EAST TEXAS HOG DOGGERS FORUM

I was just thinkin the other day, and was wonderin what ya'll think about the way a dogs feet are, and how it effects the way they perform: cat footed, flat footed, long footed........    I myself prefer a cat footed dog, its one thing i really look for in conformation, is a good straight legged, tight footed dog.

  I read on another forum a while back that a feller out west somewhere said that the cat footed dogs wouldnt last long in the rocky terrain.    Opinions please ;D

 That is a good question. I haven't really thought about it... where we hunt in the marsh and rice fields, i guess a web footed dog would work best. LOL :D

Not a bad topic of discussion for me. Feet have never been much of a consideration for me in conformation but I have never had a dog with feet issues either.
I do notice them. Especially as puppies and I like a cat footed dog also. I see a lot of leopard dogs with them.
 One thing I have noticed about a cat footed dog is that their feet grow “with them” from a pup and not “into” them. They never seem to be clumsy at any stage in their growing either. You can really see the difference in the “6 months and under “puppy bays at the bayings. The pups that are very agile and quick at that age are almost always cat footed.
HogsGoneWild had a pup named Sasha that was cat footed and quick as lightning from the get go. That is the way it has been with the cat footed pups I have raised also.
As long as dogs feet fit their body when they are grown and don’t hinder or impede their hunting ability, I don’t  worry about them but maybe I should.

This is a good topic to chew on. Feet on a dog or just like feet on a horse. With out them they are useless. I dont raise any cat footed dogs. Have seen only very few in my life time. And most of them where of the cat line of dogs. That being said like some people on here we hunt mostly marshs,Palmeto flats,river bottoms and any place else where there is water standing. So you can see here that Im going to take up for my big footed cur dogs. But I beleave that dogs in drier country would do better with a cat footed dog.This goes back to animals adapting to an evolve to the type of terrain they are in. So I have no likes or dislikes for what my dogs feet are like. But maybe I should. Good topic would like to here from more people on their ideas about it.

 So, what do yall consider to be cat footed? I've always thought that it was a small foot with toes pulled in tightly. Sort of look like they are up on their toes.  Verses a dog that has big looking feet with the foot sort of spread out when they are standing. Is this right?

You are correct in your way of thinking. Most of you running hounds that they use for big cats and bear are cat footed dogs. And most of the dogs that come out of south, west, and north Texas will be more of a cat footed type dog.

my black mouth is what you guys call cat footed. I like it, makes him look very correct. and it looks like hes walking on his toes like someone else said.

hes a quick dog.
ive never noticed how dogs with different types of feet move, but im sure it helps.

you probably don't see many wild dogs with splayed feet.

also in most breed standards splayed feet are not good.

I didnt know that there was a standerd to go by with cur dogs. I always thought it was there ablity to the job they where raise to do, and didnt have to be pretty or and stand up on there toes to it. But if you are talking about show dogs that is a different story. IMO if a dog that stood up on his toes was hunting most of the country here on the Texas coast that we hunt in, Would not hold up very long in the mud and swomp marshes that we have. Not saying that he is not a great dog, He is not of the standered to hunt this type of ground.

conformation in dogs has a significant purpose and it goes way beyond bench shows or making a dog look good. Feet on dogs are just as important as your feet. If your feet are not right you will still do the job but your feet will hurt you more at days end. Same for dogs. Catfooted dogs  can endure more because their feet support them better over rough terrain. Dogs feet can be toughened up to take rough hunting.That is the pads job. I don't think the open footed (coonfooted ) dogs would be disadvantaged in the marshes,etc. Buy to me sooner or later the foot is going to bottom out on something solid and the cat footed dogs would not be at a disadvantage there. Feet are not the only thing either. A lot of hound people went to breeding for a real straight legged dog (post legged) Those looked good on the bench but were no good to stay in a long ,hard race. Read a real good articl in Coonhound Bloodlines by a vet that told why correct conformation was so important to hunting dogs. It's way more than just feet.

Thanks for all the replys, soundin good so far.  I myself have noticed that the cat footed dogs are a little more agile at a younger age. I was just wonderin if the loose footed dogs, feet breakdown at an earlier age, or cause the dogs to slow down any earlier.  Some that i have seen look like they are walking with all their weight heels, just seemed to me, that the joints wouldnt be properly cushioned, and cause ther joint to break down.  and its not just curs, I have seen alot of hounds with feet that looked so bad, i couldnt see how they could run at all.
   keep em comin, i hadnt really thought about those flat footed dogs, being good for swamps, that does make sense. I could see how a flat footed dog could go a little better in the water than a cat footed dog. 

Preacher1,

I think conformation is very important to us all or at least it should be. I guess the question here could be what priority do you place a dogs feet when you are considering their conformation?
For me it has been at the bottom of the list.
It seems that as long as everything else lines up nicely the feet just fall in to place. It has for me so far anyway. ???

The feet of the Catahoula are webbed very similar to that of a duck. Most dogs have a webbing between their toes, but, the web of a Catahoula is very prominent and extends almost to the end of the toes. This fully webbed foot enables the Catahoula to work soft marshy areas very easily, and aids them in being great swimmers.

This is not a cat footed bmc, but she has as good of legs and confermation of any dog I have raised. She is coming 2 years old.And made it passed the cull up to this point. I just gave away a full brother to her the other day. Yes feet are imporant but when you raies femles like this it comes in close to the bottom of what Im looking for.
(http://i1020.photobucket.com/albums/af330/RockinPRanch/IMG_0363.jpg)

My pit, has very tight feet and yes in appearance I believe it looks more correct, however what I have noticed is that in the mud he sinks a little deeper than do other dogs his same weight category. With his mind set it does not slow or deter him, but I think over time he would were down faster because of the extra muscle he has to use to go the same distance, no way to test that theory though

Mr. Rockin P  I'm very familar with what your referring to as cat feet in runnin hounds being my first huntin dog was a hound that I got 18yrs ago before I seen the light LOL. But I think some dog men when referring  to cat feet  meen  agile feet like those your dog  has in the above pic . By the way I really like her looks

   Mr. P, I may be wrong but I also thought that the type of foot on your dog is what people refer to as cat footed. But I learn something new on here every day.  :)

Rockin P,

The dog you have pictured looks to have good feet. However, her toenails are very long. This makes it hard for her to get up on those feet. I am willing to bet if you were to cut all her nails to the quick, you would get a better idea of what she truly brings to the table in the foot confirmation department. Your dog, your way. I personally think she would move more fluidly if you cut them back. I hope I did not offend you. It was actually a compliment to your stock, as well as your breeding program.

Her toe nails being long are the least of my worries at this date and time. And thank you for bring that to my attention.And you aint hurt my feeling at all. The next time I take her out Ill let her runn on the road for a while and that will fix the toe nails.

(http://lh3.ggpht.com/_mFSDOgRZVlo/TDJNh-4lTPI/AAAAAAAANBI/I-1IEEcNllo/TitusPullo2.jpg)
what do you think about these feet? maybe his toes are too short?

Uglydog if I raised bull dogs I would breed to that dog in a heart beat. Like I told you before that is about the best looking bull dog I have seen in a while.Cat footed or not!!!!

Mr. P that is one fine looking "forward" BMC! ;)

  X2 Fine looking dog!   LMAO "forward" BMC..... :D

that is what i call cat footed, good strait legs, thats the kind of feet and legs i like, BUT, like was said before, its not on the top of my list, of things to look for.
 Mr. P  that is a very good lookin dog, My BMC's legs are built very similar to your dogs,

I've had both 'cat' footed and 'coon' footed dogs....that's what they're called here in the South, at least by hound men. I guess I'll have to say that as in most other things in life.....somewhere in the middle is often the best. I'm kinda like Ronnie......as long as they do the job...their feet don't matter much, howevere....this is an interesting topic. Ronnie,....I'm not too familiar with yellow dogs, but that, in my opinion, has to be one of the best looking yellow dogs that I've seen on here.....damn good looking female you have there.

MY DOGS FEET MEAN ALOT TO ME THIS IS THE WAY I LIKE MY DOGS TO LOOK STRAIGHT LEGS AND CAT FOOTED BUT THATS JUST ME

(http://i766.photobucket.com/albums/xx310/amandakaymcbeth/gunner001.jpg)
(http://i766.photobucket.com/albums/xx310/amandakaymcbeth/gunner006.jpg)

Thats the way i like'em,  built for speed, but thats just me.