2006-11-05 05:01:34 · 11 answers · asked by bluegirl 2 in Pets ➔ Dogs
Not necessarily... If you are going to try to determine if a puppy out of a particular litter is going to be larger/smaller than its littermates, you are better off evaluating the entire dog, especially its bone structure.
I have a litter now (7 weeks old) and the puppy with the biggest paws also has medium bone structure, and is the 4th smallest in weight. If I were to go solely by paw size, I would have to pin him as biggest, but as it stands, I think he may be 3rd largest of the 5.
Also, the ratio of paw size to the rest of the puppy changes as they age... between 8 weeks & 5 or 6 months, their paws are disproportionate to the rest of the dog, then things even out & you need to evaluate the wrist joints to see if the dog has reached its adult height (weight is added after height has stopped, so that isn't even a complete estimation of total adult size)
2006-11-05 05:24:20 · answer #1 · answered by oluchirr 2 · 0⤊ 0⤋
Not really...genetics plays the biggest role. We know, for instance, a rottweiler is a big dog anyway...so genetics tells us by the breed...it will be big. The paw size really has nothing to do with it. A puppy from a large dog breed will have large paws while a small breed dog will naturally have small paws. If you ever looked at a litter of puppies and tried to go by the feet...you will notice that puppies with the bigger paws are also bigger in size. Same with the runt of any litter. The smaller the feet...the smaller the puppies body mass....:-)
2006-11-05 13:10:36 · answer #2 · answered by prism_wolf 4 · 0⤊ 0⤋
No, I've seen large dogs with small paws and small dogs with huge paws. Just look at basset hounds, they have massive paws! The best way to determine the size is by looking at the parents, if the parents are not avaliable you can get a vet to estimate the size or try to figure out the breed(s) of dog and look up the size guidlines.
2006-11-05 13:06:00 · answer #3 · answered by pharfly1 5 · 0⤊ 0⤋
Somewhat. If the puppy has huge paws, he will be a big dog.
2006-11-05 13:09:13 · answer #4 · answered by Mariposa 7 · 0⤊ 0⤋
To some extent it does. Many large breed dogs are born with paws out of proportion to their bodies that they eventually grow into. As a general rule, big paws=big dog
2006-11-05 13:04:21 · answer #5 · answered by Lauren 3 · 4⤊ 1⤋
Depends on the breed, but normally if it has an abnormally large paw for its frame you got yourself a huge dog!!!!
2006-11-05 13:05:37 · answer #6 · answered by sam y 2 · 0⤊ 0⤋
old wives tail, bred dogs for 30 years, paw size makes no odds, used to be told to prospective buyers to influence a sale, nutrition is the key.
2006-11-05 13:05:08 · answer #7 · answered by questor 3 · 0⤊ 1⤋
Yes. The bigger the paw, the bigger the dog will be.
2006-11-05 13:32:18 · answer #8 · answered by Steph L 4 · 0⤊ 0⤋
Ithink it does, big paws mean a big dog.
2006-11-05 13:26:46 · answer #9 · answered by nosy old lady 5 · 0⤊ 0⤋
Yes big paws = big dog
<^,,^<
2006-11-05 13:28:58 · answer #10 · answered by sweet-cookie 6 · 0⤊ 0⤋