Do Mastiffs Have Webbed Feet? (All You Need to Know)

If you’re looking for a dog that can hunt and retrieve games for you, you can look for the dogs that have webbed feet.

Well, a Mastiff may or may not have webbed feet. However, if you want your dog to swim and play in the water with you, Mastiffs can be a pretty good option for you.

Do Mastiffs have webbed feet?

Mastiffs are one of the most likely breeds to have webbed feet. Bullmastiffs along with other breeds are seen with webbed feet. But the extent of webbing is much shorter and smaller than the typical webbed dogs. Mastiffs with such webbing are capable of traversing both land and water terrains.

Tibetan Mastiff:

Tibetan Mastiffs are intelligent, strong, with a lion-like appearance and a large body. They were bred to protect monasteries, herds, and properties of their owners initially.

They’re the ancestors of present mastiffs with webbed feet whatsoever. As a result, they can hunt games, swim ferociously and act as guardian dogs.

Bullmastiff:

Bullmastiffs are literally the only breed that is known to have webbed feet among the mastiffs. However, the padding of the web is much smaller than the usual webbing of dogs.

As a result, Bullmastiffs can swim in the water with you. If you plan to spend the holidays by the lake or shores, Bullmastiffs are undoubtedly one of the best companions for you.

English Mastiff:

English Mastiffs don’t have webbed feet but they have a reputation of liking water much. If you want your English Mastiff to play with you in water, introduce them to water at an early age.

English Mastiffs are natural swimmers and they’re most likely to enjoy swimming with you. However, don’t expect them to jump in the water right away, the process takes time.

Neapolitan Mastiff:

Neapolitan Mastiffs can have webbing in their paws which enables them to navigate both on land and water efficiently.

Even though Neapolitan Mastiffs are not born swimmers, with webbing they can quickly adapt to swimming and hunt and retrieve game for you.

French Mastiff:

French Mastiffs are the amazing guardian and companion dogs with small webbed skin under their paws.

You can find this extra skin between the joining points for two toes of their feet. The extra skin allows them to hop on water efficiently.

They’re able to bring back potential games for you with protection. You can also have a fun time with your French Mastiff swimming in the water.

Italian Mastiff:

Italian Mastiffs are one of the ancient breeds of Mastiffs. They’re extremely loyal and protective of their humans. Primarily, they were bred to guard livestock and acted as a guardian.

Some Italian Mastiffs have webbing on their paws which allows them to dive into the water and bring you your desired prey.

Pyrenean Mastiff:

Pyrenean Mastiffs may have little to moderate webbing on their paws. With the extra skin on their paws, they’re capable of navigating both land and water. They also have expertise in traversing wild terrains efficiently.

Whether you’re going on an adventure in the water or hills, a Pyrenean Mastiff can be an excellent partner.

Do all Mastiffs have webbed feet?

All Mastiffs can have somewhat webbing in their paws. It is just the skin connecting between their toes. However, the extra skin is much smaller than the usual webbing found in other dogs.

The webbed feet of Mastiffs help them travel on different terrains like water, land, snowy, muddy, and hilly areas efficiently.

Animals without webbed feet face a hard time while walking in muddy areas. Whereas, Mastiffs can easily surpass muddy, snowy, or icy terrains with much efficiency.

The extent of webbing can be smaller or bigger in different breeds of Mastiffs. But they exist just like your fingers are connected with each other by the skin.

What Mastiffs have webbed feet?

More or less every mastiff has webbing on their feet. However, the amount of webbing may vary from Mastiff to Mastiff. As the toes are connected by the skin on their paws, webbing is prominent.

Among the Mastiffs, the Tibetan and Bullmastiffs are primarily notorious for having webbed feet. Besides these, the French, Italian, Neapolitan, and Pyrenean Mastiffs are also known for having webbed feet.

With webbing on their feet, Mastiffs can accompany you on water and also the difficult land terrains and climbing up a hill.

Why do Mastiffs have webbed feet?

Mastiffs have webbed feet for obvious reasons like traversing difficult terrains. Initially, Mastiffs were bred to hunt and retrieve game. Gradually they developed webbing which made their task a lot simpler.

Webbing on a Mastiff’s feet allows them to walk on mud whereas, dogs usually get trapped in muddy and soggy places, Mastiffs find their way back into the dry roads because of the webbing.

Moreover, they’re able to swim better with the presence of webbed feet. They can retrieve game and even human bodies for you as they’re very strong and have large bodies.

Besides this, you can also spend a weekend with your Mastiff swimming in the river or lake.

4 benefits of webbed feet for Mastiffs:

Searching and rescuing:

The benefit of having webbed feet is that Mastiffs can act as search and rescue dogs. That is to say, webbed feet allow your Mastiff to paddle quicker and more efficiently.

With such quality, your pooch will be able to swim proactively in water and retrieve bodies including humans for you.

Digging:

If you have small intruders in the backyard of your house, a Mastiff can save your day. With those webbed feet, they can dig effortlessly and hunt intruders. Your house will be free of unwanted animals in no time.

Walking on muddy areas:

As a result of webbed feet, your Mastiff will be able to walk and run in muddy and swampy places, where most other dogs seem to get stuck and make themselves messy.

Difficult terrains:

With the webbed feet, a Mastiff can surpass almost any type of adventurous terrain with you. Be it climbing up on a hill or swimming in the river. A Mastiff masters both land and water trails.

How to tell if a Mastiff has webbed feet?

To find out if a Mastiff has webbed feet, first, you have to take your Mastiff puppy on your lap and make her comfortable. Then, take one of her paws and examine the middle section in between two of her toes.

If your Mastiff has a connecting skin between her toes, then she has webbed feet. However, all Mastiffs do not have webbed feet.

Almost all Mastiffs have webbed feet during their puppyhood and they lose webbing while growing up. The webbing of your Mastiff may not be like a duck’s feet. In many cases, it might be too negligible to notice.

What do webbed feet look like on a Mastiff?

The webbed feet on a Mastiff look like nothing but an extra skin connecting her toes just like your hand’s finger. If you pick up your canine’s paws and notice closely spreading her toes apart, you may see this excessive skin progression.

However, the webbing of your Mastiff will not be similar to that of a duck’s feet. Rather, you’ll find a partial skin progression between her toes. That is to say, a Mastiff has much smaller webbing than other canines and animals.

Do dogs need webbed feet to swim?

It is not necessary for dogs to have webbed feet to swim whatsoever. But webbed feet do escalate the motion of a dog’s swimming like a positive catalyst.

Your dog will still be able to swim if she doesn’t have webbing on her feet. You have to introduce her to water early and she’ll gradually learn to swim by herself. But with the webbing, she’ll be able to swim more efficiently and fiercely.

Consequently, she’ll be competent enough to play the role of a working dog and hunting dog as well.

How do I take care of my Mastiff’s paws?

Take a wet cloth or wiping tissue and wipe off your dog’s paws every time she enters the home from outside. You have to wash him with water and shampoo if he has dirt and mud on his legs and paws.

During winter, your dog may have small snowballs beneath his paws and ice stuck in her paws as well, wiping with a soft rag or tissue actually helps to get rid of this dirt.

Besides these, you have to shower your pooch once or twice a month to maintain his hygiene.

Final Thoughts:

Mastiffs may have webbed feet. But this totally depends on the breed of mastiff you have. The webbed feet allow it to get a good grab on the difficult terrains. Besides, they also help to get your pup to swim more athletically. Their conjoined feet will provide them extra support nonetheless.