I never trim whiskers. To be honest I don't see the point, unless the face is really clipped off short and taking the whiskers off with the hair is inevitable. I've judged literally thousands of dogs and to tell the truth I couldn't tell you which ones had whiskers and which didn't so it can't make that much of a difference for the show ring!

Debs

I don't think the girls would be too impressed with a moustash, although it'll match mine I suppose :smt002
Becky

Every dog should have a beard and whisker (and that goes for men too ) that's what I say

(*whispers Mini has a thing about beards *)

Well I suppose someone has to
Becky

I've never removed whiskers, I'm more likely when judging to be checking for cheats who have removed hair from round the ears to disguise the fact that the dog is actually a long coat. When judging all breeds its certainly not something I'd look for.

I think its a shame that dogs whiskers have to be cut off just for the sake of showing.....just my opinion

I didnt even know that some people cut them for showing.
Its a shame Judges should check to see if they are there not the other way round, dogs (wolves) have always had them why cut them

I understand all of the concerns about them but I have seen and heard of this being done with dogs before and none of them ever had any problems. As far as the blind dog...of course he would have an issue because he has to use another sense to navigate and such. It would be cruel to remove the whiskers on him. But normal healthy dogs (didnt mean that in a bad way) rely on their sight and nose for direction and such. So why would it be an issue? I remember an old myth that I heard a long while ago. I was that if you trimmed the whickers on a dog or cat that they would fall over and not be able to walk. Sorta funny!!

Honestly the reason that I asked this question was because I just did it on Chance and was curious how many of you did it. It does make their faces cleaner looking.

Personally I think that all judges are gonna look for the nicest looking dog all the way around and if you have two that are really good but one looks 'cleaner' thats the one that is going to get chosen.

*I* don't generally clip him.
He's been to many groomers in his 11 years, and every single one has trimmed his whiskers too.

When I have clipped him (I'm no professional), yes, I've trimmed his whiskers. He doesn't bother, and it doesn't affect him.

Well I've not heard that myth but I do think you need to read the link I posted earlier in the thread to appreciate the role that whiskers do play in sensory perception. We, as humans, don't have whiskers, so it is a difficult concept. Here's a snippet -

"Considering the brain, it is recognized that the amount of sensory cerebral cortex devoted to a particular body area or sense modality is in direct proportion to the sensitivity and importance of that area or modality in the sensory world of the animal. In man, much cerebral cortex is devoted to reception of visual stimulation, while the porpoise a disproportionate amount of cortex receives auditory input, and in the raccoon a large area receives input from the "hands".”

"In plotting the sensory areas of the cerebral cortex of the dog, it has been determined that the face clearly accounts for at least 50% of the primary cortical sensory projection area, and for at least a third of the secondary area. Within the facial areas themselves, the upper jaw occupies a disproportionately large amount of the cerebral cortex."

http://www.winweim.com/whiskers.pdf#...gs%20remove%22

A 'clean' outline to the muzzle may be an advantage in some breeds but in many others removing whiskers would spoil the natural outline of the dog.

I've been judging for many years and I must say, in the early days I didn't notice if whiskers were removed, or maybe it wasn't done to extent it is these days. But now I do notice. To me, it looks odd on most breeds and you can certainly feel the sharp stubs when handling the muzzle.