Breeds with cat-like feet

Akita's, Chow's, Shiba's, Tibetan Mastiff, Standard Schnauzer, Kuvaz

ETA: Harrier, English Foxhound, Doberman Pinscher, German Pinscher, Newfoundland, Vizsla

when i was big into coon hunting and hung out with the hunters and at the shows a lot of them described that the best show stance was a dog with catfeet... so check out some of the treeing walkers, blue ticks, and maybe some plots and redbones.

out of curiosity.. how come? i never understood the whole thing with the bench shows except... compact cat like feet look better than flat footed webbed duck feet lol

did i mention i was only 14 years old at the time? 

Nurmerous other breeds describe the cat foot without using the terminology...instead they say "tighly closed, toes arches, stout pads, feet rounded with well knuckled toes and tightly closed" or some variation.

Cat feet resist infiltration of foreign objects...provide decent traction...promote endurance. Hare feet tend to promote quick turns of speed as opposed to endurance. Greyhounds have hare like feet....and a breed like the Harrier intended for endurance and use on less than ideal terrain has a catlike foot.

I know that PHs tend to sit back on their rear pads, so that the nail are pointing skywards.  It's almost like retracting their claws.  Their feet are designed to run for hours over rocky crags and give traction on somewhat sandy surfaces.  (Which is the reason that I don't trim nails back as far as most people!) 

A nice side effect of the cat foot is that with a proper cat foot and nail trim you NEVER hear that "click clack" of nails on hard surface flooring lol. My Akitas were silent when they walked...considering how large they were.

Downside is that excessively breeding for a cat foot can cause short toes in some cases. But side effects are common when one fixates too much on one thing.

I do have a foot fetish tho...I need nice feet on a dog. It affects so much....pasterns and entire front/rear assembly...movement...efficency...etc

rwbeagles

A nice side effect of the cat foot is that with a proper cat foot and nail trim you NEVER hear that "click clack" of nails on hard surface flooring lol. My Akitas were silent when they walked...considering how large they were.

Then PHs must have cat feet.  They don't click at all unless in need of a serious trim.

rwbeagles

I do have a foot fetish tho...I need nice feet on a dog. It affects so much....pasterns and entire front/rear assembly...movement...efficency...etc

Completely agree with you Gina.  Feet should be a focal point in all breeds.  A dog with improper feet cannot perform effectively. 

 Thanks, guys! Really, I was just curious. My DH thought that Sniper's feet looked boxy, like a cat foot and it just got me wondering what breeds have them. But I used to own a Dobe years ago, and Snipers feet look nothing like his did, his were very tight. I never heard his nails clicking.

 My setter has long toed hare feet. Her movements are very horizontal and she is extremely agile and limber.  She looks like gray smoke out in the grass and she can turn and flip in mid air.   I keep her nails very short (the middle two toes nails especially), so that she doesn't jam toes or put stress on her pasterns and carpals in agility.

My pointer has very tight, high feet with meaty pads.  She's fast but she runs like a race horse.  Mud flying like crazy. lol.  Her agility comes from the ability to change leads midstream and power over obstacles and go forever.  But I still don't think she has cat feet - just very strong, well designed oval feet.

My dob mix had true cat feet.  Round and tight with more upright pasterns.  She was generally built more upright and was very strong - not built for speed but for endurance.