Whiskers, An Essential Tool For Dogs

More or less profuse, shorter or longer, whiskers are a detail that usually impose grace and personality on the face of dogs. But beyond this aesthetic question, they are there to fulfill an important function. We tell you what it is.

The importance of not mutilating pets for aesthetics

It is always important to have information about the physical and behavioral characteristics of our pets.

In this way, in addition to understanding them better, we will avoid making serious mistakes for fashion reasons or for assuming that they look better that way.

We refer to the fact of mutilating tails and ears, removing nails, and also cutting whiskers.

So if you take your dog to the groomer, or you are acting as a stylist, be very clear that his whiskers should not be trimmed.

Why whiskers are essential for dogs

But what is the importance of whiskers in dogs? Well, those hairs thicker than those of most of their fur fulfill a similar function to the tips of our fingers.

Although the sense of touch of dogs depends on cutaneous receptors that are distributed throughout their body, a good part of them are at the base of the hair follicles.

And it turns out that some of the hairs on our four-legged friends are especially gifted at transmitting tactile information to their brains. They are the so-called tactile hairs, among which are the whiskers. But not only them. They are divided into five groups:

• Supraciliary (above the eyebrows)
• Chin
• Zygomatic (cheek area)
• Lip
• Mandibular

Tactile hairs, an essential tool for furry people

So these tactile hairs – also called vibrissae – are essential to provide the furry with different types of information. But how do they do it?

It is that any movement of these hairs, however slight, is amplified. And so it becomes a stimulus for the large number of nerve endings that surround the follicles.

In this way, when the animal touches an object with any of these pili, its brain instantly has information about the proximity and shape of that element.

More information on whiskers and other tactile hairs on dogs

So, the vibrissae act as a complement to the sense of sight, when the animal has vision difficulties or is in places with low light.

This enables you to measure spaces and, for example, determine if they are in a narrow space without using your vision. And they also help protect the eyes. How? causing the furry to blink when their whiskers come into contact with an object.

And although there is no rule that establishes how many hairs the dogs have in their whiskers – the greater or lesser amount and the size has to do with race and genetics – it depends on them that our barking friends can move in the dark without being carried away. things in front of us, as it happens to people.

Remember that you should not cut your pet’s whiskers

At this point there is no doubt that the whiskers and other hard hairs on your dog’s face are essential for them to orient themselves and perceive their environment.

So, you know why you should never cut them. Remember it. And don’t be tempted to use scissors, even if your pet sometimes appears untidy by your human judgment. You must learn to appreciate its beauty, vibrisas included.

If you think about it, most mammals that have whiskers use them as sensing organs. Without going any further, for cats they are also a more than fundamental tool. That we lack them does not mean that we cannot appreciate and understand the importance in animals that do have them.