Do Dogs' Whiskers Do Anything?

[Simply Grand]

Just wondering...

I've heard that cats use their whiskers to judge whether they can fit through a gap or not -ie. their whiskers are as wide as the widest part of their body - so they need them.

But with dogs that get clipped, their whiskers get clipped off when you do their face and they seem to manage fine. So do they have them for any reason?

Or is the cat thing just a myth?

[Guest RANDCMOORE31]

I've heard the same thing - and wondered the same thing - so I was hoping you'd have some replies . Will have to wait and see, I guess!

[stormie]

The cat thing isn't a myth - they also help with some aspects of balance too.

Found this:

Whiskers are an important hunting and orientation tool for dogs as well as many other mammals. A seal's whiskers, for example, pick up vibrations in the water, allowing it to detect prey as far as 180 meters away.

The scientific term for these finely tuned sensory structures is "vibrissae." While the hairs themselves don't contain nerve endings, their base is surrounded by erectile tissue and a rich nerve supply. Like human eyelashes, they prompt the dog to close its eyes when they're brushed.

The whiskers on cats and dogs are highly sensitive to air currents and vibrations. Dogs react quickly when anything brushes against their whiskers -- see for yourself (with a friendly dog, obviously).

Many dog groomers clip their dog's whiskers for show purposes, although it can often impair a dog's ability to hunt and play.

[Simply Grand]

Yes, I thought the cat thing was true, I've noticed my cat's whiskers droop more or stand out straighter when he loses or puts on weight

Hmmm, so we're disadvantaging them by clipping their whiskers. Still, I don't think I'll be clipping around them...

[Nushie]

My cat eats her whiskers. I think it is like someone biting their nails. Just sits there and uses her paw to push them into her month and then chews on them. So they are all nice and short.

[SparkyTansy]

My cat eats her whiskers. I think it is like someone biting their nails. Just sits there and uses her paw to push them into her month and then chews on them. So they are all nice and short.

Maybe it's a weight loss technique

[sas]

Absolutely they have a purpose!

Whiskers, or vibrissae, are coarse, long, widely spaced sensory hairs located around the muzzle of most animal species. They are very sensitive to touch.

Whiskers serve as delicate sense organs of touch and are believed to be as sensitive as our fingertips. They are sensitive to vibrations in air currents. As the air moves, the whiskers vibrate, and dogs use messages in these vibrations to sense the presence, size and shape of nearby objects. Whiskers help protect the eyes. Any touch to the whiskers causes the eyelids to blink.

[Mas1981]

Whiskers are important to all animals, with horses we were told it stops them bumping their muzzles on stuff, I assume in dogs and cats its the same??

[aussielover]

Poeple definitely shave their horses whiskers off on purpose, poor things

[WreckitWhippet]

Poeple definitely shave their horses whiskers off on purpose, poor things

Mine never had any issues, they were clipped off to be shown in Western Pleasure.

My dogs all go into the ring without whiskers too

[Bindii]

My understanding that their purpose is to protect their eyes and nose...

Try it... poke the whiskers above your dogs eye, he'll blink. The ones on his nose, he'll twitch it!

I'm glad my breed doesn't generally have whiskers (or anything) clipped off

[Nushie]

My cat eats her whiskers. I think it is like someone biting their nails. Just sits there and uses her paw to push them into her month and then chews on them. So they are all nice and short.

Maybe it's a weight loss technique

The vet does keep telling her she is a little on the porky side

[whippets]

I clip my dogs whiskers.

I don't touch my cats whiskers. They're an integral connection to their nervous system.

[Simply Grand]

My understanding that their purpose is to protect their eyes and nose...

Try it... poke the whiskers above your dogs eye, he'll blink. The ones on his nose, he'll twitch it!

I'm glad my breed doesn't generally have whiskers (or anything) clipped off

Saxon's are broken I tried poking and brushing them, he didn't react at all.

[Souff]

Just wondering...

I've heard that cats use their whiskers to judge whether they can fit through a gap or not -ie. their whiskers are as wide as the widest part of their body - so they need them.

But with dogs that get clipped, their whiskers get clipped off when you do their face and they seem to manage fine. So do they have them for any reason?

Or is the cat thing just a myth? :D

:D Souff loves this one, whether it be for cats or dogs.

Firstly the whiskers vary in length from animal to animal. Some have quite long whiskers, others have short whiskers. Whiskers vary in length on the same animal. What do the short whiskers do when the longer ones are processing the data that they have collected about the width of spaces?

The skull on some animals is the widest part. On other animals it is the shoulders or the ribcage. And on some animals it is the hip area.

Now, can somebody please tell me which whiskers are working with which part of the body?

Souff actually believes that whiskers have mystical powers ...... :D

.... perhaps to tell the animals of weather changes that are coming and that we know nothing about, and of course to collect some of the cobwebs off the lower part of the brickwork so that the spiders can keep busy and make more webs. I mean if spider's webs lasted forever and were not destroyed then we would all have to face the prospect of fat lazy spiders around the place ..... another obesity epidemic in the animal world!

Thanks Evans for whiskers I say, and may their true intended use remain forever mystical.

Souff

[dog geek]

I have, in my 'animal geek' incarnation, found references to cats having a focal length that means they are unable to see things clearly if they are right near their nose.

This, apparently, is because as predators, they have wonderfully acute vision to track the prey with, but which in the overlap at the end of the muzzle is not acute or focussed.

By the stage the prey is close to their muzzle, their vibrissae guide them in the last space, and they can latch on with their canines (the big pointy fangs).

Always made sense to me - ever watched a cat - or a dog - use its nose to locate a small treat in plain view, rather than zero in with its eyesight?