Putting The Right Foot Forward
By Roseann Fucillo
Published in June 2006 AKC GAZETTE

Yes, I will admit.  I will say it here and now in print for all to read, “I have a foot fetish!”  I love refined, hare-like feet on my Paps.  You can not hide much when it comes to feet, so you better breed them well.  You may be skilled and able to do some creative scissoring, but when it comes to the feet, they are what they are, there for all to see. 

Having correct hare-like feet is such an important feature that can not be easily overlooked when picking a stud dog, brood bitch, or planning a breeding program. Those beautiful little feet are such an integral part of the breed’s elegance and greatly enhance its overall look. On the contrary, big feet on a Pap are so out of place and will ruin their delicate proportion, giving the dog a coarse appearance.  We should be ever so mindful that this Breed Standard emphasizes fine-boned and dainty four times and nothing about this breed is ever coarse.

The feet are mentioned in The Breed Standard describing the forequarters and hindquarters; “Front feet (or hind feet) thin and elongated (hare-like), pointing neither in nor out.”   In the section on coat it mentions, “Hair on feet is short, but fine tufts may appear over toes and grow beyond them, forming a point.” 

The foot itself is “hare-like” and elongated and definitely not rounded like cat feet, not flat-footed, not splayed, and not turned in nor out.  So exactly what is “hare-like?”  According to Harold R. Spira’s Canine Terminology,  “Hare feet, syn. rabbit paws.  A type in which both center toes are appreciably longer than the associated outer and inner ones; furthermore, toe arching is less marked, making such feet appear longer overall.” 

Can you trim the feet? Yes, you cantrim the fine tufts that grow beyond the toes into a point, particularly those that turn out, giving the appearance of an East West front.  You can also trim the hair on the sides of the feet, as some grow hair more profusely than others in what we call a Chrysanthemum foot. Shave the hair between the pads for better traction and use thinning shears to trim the rear pasterns. However, the feet should NEVER be shaved down to the bone, as I have recently observed on several exhibits.

“As I travel about the country, I see more dreadful feet than a decade ago I would have believed possible.  Twenty years ago, to the best of my recollection, we did have some turned out feet and some weak pasterns, but the feet themselves were mostly the tight oval hare foot called for in the Standard.  In fact, until about 1960, when I made some outcrosses in an attempt to improve ears and fringes, I had no idea feet could be such problems.  Big and/or badly turned out front feet are extremely difficult to breed out, stubbornly persisting for generations.” 

This poignant quote from Virginia Newton appeared in January 1973 edition of Pap Talk, and The Scrapbook, published by PCA. Not much has changed since Virginia made her observations.  We should pay more attention to our breed type, breed to what is correct, and not just camouflage these faults. Please help preserve our breed characteristics.

Published with permission from the AKC GAZETTE.  This article is not to be copied whole or in part without written permission from the author.