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What’s a chihuahua doing in a poodle skirt? »

Killer whiskers

March 14, 2012 by retrieverman

From the Anti-PDE Facebook Group:

Poodle fur does grow continuously, and it must be clipped.

The fur on the face is not the same thing as whiskers.

Whiskers are more correctly known as vibrissae. Vibrissae are specialized hairs that are used for tactile sensation.

All dogs have them.

They do not grow continuously in any breed of domestic dog or in any species of wild dog.

The idea that these specialized hairs would overgrow and affect the welfare of the dog is really quite silly.

When bearded breeds get their muzzles pared back, the vibrissae are removed. Not because they grow continuously, but because they are mixed in with all the beard hair.

This statement just show how poorly informed these people are about dog anatomy. Vibrissae might be called whiskers, but they aren’t the same as the beard on the muzzle, which we sometimes call whiskers in the common parlance.

That’s why we should stop using that term, and use vibrissae instead.

 

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Posted in dog breeding, dog health | Tagged pedigree dogs exposed, vibrissae, whiskers | 6 Comments

6 Responses

  1. on March 14, 2012 at 7:42 pm msalliance

    I have read that they sometimes bleed when plucked out. Isn’t it barbaric to deprive a dog of one of his sensory organs?

    My dog is almost four and his whiskers have never overgrown.


  2. on March 14, 2012 at 9:21 pm Pipes

    The problem is, that requires the breeders to actually understand how dog anatomy works. These are the are the people who think that a long nosed bulldog can’t breathe while holding on to a bull, but a practically noseless one can!


    • on March 15, 2012 at 7:55 am Rathunters

      knowledge is overrated, fairy tales and stories are so much better.


  3. on March 15, 2012 at 4:00 am masakadoshiba

    Oh jeez, these people are clueless


  4. on March 15, 2012 at 7:43 am biscuit

    I don’t understand why you would want to get rid of their whiskers. They’re cute! I can see how they would be in the way of trimming facial hair though.


  5. on March 15, 2012 at 10:32 pm Kathy

    Careful. Now that they know the vibrissae don’t overgrow, they’ll find a way to breed them to curl or be thicker or to grow long enough to braid!



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