occassional paw dragging; should I be concerned?

 Has he ever been evaluated for hip dysplasia or other conditions that could lead to occasional pain?

NOT something that should "just happen". Honestly this is the kind of thing you want to find out BEFORE it blows up into something bad -- vet visit.

Needs to be seen by a vet.  It may be a neurological issue.

BEVOLASVEGAS

Needs to be seen by a vet.  It may be a neurological issue.

Listen to this lady -- she's got a dog with Wobbler's.  It was the FIRST THING I thot of -- "I hope Bevo's mom posts!"

I've been thinking I should mention it to the vet but I didn't want to seem like I was over-reacting..."crazy dog-mom"!  It's really like just the one foot I hear the toe nails scrape...I don't actually "see" the foot drag but it just seemed odd to me because I've owned 2 other dogs in the past and Snickers' half-brother Jeter...never noticed it with any of them.  So I take it from your posts that I should address this with the vet.

You should definitely mention it to the vet!!!  This may be nothing, but it also could be something serious.  If it is something serious, the sooner that you catch it, the better.

An easy way to get an idea about how much he is actually dragging his toes is to check wear on his rear nails.  If they are worn funny or abnormally, then it if probably happening more frequently than you realize. 

Thanks...it actually never occurred to me to see if that foot seemed to have the nails worn down more or differently than the other one.  I hindsight it seems like a no-brainer!!

yes and you can even PAINT the nails to see more clearly how much more wear is occuring...and what exactly the pattern is...because that might be important...which toes for ex....

My 11 1/2 yr. old cairn has been doing this for the past 6 months.  His right hind paw drags every 5-7 steps whether he is running or walking.  He has one nail that is quite worn down from this.  I took him to our vet in August to get it checked.  The vet checked his knees, took x-rays, did a neurological test (turned each back foot over and my cairn promptly put it back correctly), and felt all over.  My cairn showed no discomfort except for a little bit in his back.  My vet does not know what is causing it.  It could be related to his bad disc in his neck and one disc in his back that the space is slighly narrowed.  At this time I am to watch for pain, but he doesn't appear to have any. 

 I agree with the answers above. If something shouldn't be happening -- it shouldn't be happening and needs to be figured out.
Best of luck and good vibes

Jana