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Whiskers on dogs enhance their sense of smell and help them better perceive their surroundings.
If you so much as lightly touch your dog’s whiskers, you’ll notice an immediate response. But just why is the “moustache” of our canine companions so sensitive, and what role do these delicate tactile hairs play?
Whiskers, also known as sinus hairs or Pili tactiles, grace the heads of most dog breeds. Many dog owners may be more familiar with them under names like sensory hairs or whiskers.
Unlike the rest of the dog’s fur and other body hair, whiskers are not only significantly thicker and longer but also have additional characteristics that make them ultra-sensitive and unique.
Do All Dogs Have Whiskers?
Most dog breeds possess whiskers. There are only a few exceptions, which include some hairless dogs.
Anatomy: Where are a Dog’s Whiskers Located?
On dogs, whiskers can be found in various spots across the body. Some dogs have sensory hairs under their chin, while others may have these fine hairs on their upper and lower lips, on the throat and cheeks, or on their upper eyelids.
Structure of Whiskers: Highly Sensitive Touch Sensors
Sensory hairs have a unique structure and are packed with numerous sensory cells, enabling your dog to detect the faintest touches.
Unlike body hairs, the follicles surrounding tactile hairs are infused with large blood sinus chambers, known as cavernous or ring sinuses.
Furthermore, dogs’ whiskers have their own muscle tissue. Unlike regular hairs, which are made up of skeletal muscle, these muscles are smooth, allowing your dog to move them consciously.
Regeneration: Do Dogs’ Sensory Hairs Grow Back?
It’s entirely normal for dogs to occasionally shed or snap their whiskers, and there’s no need to worry since whiskers will grow back.
Good to Know: Interestingly, dogs’ whiskers naturally fall out only when a new whisker has already formed from the same follicle.
Your dog’s body ensures old whiskers are replaced by new ones at just the right moment. Another distinctive feature of sensory hairs is that they don’t shed seasonally but rather in an individual rhythm, surviving the seasonal fur shedding.
This is due to embryonic development: whiskers form much earlier than the rest of your dog’s body hair.
What Function do Whiskers Serve?
Unlike humans, dogs can’t reach out to feel objects, and their large nose obscures the view of anything underneath it.
That’s precisely why nature has equipped your dog with helpful whiskers. They play a crucial role in supporting various senses of the animal.
Whiskers can be found on various parts of a dog’s head, including around the eyebrows.
Assessing Textures
As the name suggests, tactile hairs aid your dog in sensing different textures. This is quite important – it helps them to combine sight and smell to better determine if something is edible or not.
Spatial Orientation
Sensory hairs also provide necessary spatial orientation when dogs can’t see. This is relevant, for example, for blind dogs, or when your four-legged friend finds itself in a dark room.
The dog’s whiskers perform various visual and olfactory functions, which explains why the presence of these special hairs is limited to the head.
Is it Acceptable to Trim or Remove a Dog’s Whiskers?
With the knowledge of the vital functions of whiskers, it’s clear they are more than just an aesthetic trait and must be treated differently from other body hair.
The sensory hairs are part of a complex sensory perception system and should be handled with caution.
A dog’s whiskers help with their sense of perception.
Is it Okay to Remove or Trim a Dog’s Sensory Hairs?
Some dogs require regular fur trims for maintenance – for instance, to ensure they have clear vision and can perceive their environment without restrictions. Some groomers might also trim the canine whiskers.
However, since tactile hairs are part of the sensory apparatus, the answer to whether whiskers can be cut or removed is no. It would harm your pet by confusing its sensory perception, at least temporarily.
Does Cutting or Plucking Sensory Hairs Hurt?
Sensory hairs themselves do not have pain sensors. So, trimming the whiskers would not cause your dog pain. Still, trimming would restrict your dog.
However, plucking the sensory hairs would be painful for your dog, as numerous pain receptors are present in the hair root.
Dog Whiskers in Animal Welfare Law
Under Animal Welfare Act 2006, cutting a dog’s whiskers could be considered an offence. Whiskers are sensitive tissues and interfering with them without a medical reason could be seen as a prohibited procedure.
According to Section 5 of the Act, any procedure that involves interference with the sensitive tissues or bone structure of an animal, unless for medical treatment, is prohibited. Since whiskers are important sensory organs for dogs, cutting them without a valid medical reason would likely fall under this prohibition.
Removing or trimming whiskers is thus considered contrary to animal welfare. Dog groomers and owners are strictly prohibited from altering whiskers. Only a vet may remove or trim the tactile hairs if medically necessary.
Therefore, it’s best to leave your dog’s whiskers untouched and treat them as gently as all the other sensory organs of your four-legged companion.
This article from zooplus Magazine is purely informative. If your pet is experiencing discomfort, contact your veterinarian for diagnosis and treatment.
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Franziska G., Veterinarian
At the Justus-Liebig-University of Giessen I was extensively trained as a veterinarian and was able to gain experience in various fields such as small animal, large animal and exotic animal medicine as well as pharmacology, pathology and food hygiene.
Since then, I have been working not only as a veterinary author, but also on my scientifically driven dissertation. My goal is to better protect animals from pathogenic bacterial organisms in the future.
Besides my veterinary knowledge, I also share my own experiences as a happy dog owner and can thus understand and enlighten fears and problems as well as other important questions about animal health.
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