# Splayed Feet or Long Puppy Toes?



## OnGoldenPond (Mar 30, 2011)

Hello! This may sound strange, but I am wondering about Hank's feet and whether or not his feet are splayed, normal, or just long toes?? He is 14 weeks old, and when at rest (most of the time) his toes are tight. Sometimes, depending on what he is doing, they do seem splayed out. I have been searching the net for photo examples, and am having a hard time finding any for compare. (I do have the blue book, but don't know about puppies compared to adults?) I have been on some responsible breeder's sites, just looking at puppy pics (no, not going to name names, as I think that would be inappropriate) and I do see other puppies with feet like his....what do you think? 
Why does this matter, you ask? I am thinking of entering him in a show with a puppy class (if he is old enough at the time of the show!), not so much to win, but to gain experience and I think it would be a great socialization situation for him as well. I just don't want to waste my time (it would be considerable travel time) if he is just going to fault out from the get go...pretty much don't want to look foolish either ?? I hope that doesn't sound vain. Thanks!


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## Ljilly28 (Jan 22, 2008)

His paws look normal to me(??), although I see what ypu mean about splayed in the last photo. It's hard to see the legs above, bc a big issue is how straight/ easty westy he is if showing is the goal. I though you might mean he is down on his pasterns. For showing, his nails need to be much shorter, and you will have to learn how to trim them to look like rounder "cat" paws. An expert like HVgoldens , Pointgold or Tahnee will know better than me.


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## golden_eclipse (Apr 1, 2011)

Splayed feet will not disqualify you. I wouldn't be too worried if you aren't looking to finish him or anything. Its quite hard to tell anything about a dog at the most awkward age of 14 weeks. So I would be patient. A lot of the look of tight paws actually is strength and thickness of their pads, so as a puppy they often can lack that in middle growing stages. (grooming helps the appearance as well, fur can really exasperate a splayed look that really isn't there.)


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## OnGoldenPond (Mar 30, 2011)

Thank you both...I wondered if he would "grow out of it" as well. He is due for a trim on the nails, I agree, as I like to keep them much shorter. I don't have the knack for that yet, so my groomer friend has been doing him. He is a great looking golden all around, and I know what you mean about being straight. No, not looking to finish him, just want the experience in case I ever do get a show dog. I am more interested in field, agility, tracking, and the like for my dogs. Hmmm....the blue book is misleading, then, as I thought it said that splayed feet is a fault. Anyone else want to weigh in? Thanks, again!


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## Ljilly28 (Jan 22, 2008)

I have seen very splayed paws, and they are very sad, spread wide , and the pastern is collapsed to the ground like they are walking on their wrists. I'm not sure if there is a tiny bit of splaying here, but it is not shocking like some are.


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## Sally's Mom (Sep 20, 2010)

My Samantha does not have the tightest paws and it is definitely from her dad's side... She still managed to become a Canadian Ch and finishing with 10 AKC points. My problem is that I should have had a "big gun" handler on her from the get go. It definitely helps. I find if I don't keep the nails short, it can affect how good the paws/toes look.... She has not reproduced her paws. Her mom had tight toes....


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## oakleysmommy (Feb 20, 2011)

You can give him ester c it helps while they are growing. Start with 250mg


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## Selli-Belle (Jan 28, 2009)

As he grows up his feet will get hairier and the toes won't look so long. Then the trimming will turn them into nice cat paws.


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## OnGoldenPond (Mar 30, 2011)

Thank you, all! Very helpful posts, and I think he will "grow" into those toes, too! Have a great week.....


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## golden_eclipse (Apr 1, 2011)

It is a "fault" but a fault is present in all dogs, that simply means, not desirable. What really matters to entering a dog in a show (if you don't really plan on finishing or anything) are "disqualifications" 
which are: _Deviation in height of more than one inch from standard either way.
Undershot or overshot bite._
So faults like a snow nose or a gay tail are important to avoid for trying to finish a dog, because its an obvious fault, and they likely won't win over a dog with less obvious faults. Height should be faulted if they are less than 1in over or under what the standard calls for, but it doesn't mean that they won't win, just taken down a notch in the standings because of it. 

Hope that makes sense. To summarize, you won't "fault out", you can be dismissed for lack of merit, which does happen, but not for minor things like less than cat-like paws, but you can be disqualified for the above disqualifications. 

I also don't think those paws are what they consider splayed. Trimming the nails about every 4 days can really help keep them short, because that will effectively push back the quick.


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## OnGoldenPond (Mar 30, 2011)

Thank you~that is very helpful and informative!!!


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