This sometimes happens unintentionally if the embryo doesn’t develop as it should. News Medical observes this birth defect in children who are born with partially or sometimes fully webbed fingers and toes. However, the retention of webbed feet is, in some cases, a deliberate evolution to give land-dwelling animals that spend a lot of time in the water, such as ducks, swans, and geese, an advantage in water and on slick surfaces.Īs you probably know, webbed feet make it much easier for an animal to swim. The webbing creates a larger surface area to push against the water and propel the animal forward. What you may not realize is that webbing also helps animals navigate muddy or slippery surfaces. The extra surface area distributes weight more evenly and makes it easier for animals with webbed toes to walk on the ground where non-web-toed creatures might struggle. It is for similar reasons that some dogs have developed webbed feet, either through a natural evolutionary process or through deliberate selective breeding. Why Do Some Dogs Have Webbed Feet?Ĭharles Darwin notes in his book The Variation of Animals and Plants Under Domestication that some dog breeds have varying degrees of webbing between their toes.Īccording to Darwin, this webbing is the process of selective breeding, though not with intentionality when it comes to webbing in particular. Over the centuries that mankind and dogs have been coexisting, humans have been breeding dogs to perform specific jobs. While some dogs were needed for guarding, herding, and hunting, other dogs were used in more aquatic-based roles. This is certainly the case for Newfoundlands and Portuguese Water Dogs. These breeds were both the product of a fishing culture that needed dogs who would be willing to dive into the water to save fishermen who had been swept overboard. Labradors were also bread to be well-suited for water.
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