Are you wondering if your lovable Pitbull has webbed feet? Well, look no further, my dear friends! As a passionate Pitbull enthusiast, I’ve received numerous inquiries about this topic, and I’m thrilled to share my knowledge with you.
So, do Pitbulls have webbed feet?
The answer is yes, purebred Pitbulls do have webbed feet to some extent. However, compared to the average breed, the webbing is less pronounced. This thin membrane between their toes helps them walk, run, swim, dig, and maintain stability during the winter months.
As a responsible Pitbull owner, it’s vital to understand the advantages of webbed paws for your furry friend. With the right information and approach, you can help your Pitbull live a happy and healthy life. So, let’s delve into the world of Pitbulls and webbed feet, and learn how this unique characteristic can benefit your furry friend.
Pitbulls’ webbed feet are beneficial for walking and running
I have visited about 12 Pitbulls before writing this article. (To gather some data for future articles as well)
So what I found was that Pitbulls have tiny membranes between their toes. So, that’s why people say Pitbulls don’t have webbed feet.
There were two dogs with proper webbed toes. How? Probably they may have the gene of water breeds.
Possibly, their Grandmother or grandfather can belong to standard water breeds. ( You can now understand why I used the term ‘purebred’)
Even if people use them as catch dogs, commonly, they are great to hunt, drive livestock.
When they walk or run above different kinds of surfaces.
As we go through Pitbulls’s original purposes, We can clearly say that these dogs have to go through different surfaces.
In most cases. those surfaces can be muddy or slippery. So the webbed feet are much helpful for Pitbulls to go over those surfaces without sinking or falling.
At this moment, their paw pads become wider and working as nets which are bear up their bodies. In fact, it works as a firm grip and helps to maintain stability.
But don’t be mistaken. These abilities are much worst when compared to dogs who have proper webbed feet.
Pitbulls’ webbed feet are much helpful during the winter.
First, let me ask you something. Can you walk through snow without wearing snow boots? I’m not talking about the cold.
Definitely, you will sink. So what I wanna tell you is these webbed feet are work precisely the same as our snow boots.
As Pitbulls walk through snow, their paw pads become wider and give broad surface areas. So it’s somewhat straightforward to navigate.
But as described above, this ability is much worst when compared to other average breeds.
Oh, I want to tell you something even more significant. Sometimes, you maybe go out with your Pitbull during the winter.
So don’t forget to clean their feet once you return home.
Why? There might be stuck snow inside their paws. Trust me, it’s extremely painful for them.
So don’t forget to clean inside their webbing by separating the toes apart.
How to get rid of this problem? Well, I suggest you buy Dog snow boots. It will be so comfortable with your Pitbull.
Pitbulls’ webbed feet are extremely useful for swimming.
Are Pitbulls talented swimmers? Nope, they don’t. The main obstacle is their body shape.
On the other hand, Pitbulls have slightly grown webbed feet. Thus they are not talented swimmers.
Although Pitbulls have tiny webbed feet, they can swim. But it much worst when we compare to water breeds. But his small webbed feet help them to swim.
In fact, having tiny webbed feet don’t make them weak swimmers. Well trained one has swimming ability up to some extent.
But don’t be mistaken, they cannot stay afloat by themselves on the water like other water breeds.
Why? Because they have layers of the fat body, and they are incredibly muscular dogs. Therefore, it’s a little bit hard to swim.
So, Pitbulls is the number one dog most likely to drown.
So, It’s crucial to train them to swim. But training a Pitbull to swim isn’t that much easy.
But with positive reinforcement, perseverance, patience, and proper training, they can become talented swimmers.
With positive reinforcement, perseverance, patience, and proper training,, they can become talented swimmers.
Dog Breeds Experts
But even though they are highly energetic dogs, they cannot swim for a long time. But we can determine that Pitbulls’ webbed feet are so beneficial for swimming.
About 8 Pitbulls that I have visited are excellent swimmers. Their owners are so smart enough to bring these dogs to this level.
If you have a mature Pitbull, don’t worry. Because they also can become competent swimmers. It might take a little bit longer than what a puppy takes. But it’s a totally doable thing.
But, when can your dog start swimming training sessions? Well, based on my experience, a puppy at least 12 weeks old can be started.
So in order to start swimming sessions, your Pitbull has to overcome the fear of water.
How Pitbulls can overcome the fear of water.
There is a practical and straightforward trick that I personally love. So you also can try it out.
We know that Pitbulls are highly energetic dogs, and they require strenuous exercises. So try to go for a long walk or hike at least once or twice per week.
Meanwhile, find a shallow water body that is not depth more than one-third of your dog.
So all you wanna do now is cross over the water body without helping your dog. Then call him nicely from the other side.
So immediately, he will find a suitable way to reach you. This is kind of a handy method that I personally love, and you also can try it out.
So do that couple of days and eventually he will overcome this problem.
Now is the time to start swimming training sessions.
But I should mention here that if any case Pitbulls don’t have webbed feet, swimming can be a bit difficult for them.
How to train them to swim?
If you have a swimming pool, this process will be pretty straightforward for you. But it’s not necessary.
Put him a Dog life jacket. Then take him with you whenever you go swimming.
But remember, don’t put him into the water suddenly. Instead, take him gently and slowly. Let him feel the water.
In the meantime, give him a small weight through his belly. In many cases, Pitbulls begin to paddle using their webbed feet.
And help him to keep his face above the water level.
These webbed feet exactly work as oars and help them to navigate through the water.
Be mindful to be with him at all times. If they need help, you should be there. It may increase their level of confidence.
Pro tip: If You wanna speed up the process, you can do it by using plenty of puppy treats.
Pitbulls’ webbed feet help much for digging.
Actually, this is not a kind of advantage. This behavior has been around since ancient times.
In my case, Bella used to dig throughout the cold places in the backyard. Then she lay on it. Moreover, she can sleep on it for long hours.
In most cases, this trait can be increased during the summer. So unless Pitbulls have webbed toes, they cannot do that.
What if your Pitbulls don’t have webbed feet?
As I mentioned above, some Pitbulls have proper webbing while others have less. So, if your dog doesn’t have webbed feet, don’t worry. Because purebred Pitbulls have tiny webbed feet.
So, there is no significant difference between your dog and other standard Pitbulls. If you are still worried about it, go and meet a vet and check whether everything is okay.
So people should choose purebred Pitbull when they buy them. Because many people tend to breed them without expert advice or knowledge.
Therefore, the breed may mutate over time.
Experts say that if this continues, we will not see any single purebred Pitbull in the future. Because when a dog becomes popular, a lot of people start to breed.
A lot of people don’t know how to do that. That’s a common problem among pitbull breeding.
Honestly say, Pitbulls are not known as a standard breed. We can understand they are a type of terrier. We know that it is a breed we have recognized. Actually, we can realize pitbull as a combination of many breeds.
So, Some of them are water breeding. Due to that, some Pitbulls have good webbed feet.
Therefore, in order to preserve Pitbull breeding, we must be careful before breeding.
How to identify an original pitbull?
We discussed above people tend to breed Pitbulls as their wish. As a result, we can see there are a lot of variations of Pitbulls. So we need to consider a lot of things before buying a new dog.
Then we need to find purebred Pitbull. But how can we identify them? We can’t decide whether Pitbulls are purebred or not by just looking at webbed feet.
| Male height | 18-21 inches |
| Female height | 17-20 inches |
| Male weight | 35-60 pounds |
| Female weight | 30-50 pounds |
| Coat color | black, brindle, white, every shade of brown, blue-gray, gray |
| Coat length | no more than 1 inch except the end of the tail |
Pitbulls have wide chests and short legs. If we consider the chest’s length across the chest, it is closely equal to the height of the shoulder.
The shoulders are muscular, and the hips are narrow. It looks like they try to run when they stand on the ground. Pitbulls have small webbed feet.
You can see the coat colors of Pitbulls from the above table. But when we consider their color patterns, most of the time, they are different.
There is no exact color pattern for them. If you think Doberman, they have nearly exact color pattern across all the Dobermans.
So some Pitbulls are completely one color while others spotted. We can see tiger stripes from some of them with blazes on their faces. When we consider ear color different from each other. Some of them have colored forearms.
When we think of their heads, it is wider than the other dogs. You can make sure it by looking at their width of cheek to cheek, across the forehead.
Are webbed feet dangerous for Pitbulls?
Although they have a lot of advantages to Pitbulls with webbed feet, there is a bad side as well. Not only Pit Bulls, but all the dogs also have disadvantages because of webbed feet.
Webbed feet are actually a little bit of a threat to dogs’ health. Dogs using toes for walking. Therefore the webbed between toes can cause limping, and other health conditions such as Cleft palate shortened, Tibia-Fibula, Scoliosis. Therefore be knowledgeable about them.
CONCLUSION
If you are a Pitbull lover, there is a lot of information you need to know about them. So it’s fair to have a problem like “Do Pitbulls have webbed feet? “. Here you can see a quick overview of the article. Here I have discussed,
- Introduction
- Pitbulls’ webbed feet are much beneficial for walking and running
- Pitbulls’ webbed paws are extremely useful for swimming.
- Their webbed toes are much helpful for digging.
- What if your Pitbull doesn’t have webbed feet?
- How to identify an original pitbull?
- Are webbed feet are dangerous.
