Is Your Dog Left- or RIght-Handed?

LaMesa finally got to be worked on by the chiropractor the other day. I had been thinking about just having Dr. Forry taking a look at her just as a precaution, especially since she's face-planted into the A-frame a few times.

She was in good shape--a little out in her pelvis and neck, and a few places on the left side of her spine. When Dr. Forry got to her neck/skull/axis, she noticed a tightness in the left side of her axis. She continued to massage that area she simply said, "Huh...that's....funny...." I wasn't sure if that was a positive "funny" or a negative "funny".

She explained that I happened to own a left-handed dog.

Is the reason why most tunnel photos I see of
LaMesa running with her left paw out is because
she's left-pawed?

You see, just as humans are left- or right-handed, so are animals. I knew this was true with horses because I've had horses that would have a harder time with one lead over another, but for some reason I never considered it a possibility with dogs. And, apparently, left-handed dogs are fairly rare. So of course, why wouldn't my chupacabra-honeybadger-baby-wolf-hybrid be one of those rarities?

So it has me thinking...is that why I've had a harder time training LaMesa than I did with Dally? Does it affect their learning because I'm right-handed and training as such? It's an interesting question, but I have yet to find anything about how side preference affects agility training, or any training for that matter.

I did find an article on how you can test to see if your dog or cat is right- or left-pawed from the Daily Mail: Is Your Pet Right or Left Handed?

All About Paw Performance in Dogs

Back to the chiropractor appointment: Dr. Forry said LaMesa was tight all through her left side, and she was out in a few places on the left. But she was very complimentary of her muscle tone and shape, saying that'll keep her in good shape with agility.

Have you heard anything about right- or left-handed dogs and training? I'd love to read more about it.