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Location: Doncaster, UK
Joined: Mar 2011
Posts: 1,633
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12-09-2011, 05:04 PM
He doesn't seem to suffer because of it. My other two are left au naturel
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Location: Dogsey and Worcestershire
Joined: May 2004
Posts: 49,483
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12-09-2011, 05:31 PM
Originally Posted by katygeorge 
i was alwasy told the wiskers were so they could check if a gap was big enough to get through - so if the wiskers touch the sides gap is to small so dont go. i could be so wrong
the chances of phoebe finding a whole big enough to even get in to get stuck are pretty slim but ild never cut them off. they dont bother me atall. although she dosnt like me playing with them. My dads yorkies go to a groomers and she cuts them off with the clippers and they dont seam to mind
you are not far off the mark there ..A dogs whiskers or to give them their correct name 'canine vibrissae' help with spacial awareness and with sensing objects and while it is not exactly cruel to remove them it does deprive the dog of a sensing ability .
I would say vibrissae are particularly useful to dogs with sight problems
The Kennel Club has issued a statement about them...
http://www.thekennelclub.org.uk/item/3477
more details about them here...
http://www.ehow.com/info_8489032_dogs-whiskers.html
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Location: B.C. Canada
Joined: Oct 2010
Posts: 93
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12-09-2011, 05:46 PM
Susie would have to have whiskers over a foot long if she needed them for getting between obstacles without getting stuck.
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Location: Dogsey and Worcestershire
Joined: May 2004
Posts: 49,483
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12-09-2011, 05:50 PM
Originally Posted by Kyllobernese
What about all the breeds like poodles, etc. that have clean shaven faces? I have never ever heard of them having any problem with no whiskers or getting stuck between things because they have no whiskers.
Susie would have to have whiskers over a foot long if she needed them for getting between obstacles without getting stuck.
neither have I and I am sure dogs do manage without them, but that is not to deny they are used for sensing.
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Location: Wiltshire UK
Joined: Nov 2010
Posts: 14,404
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12-09-2011, 06:02 PM
Originally Posted by Minihaha
Katy
you are not far off the mark there ..A dogs whiskers or to give them their correct name 'canine vibrissae' help with spacial awareness and with sensing objects and while it is not exactly cruel to remove them it does deprive the dog of a sensing ability .
The nose of a dog hits things first, not its whiskers surely?
Anyway I cannot see it as "cruel" any more than many other things several tree huggers see as "cruel" like having dogs whilst you are in full time work, keeping dogs in kennels etc.
I see many more overindulged, overweight, dogs with rotten teeth, rotten manners etc that need addressing or dogs which are stabbed, drowned used for dog fighting and starved etc.
Cutting a few whiskers off (if one chooses to do so) hardly comes into the same category.
The world would be a great place if whisker removal was the worst thing that could happen to a dog (if indeed it is a terrible thing)
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Location: Liverpool
Joined: Mar 2006
Posts: 3,181
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12-09-2011, 06:11 PM
I believe the article about whiskers was later exposed as being a hoax, not 100% but I had heard that.
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