SkullThe bones of the head, with a long muzzle in front of the braincase. Its shape differs a great deal from breed to breed.
MandibleThe lower jaw. It holds the lower teeth and hinges on the skull.
Canine teethLarge, cone-shaped, curved teeth near the front of each jaw, one on each side above and below.
Cervical vertebraeThe seven vertebrae of the neck.
Thoracic vertebraeThe thirteen vertebrae of the chest, each joined to a pair of ribs. Their spines stand tallest above the shoulders.
RibsThirteen pairs. Nine pairs reach the breastbone through their cartilages; the last four do not.
SternumThe breastbone: a row of eight pieces along the underside of the chest, which stay separate bones.
ScapulaThe shoulder blade: a long, narrow plate with a ridge, the spine, down the middle of its outer side.
HumerusThe bone of the upper foreleg, from the shoulder to the elbow.
RadiusThe front bone of the forearm. It gets wider toward the wrist.
UlnaThe rear bone of the forearm. Its top end, the olecranon, sticks up behind the elbow.
CarpalsThe seven small bones of the wrist, in two rows. A dog stands with its wrist off the ground.
DewclawThe first toe of the front foot. It is short, has two bones where the other toes have three, and does not reach the ground.
MetacarpalsThe five bones of the front foot between the wrist and the toes. The first is much the shortest.
PhalangesThe toe bones, three in each of the four main toes. The last one is pointed and curved, and the claw grows round it.
Rear half 11
Lumbar vertebraeThe seven long, strong vertebrae of the loins, between the chest and the hips.
SacrumThree vertebrae joined into one bone, which holds the hip bones to the spine.
Caudal vertebraeThe vertebrae of the tail. The first few are built like the other vertebrae; the rest get smaller and simpler toward the tip.
PelvisEach hip bone is three bones joined into one: the ilium, the ischium and the pubis. The ilium meets the sacrum.
FemurThe thigh bone, from the hip to the knee.
PatellaThe kneecap: a long, narrow bone at the front of the knee joint.
TibiaThe larger of the two bones of the lower leg.
FibulaA slender bone that runs the whole length of the tibia, close beside it.
TarsalsThe seven bones of the hock, the joint that matches a human ankle.
CalcaneusThe heel bone, one of the tarsals. It points up and back, high above the ground.
MetatarsalsThe bones of the hind foot between the hock and the toes. Four are long; the first is usually very small.
How this list was compiled: Every bone name, count and detail line was checked on 2026-09-30, for facts only and with nothing copied: (1) S. Sisson, The Anatomy of the Domestic Animals, 2nd edition, 1914, the chapter Skeleton of the Dog, read in the Internet Archive scan at https://archive.org/details/anatomyofdomesti00siss; (2) A. Chauveau, The Comparative Anatomy of the Domesticated Animals, translated by G. Fleming, 1873, the sections on the Carnivora, https://archive.org/details/comparativeanato00chaurich; (3) Wikipedia, Dog anatomy and Dewclaw; (4) American Kennel Club, What Are Dewclaws on Dogs. A name or count that only one source gives is left out. Licence: own work
The drawing: Drawn for this site on 2026-09-30 from plain shapes. Own original schematic drawing; nothing traced or copied. Licence: own work
How it works
This blank dog skeleton diagram is one drawing: a standing dog seen from the left side, head to the left, with its skeleton inside the outline of the body. Twenty-six bones wait for a name.
Read the full guide
Twenty-six names, head to tail
Head and trunk: skull, mandible, canine teeth, cervical, thoracic and lumbar vertebrae, sacrum, caudal vertebrae, ribs and sternum. Front leg, top to toe: scapula, humerus, radius, ulna, carpals, dewclaw, metacarpals and phalanges. Hind leg: pelvis, femur, patella, tibia, fibula, tarsals, calcaneus and metatarsals.
Names that come in pairs
Carpals and metacarpals belong to the front leg, tarsals and metatarsals to the hind leg. In the lower hind leg the tibia is the larger bone and the fibula the slender one close beside it. The calcaneus is one of the tarsals: the heel bone, pointing up and back.
Phalanges is written once, on the front foot. The toes of the hind foot take no name.
Eight large bones have no line, the skull and the femur among them. Write the name on the bone itself.
Questions and answers
Which bones of a dog are the carpals and the tarsals?
The carpals are the seven small bones of the wrist, on the front leg. The tarsals are the seven bones of the hock, on the hind leg, the joint that matches a human ankle.
Where is the sacrum on a dog skeleton?
Between the lumbar vertebrae and the tail. It is three vertebrae joined into one bone, and the hip bones are held to the spine there.
What is left off this unlabeled dog skeleton diagram?
The clavicle, the atlas and axis by name, the hyoid, the ear bones and the smaller sesamoid bones. Each is too small to mark on a whole skeleton drawn from the side.
Does the dog skeleton diagram unlabeled come with an answer key?
Yes. The key is the same skeleton with every bone named. It uses the textbook names: scapula for the shoulder blade, sternum for the breastbone, patella for the kneecap and calcaneus for the heel bone.