Why Do Dogs Have Whiskers? 7 Reasons & How They Impact Behavior
What happens if you cut off a dogs whiskers?
A Complete Guide Into Your Dog's Whiskers
Your dog’s whiskers aren’t just cute pieces of hair attached to their face—they’re an extraordinary network of sensory superhighways responsible for relaying important information from the external world to your dog’s intricate nervous system and brain.
For us mere human beings, our faces are graced with nothing more than peach fuzz and beards since we rely on other senses to navigate our modern-day world.
But our lack of these extraordinary sensory tools doesn’t mean that we can’t bridge the gap between our sensory perceptions and those of our canine companions!
By exploring the intricate world of dog whiskers, we pave the path for a deeper connection.
A deeper understanding of how our dogs sense the world prompts us to also be more patient with our canine companions, such as when they demonstrate cautious behaviors such as an aversion to strong wind or when they hesitate to approach an unfamiliar object.
So, let’s delve deeper into how these remarkable extensions shape our dog’s behaviors and how they significantly impact your dog’s life on a daily basis. Here is what will be talked about in this article on dog whiskers:
- What are dog whiskers?
- What types of whiskers do dogs have?
- The four different types of dog whiskers
- What is the purpose of a dog's whiskers?
- The seven functions of a dog's whiskers
- Do dogs suffer from whisker fatigue?
- Is it okay to touch your dog's whiskers?
- Can you trim a dog's whiskers?
- Will dog whiskers grow back?
What Are Dog Whiskers?
Also known as vibrissae, dog whiskers are much different than your average dog’s hair. Whiskers are thicker and coarser than hair due to the important role they play in providing dogs with sensory perception.
Whiskers are also deeply rooted in the skin allowing greater stability and sensitivity. Each whisker is rooted into a follicle that is blessed with ample nerve endings.
While whiskers may appear to be all the same, they are actually created to provide different pieces of information based on where they are localized. Indeed, depending on where they are found on a dog’s face, whiskers are called in different ways.
What Types of Whiskers Do Dogs Have?
Dogs have four different types of whiskers, namely mystacial whiskers, genal whiskers, supraorbital whiskers and mandibular whiskers.
While each type of whisker serves specific functions based on where they are located, they can ultimately work as a team to provide dogs with a comprehensive sensory map of their surrounding environment.
Let’s take a closer look at the different types of dog whiskers.
1. Mystacial Whiskers
Mystacial whiskers are the most notorious and visible whiskers. They are the first type of whiskers that come to mind when thinking about whiskers.
The term “mystacial” derives from the word “mustache” due to these whiskers’ horizontal display around the nose, which reminds people of a mustache. Generally, they consist of four or five rows of whiskers.
Function: A dog’s mystacial whiskers carry a variety of functions. They can help dogs detect changes in air currents and provide information about the various shapes and sizes of objects in their surrounding environment. A dog’s mystacial whiskers can even be used as a form of communication.
2. Genal Whiskers
These whiskers are located on both sides of a dog’s cheeks. According to Merriam-Webster, the word “genal” is used to depict the cheek or lateral side of the head.
Also known as zygomatic whiskers, these whiskers can be identified by looking at the dog’s cheeks very closely. There can be one or two sets, and they typically sprout from what looks like a small dimple.
The upper genal whiskers are found behind the eye, while the lower genal whiskers are found by the corner of the lower jaw.
Function: These whiskers can help in detecting the presence of surrounding objects on the left and on the right and help dogs in gauging distances.
3. Supraorbital Whiskers
Also known as superciliary whiskers, these whiskers are located right above the dog’s eyes. One peculiarity of these whiskers is that if you gently tap on this whisker, your dog will reflexively close his eyes.
Function: These whiskers provide dogs awareness of their surroundings, especially from the above, and also play a protective role by preventing damage to the dog’s eyes from exposure to sharp, protruding objects such as branches.
4. Mandibular Whiskers (Submental)
Mandibular whiskers is a general term meant to refer to whiskers found by the dog’s lower jaw. The term submental is a more specific description used to depict whiskers found under the dog’s chin.
The interramal tuft is the term used to depict the little bunch of whiskers that typically sprout from a dog’s small dimple right under the chin.
Function: These whiskers allow dogs to perceive the depth of things below their chin, whether they’re drinking water from a bowl or sticking their head in a hole.
The different types of dog vibrissae
Why Do Dogs Have Whiskers?
Dogs have whiskers for many good reasons! Let’s take a closer look at dog whisker functions and why they are so important.
1. Aids for Hunting
Evolutionarily, dogs have whiskers because of their past as hunters. Whiskers helped dogs successfully navigate through challenging environments such as thick underbrush and at times of dark/low visibility since dogs, as hunters, were active not only during the day but also at dusk and during the night.
While dogs no longer hunt for a living, evolutionary theorists suggest that they must have persisted because they still carry important roles, considering that “nature is conservative and does not expend energy on the maintenance of useless organs.” (McGill 1980)
2. Providers of Tactile Information
Whiskers nowadays still provide dogs with pertinent tactile information at times when their visual perception prevents them from gaining a clear view of objects found in close proximity to their face.
When whiskers are stimulated, dogs can deduce the distance, direction, and texture of objects, and they can coordinate the movement of their muzzle accordingly.
Courtesy of whiskers, dogs may know how far their water and food bowls are from their face and how close their chin is to the ground when sniffing.
Served by the largest of the twelve pairs of cranial nerves (the trigeminal nerve), dog whiskers have been compared to antennas. When anything in the environment happens to rub against them, the whiskers “vibrate” and transmit feedback to the dog about his surroundings.
Interestingly, the term vibrissae derives from the ancient Latin word “vibrio,” which means ‘to vibrate.”
3. Protective Mechanisms
When an object comes in contact with the whiskers located right above the dog’s eyes, this will cause the dog to reflexively blink and possibly turn its head away.
This comes in handy when dogs are walking in areas with protruding sticks, thick brush, and thickets. It also protects your dog’s eyes from being accidentally poked by human fingers!
4. Detectors of Air Currents
Whiskers also allow dogs to detect the subtle movement of air currents and even the movement of objects nearby.
Based on the vibration produced by the object, courtesy of whiskers, dogs can deduce the object’s size, shape, and moving pace.
5. Informers of Tight Passages
With whiskers scattered throughout the dog’s face, dogs are also capable of making informed decisions, such as whether they can squeeze through tight passages without the risk of getting stuck, explains science writer Kathleen M. Wong in the Magazine of the California Academy of Sciences.
In their ancestral past, whiskers could have helped dogs gauge the width of tight passages, such as entrances to maternity dens or underground burrows, for the purpose of hunting down ground-dwelling critters.
Nowadays, it is possible that whiskers may turn out helpful in dogs as they enter tight passages such as small spaces under furniture or as they stick their heads in holes they have dug or rush through agility tunnels.
6. Useful for Communication
On top of providing sensory information, dog whiskers can be used for communication. Attached to a dog’s facial muscles, whiskers can provide insights about how a dog is feeling by looking at their position.
Just like dogs can raise their hackles, it is possible for them to also make their whiskers move around.
For example, when dogs are aggressively aroused or feel threatened, their whiskers are turned outward and in a forward position in the direction of impending danger.
It is possible that whiskers may play a functional role during combat between dogs, increasing the awareness of their opponent’s location and movements, points out Steven Lindsay in his Handbook of Applied Dog Training and Behavior.
7. Evokers of Startle Responses
The fact that, upon touching certain whiskers, dogs respond reflexively, triggering auto-protective mechanisms, there is a possibility that a dog’s response to ambiguous activities, such as kissing or petting a sleeping dog’s face, may stimulate sensations that may be interpreted as an attack, suggests Steven Lindsay.
There are chances that a dog’s whiskers keep providing sensory information while other sensory and attentional resources are on “standby," so to say, such as when dogs are sleeping.
A dog’s startle response to touch when sleeping may be further enhanced by dreams. As it happens in humans, as dogs awaken from a dream, the boundaries between the dream world and reality may be blurred.
This transitory state is known as “hypnopompia,” and during this stage, residual images, emotions, and sensations may linger and may distort how the dog perceives the owner’s touch upon awakening, leading to potentially disinhibited attacks, explains Lindsay.
Is it okay to touch a dog's whiskers?
Is It Okay to Touch a Dog's Whiskers?
While nothing major happens if you touch your dog's whiskers, consider that they are more sensitive than regular hair. Rich in blood vessels and nerves, dog whiskers function more as human fingertips.
Since they are seated deep in your dog's skin, the slightest touch triggers nerve receptors. For this reason, whiskers are also known as 'feelers."
Do Dogs Get Whisker Fatigue?
While humans are prone to getting eye fatigue, it makes sense to wonder whether dogs are prone to getting whisker fatigue.
Also known as whisker stress, whisker fatigue is a theory that a cat’s finicky eating nature may be attributed to their whiskers constantly making contact with a deep food bowl, leading to sensory overload.
This info has prompted marketers to start selling food bowls specifically designed with a cat’s whiskers in mind.
While whisker fatigue has become a buzzword and a hot topic among cat owners, veterinarians, and behaviorists, there is no factual evidence that this condition exists and, if it does, how much impact it has on cats, explains board-certified veterinary nutritionist Dr. Lisa Freeman.
In dogs, we are therefore also lacking factual evidence, so the verdict is still open until we have more research.
Can You Cut a Dog’s Whiskers?
Dog whiskers are often cut or plucked when dogs are competing in the show ring. The procedure is carried out for aesthetic reasons since removal of whiskers gives the dog’s head a “cleaner look, “supposedly increasing the dog’s chances of winning.
With whiskers providing dogs with so much sensory information, it’s not a matter of “Can you cut a dog’s whiskers?” but “Should you cut a dog’s whiskers?”
Anecdotal reports of dogs showing decreased spatial orientation or appearing overall confused are plentiful after having their whiskers trimmed. This makes perfect sense considering how, when whiskers cut, dogs are suddenly deprived of the ability to judge the distance of nearby objects, which ultimately negatively impacts their overall sense of confidence.
Do Whiskers Grow Back?
Fortunately, once cut, whiskers will grow back. Their growth rate is expected to be similar to regular hair, taking anywhere from a few weeks to several months to reach their original full length.
In conclusion, dog whiskers are important sensory tools. They provide dogs with information about how to navigate in confined spaces and low-lit environments. They are communicative tools that have accompanied dogs for centuries and survived the process of domestication and selective breeding. As important sensory tools, a dog’s whiskers should never be cut.
References
- Williams CM, Kramer EM. The advantages of a tapered whisker. PLoS One. 2010 Jan
- McGill TE. Amputation of vibrissae in show dogs. Int J Study Anim Probl. 1980
- Canine Behavior, Insights and Answers by Betsy V. Beaver
- Slovak JE, Foster TE. Evaluation of whisker stress in cats. Journal of Feline Medicine and Surgery 2021
- Tufts University: Whisker worry: Are cats’ whiskers a key to their eating pleasure? By Dr. Freeman
If your puppy or dog shows signs of potential aggression (lunging, barking, growling, snapping, biting), please consult with a dog behavior professional for direct in-person guidance. Articles, videos, and general information provided online are not meant to replace in-person training/instruction. By using this service, you are waiving any liability claims or other types of claims related to any of your dogs' behaviors against you or others.
© 2023 Adrienne Farricelli CPDT-KA, Dip.CBST
