I’m a vet and this is how you can tell a dog or cat’s sex just by looking at their paws: ‘It’s a simple trick’

Celebrity vet Dr Chris Brown has revealed a ‘quirky’ trick that animal lovers can use to determine the gender of a dog or cat.

The Bondi Vet said males and cats tend to use their left paws, while females prefer to use their right paws.

Although only 13 percent of people are left-handed, the same cannot be said for pets.

Dr. Chris said asking a dog to shake its paws is a surefire way to tell its gender without having to look between its legs.

He added that there is “nothing more awkward” than getting a pet’s gender wrong at the vet clinic, and he was “fascinated” to learn the trick.

Dr. Chris Brown (pictured) has revealed that you can tell the gender of a dog or cat by the paw it prefers to use. Males usually have a dominant left paw, while females tend to use their right paw

‘It’s one of the simplest training tricks. But asking a dog to shake hands may say a lot more than you think,” the animal doctor said in a blog after.

‘That’s because researchers from the University of Sydney found that in both dogs and cats, males prefer to use their left paw, while females prefer to use their right paw for shaking.’

If the dog or cat doesn’t know the shaking trick, Dr. Chris said there are other ways to observe which paw he prefers.

“You should still see the same preference for tasks like reaching under the couch to grab a treat, wiping a small piece of tape from their nose, or holding a rolling tennis ball so it doesn’t roll away,” he explained.

Dr. Chris said to observe which paw your pet uses to play to reach things and added moss police and seeing eye dogs and lefties (stock image)

Dr. Chris added that research has shown that left-legged dogs are more likely to be used as police or service dogs.

‘Of course it’s not as dramatic as some gender reveal parties in 2023, but shaking hands is a lot more effective, cheaper and time-saving!’ he said.

“Don’t just try it once, it’s a case of ‘best of 10’ to be more precise.”

A study published by Laterality showed that most dogs and cats will choose to use a specific paw.

It was found that 78 percent of cats and 68 percent of dogs showed a left or right paw preference.

Cats were more likely to have a paw preference than dogs, with female felines being more likely to be right-handed.