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The interactive dog atlas · Exterior and regions · Hindlimb

Hind paw pes

The hind paw comprises the metatarsus (the part between the hock and the toes), the toes and the pads. As in front, the dog stands on its toes, with the metatarsus raised off the ground.

Open in the interactive atlas Guide: Exterior Worksheet

Educational material, not a diagnostic tool. Written by the Mantrailing România team from veterinary sources we read. Updated 14.11.2026.

Dog in left lateral view — exterior, muscles, skeleton and organs Vector study after the Ellenberger, Baum and Dittrich plates: a standing dog, head to the left, deep chest and digitigrade limbs. The four layers use the same contour: exterior with body regions, superficial muscles, skeleton and organs.
  1. Hind paw
  2. Hock
Hind paw on the atlas drawing, "Exterior and regions" layer, with the neighbouring structures. Left lateral view, after the Ellenberger, Baum and Dittrich plates.

Where it is

From the hock downward: the metatarsus, the toes and the pads.

System
Body regions
Region
Hindlimb

What it is and what it does

The hind paw comprises the metatarsus, the toes and the pads: a common metatarsal pad and one pad on each of the four toes that touch the ground. As in front, the dog stands on its toes, with the metatarsus raised. The hind dewclaw is absent in many dogs.

Worth remembering

The hind dewclaw is absent in many dogs.

Names

  • Also called: foot (pes), metatarsal region and digits.
  • Latin term: pes.
  • In Romanian: Laba posterioară (Romanian page).

In the atlas lessons

Walk, trot, pace, gallop (4 min):

The walk: four beats, each limb strikes the ground in turn; alternately two and three limbs are on the ground. The sequence is “lateral”: a hind limb is followed by the forelimb on the same side.

Questions from the atlas

"Find it on the drawing" questions whose answer is this structure; in the atlas you will find them in the question bank and in the lessons.

Guides it appears in

From the same region: Hindlimb

All structures, in the atlas · Flashcards: exterior and regions