The joint on the hind limb, or leg, located between the lower thigh and the rear pastern: The hock joint is very complex and is made up of many bones, including the tibia, fibula, and the talus.

A dog walks on its toes like a horse, not the soles of his feet like a bear or a human. The human wrist is analogous to the canine pastern joint, the back of the hand is the dog's pastern, and the fingers form the dog's paws.