Paw - wikipedia Paw For other uses, see Paw ( disambiguation ). Right front paw of dog showing A ) claw, B) digital pads, C ) metacarpal pad, D ) dew claw, E ) carpal pad. A paw is the soft foot like part of a mammal, generally a quadruped, that has claws. Contents 1 Common characteristics 2 Animals with paws 3 See also 4 References Common characteristics The paw is characterised by thin, pigmented, keratinised, hairless epidermis covering subcutaneous collagenous and adipose tissue, which make up the pads. These pads act as a cushion for the load - bearing limbs of the animal. The paw consists of the large, heart - shaped metacarpal or palmar pad ( forelimb ) or metatarsal or plantar pad ( rear limb ), and generally four load - bearing digital pads, although there can be five or six toes in the case of domestic cats and bears ( including giant panda ). A carpal pad is also found on the forelimb which is used for additional traction when stopping or descending a slope in digitigrade species. Additional dewclaws can also be present. The paw also includes a horn - like, beak shaped claw on each digit. Though usually hairless, certain animals do have fur on the soles of their paws. An example is the red panda, whose furry soles help insulate them in their snowy habitat. Animals with paws Felines, such as cats and tigers ; some of these animals may have toe tufts Canids, such as dogs and foxes Rabbits have paws with very sharp nails and have no pads underneath them. Bears and raccoons Weasels and other mustelids Rodents A dog 's paw resting on a hard concrete surface A tiger 's paw, showing pads A cat 's paw, showing pads Structures of the leg and paw of a dog Skeleton of a dog paw See also Wikimedia Commons has media related to Animal feet. Claw Digitigrade References Maine Coon Polydactyl International Retrieved from `` https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Paw&oldid=798275556 '' Categories : Mammal anatomy Talk Contents About Wikipedia Български Dansk Deutsch Eesti Ελληνικά Français Kreyòl ayisyen Lingála Lumbaart 日本 語 Norsk Norsk nynorsk Português Русский Simple English Suomi Svenska Українська ייִדיש 中文 Edit links This page was last edited on 31 August 2017, at 23 : 40. Text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution - ShareAlike License ; additional terms may apply. By using this site, you agree to the Terms of Use and Privacy Policy. Wikipedia ® is a registered trademark of the Wikimedia Foundation, Inc., a non-profit organization. About Wikipedia

Question: why do dogs have pads on their legs
Answer: act as a cushion for the load-bearing limbs of the animal