Never have, never will.

Pod - Hallelulah

If only all judges were like you, once again it seems that we humans are imposing criteria on dogs which are unnecessary. I'll admit to not knowing much about the show ring but surely it's far more important to have a dog with good bone structure, temperanment, movement, senses, (which of course must include air movement sensors i.e. the fibrasse) etc.

I really do think it is a massive condemnation of many humans that they are so easily diverted from the truth for their own vanity.

Long may you continue to judge as you do now.

my mum has got a st bernard and because his whiskes whet in his eyes they are now really bad we have to take him to the vets on wednasday and hope he is not blind because of it so yes she has cut them to stop it happening again.

i dont do my dogs thought think they are sweet

I don't, and I show. It has been suggested to me but mad dog is mad enough without having her whiskers cut of to add to even more madness!

Maddy's and Dusty's whiskers are really very short as it is, Maddys are barely noticeable if she's not right up in your face.

Charlie's (my cross breed) however are really quite long in comparison to the girls. I have done his a few times when trimming his face, they grow back quite quickly, it certainly didn't take years! Last time I did them was last summer and they are at the regular length now. They seemed to grow just as fast as his hair. It has never affected him one bit.

A cats whiskers however are totally different altogether and should never be cut. At their widest point they are the same as the widest point of the cat, so basically the cat knows if it is trying to get through a gap, if the whiskers can't fit, it can't fit. If you cut them, it will most certainly get stuck somewhere...

Thanks for correcting that, so about 9 months would you say? Unfortunately I can't find the book I qouted from, he did say they grow back, I had a feeling he said that it took a long time. Well I suppose it's relative really.

Anyway, the basic function of the whiskers (fibresse?) is not in dispute and I still think that where ever possible they should be left.

As you say most dogs don't like their mouth / nose areas being pulled around do they?

I think with most breed judges, the important aspects of the standard (structure, movement, temperament etc) are seen as paramount but here in the UK we're seeing increasing influence from the USA. There is more focus on presentation and performance than in the past.

I see it as over-presentation when dogs appear in the ring looking as if they've just stepped out of a tumble dryer and/or trimmed excessively. Trimmimng and clipping seems to be very much on the increase and breeds that were no more than tidied up in the past are now 'sculpted' American fashion.

I shave my girls whiskers off, Bellas are so thick and course I can shave them off one day and they would grow back fully withing 2 months if I didn't keep doing it.

A friend of mine who breeds/shows/judges cockers said all of her dogs whiskers are shaved off so you can see the true shape of their face, which is preferred in the show ring for Cockers

No !!!!!!! never thought about it Gemma is as she was made,absoulty lovely (not that im bias ) but i suppose if your into showing your dogs you might have to do it ?

9 months at the most. One of my cats as a kitten had skin problems around and in her mouth and had to have her muzzle shaved, whiskers and all, and they took about 4 months to come back fully. Cats may well be different to dogs though. She didn't half get into some situations in the period that they were missing though....

Are you sure its his whiskers in his eye some dogs have a thing called entropian (not sure of spelling) where some of the eyerim rolls especially on the lower area & so the lashes irritate the eye & can cause ulcers. Know of several chows who haxe had to have operations for this.