Why does my dog only have four toes on all its feet?

Fossil evidence shows that the animals with four toes in the front legs and five on the back have undergone various evolutionary upgrades in their bodies. Loss of the digits in the toes is known as vestigial structure. The missing toes are part of the evaluation of all the animals.

Table of Contents

• Puppies born with extra toes
• Dog growing extra toe
• Polydactyl Dog Breeds
• Which dog Breeds have additional Toes?
• Is removing the extra toe will have a health problem for the dog?
• How many fingers do dogs’ paws have?

Puppies born with extra toes

Extra toes in the dog, also known as polydactyly, are rare conditions. Few species of dogs are born on the extra toes. It is not due to health problems or genetic disorders, so you do not worry about it. Your dog is healthy and doesn’t need any health treatment.

Most breed dogs contain four front toes and five toes on the back legs. When four toes are on the back leg, the fifth one will be higher on the leg.

Researchers have found much fossil evidence showing the evolution of animals. Many species have a similar pattern on the toes. Elimination of the front toes is part of the evolution process.

The animals with the one-digit missing are the one who has to spend most of the time running. The patterns have been observed in dogs and wolves who use their speed to catch small animals. Mother has provided them advantages by removing one toe from the front leg.

Similarly, the puppies born with the extra toes are also going through changes in the biological structure of the animal. 

If the animal does not use the extra toes on the backside of the legs, they soon get removed from the species, and you will never see such development in dogs.

Generally, the extra toes develop shortly after the dog’s birth. It will be observable. You have to be careful about your dog’s different legs because it may get caught in anything, such as mesh or cloth. The legs hanging on the side of the leg contains a sharp nail that gets stuck into the stuff.

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Dog growing extra toe

The extra toe in the dog is generally found on the upper side of the legs. It is extra toes that develop from childhood. The development of extra toes happens in rare conditions.

It is common in the cat, but you will not find it more often in the dog. When you breed the dogs, the genetic information is transferred to the newborn babies, and the evolution of the extra legs is passed to the new generation. Generally, such development gets transferred from the genetic infusion.

Additionally, the extra toes are not connected to the other fingers. The development is slowly happening on the upper side of the legs. It is made of soft tissues with some tiny bones. It will not generate any pain for the dog.

The only problem with the extra leg is that it catches the things around while the dog is walking. 

Also, when the dog sleeps on the bedsheet or interacts with the cloths or mesh, the extra leg may get stuck in it, which may get your dog in trouble. It may cause serious injury to your dog in such a situation.

Polydactyl Dog Breeds

Dogs and cats share similar body structures. In most cases, the dog’s front legs will have four toes, and the back legs will have five. Like a cat, the dog also has four toes on its feet. The elimination of the front toe is the evolutionary change in the development process. 

Unlike a cat, the dog has to use speed to catch its food. Thus, the four toes at the front help them improve their speed and efficiently get the food.

Polydactyl is seen in a few of the species that are born with the limbs feature. The majority of them are born with four toes at the front. Usually, the hind limb is affected in the process. There are very few breeds that get this problem.

The polydactyly toe is located at the higher level of the dog’s leg. Mostly above other toes in any of the legs. It is easily noticeable and can be experienced at birth time. 

They look similar to ordinary fingers and may not cause pain while growing. Therefore, it mostly goes unnoticed or may not show any importance to look at it. It stays there without harming the dog.

Which dog Breeds have additional Toes?

Here is the list of some dog breed that gets the other toes. Remember that it does not guarantee that the extra toe will be there in the species, but the study shows that these breeds generally get the extra toe.

• Cao Fila de Sao Miguel
• Portuguese Sheepdog
• Briard’s
• East Siberian Laika
• Catalonian Sheepdog’
• Beauceron
• Estrela Mountain Dog
• Icelandic Sheepdog

Having extra toes on the dog’s feet is not a health problem. Some dog breed gets these extra toes, and it is okay. You do not need to consult a veteran to find the reason. The great Pyrenees breed typically gets the additional toes. 

They naturally have one or sometimes two dewclaws on the leg’s upper side. The additional toe can grow on any of the legs. 

No particular pattern makes the dog breed have a toe on only one side of the leg.

• The genes will be transferred to their babies, showing a similar pattern in the newborn puppies. Also, the additional toe can be passed through genes, so if any pair has the toe on the leg. The extra toe is called the hind limb or polydactyly in the scientific community.

• The extra toe rare serves any purpose. Most of the time, it hangs on the leg, doing nothing. We believe evolution will soon remove these extra legs from the dog and free the species from it.

• It has been observed that the biological structure that is not in use soon decays, and the new species are born with a completely new biological structure. The extra toe is not playing any significant role in protecting the species. 

Also, it is not something that runs the vital organs. So there are possibilities that we might not see the extra toe in the future generation of the dog.

Is removing the extra toe will have a health problem for the dog?

Removal of the extra toe is not necessary. It may not affect the dogs’ health. Usually, the owners conduct the removal process only for cosmetic reasons. 

Also, the extra leg’s position sometimes causes pain to the dog when it is stuck in the clothes where the dog sleeps or while playing outdoors. It will be a painful experience for the dog. Thus, some owners decide to get it removed using surgery.

Moreover, the extra leg may hurt the dog while running. The legs will have similar growth as the fingers on the foot. It will also develop sharp nails. The nail will cause inconvenience while sleeping or running. 

The foot touches the body where it is, creating an injury to the body. So if you find the dog has an issue with the extra leg, you should consult with the veteran and get it removed. 

Do it only if you find the dog is going through pain. In most cases, it is not needed.

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How many fingers do dogs’ paws have?

Generally, dogs have four fingers on each paw. In total, there will be 16 fingers. Some breeds get a fifth finger or toe on one of the legs. In rare cases, the extra toe will be on all four legs. 

If you identify an extra toe on the puppies, do not worry about it. It is normal, and it will not negatively affect the dog. But the dogs will have only 16 toes in most of the issues.

The extra toe might be the evolutional upgrade. It might have lost its essentials; therefore, only a few breeds get the extra toe. Time will tell whether the toe will sustain the dog’s biological system or vanish over time.

• Extra toe might have served the dog in the past, mainly when the dog lived in the jungle and mountains. 

• The steep mountain region requires more grip; that’s why the extra legs could have supported primarily in preventing them from falling.

• A dog can use the extra leg to clean their heads and faces. In addition, the extra toe might have contributed to stabilizing the dog’s motion while running or swimming. Also, the extra leg is good support while grooming.

• So if you find the extra legs development in the puppies, there is no need to take action. It will not cause any trouble to the dog. 

Let the dog live in natural conditions. Whatever biological structure provides to the species is part of their evolutionary change. It may not get transferred to the new generation.

Dogs’ paws are primarily helpful when the dogs are spending time in the open space. If your dogs stay at home and live most of their lives in a close area, the extra paws will never have any trouble. 

Just take care of the growth of the nails. Conduct a grooming session every few months to avoid the nails getting big and disturbing the dog.