW i believe my maltete X has a dew claw on the front and back. So i am not sure what to make of it. I guess especially with domestic dogs it's a vestigial body part but probably on it's way with other wild animals.

[Souff]

Thanks Sasha, tried googling info but got lots of other subjects bar the info I wanted. thanks for clearing it up.

My poor puppydog hasn't got a bigtoe :laugh:

Your dog is very fortunate.

The poor dogs who are born with hind dew claws have got these ugly claws sticking out of a flap of skin, and are not attached to a bone, just a sinewy thing.

They rip easily. Far more easily than front dewclaws. For this reason they are treated as abnormalities and are removed by vets as early as possible.

Throwbacks of prehistoric features are no asset, that is for sure.

Souff