# Whiskers



## Fluffyspoos (Aug 11, 2009)

Okay, we're all intelligent people here, we shave poodle faces, we shave their whiskers, the dogs never seem to be bothered. I shave my boxer mix's whiskers all the time since it looks so much better with it.

So we'll get our regular poodles coming in and their whiskers will be longer than the hair on their muzzle, so I googled 'Why do whiskers grow faster than hair' and although I didn't get a clear answer, I got a link to this yahoo question:
http://answers.yahoo.com/question/index?qid=1006042724072

Are these people idiotic? I highly doubt it has any effect on the dog, dogs and cats are completely different. But since google couldn't answer my question, maybe you guys can. Why DO whiskers grow faster than the hair?


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## wishpoo (Sep 12, 2009)

Well, of course that whiskers have a function - no part of any living creature is there with no function - mother nature made sure of that ; ))).

You might read this : http://www.petplace.com/dogs/structure-and-function-of-the-whiskers-in-dogs/page1.aspx

But, again, our pet shaved dogs obviously "survive" the loss with no problems


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## Birdie (Jun 28, 2009)

lol Fluffyspoos, never expect much logic from YahooAnswers. That place is notorious for it's idiocy. =P 

As for your question, I have never actually thought about it. I would guess that because whiskers would need to grow faster than fur on a non-domesticated dog in order to aid in survival, should the whiskers/hair be removed. 
Like if a wild dog's face had gotten singed by fire and their whiskers/hair were burnt off, the whiskers would need to grow back faster so that they could find food or otherwise "survive" more efficiently.


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## Fluffyspoos (Aug 11, 2009)

Oh that makes lots of sense Birdie o: thanks!

And wishpoo, thanks for the link as well, though I'm a little put off by their choosing of the words in this sentence on that page "Malicious cutting of the whiskers. In some breeds of dogs, it is common to groom the hairs of the muzzle, chin and forehead very short. In these breeds, it is acceptable to trim the whiskers short, also." I wouldn't consider a clean face to be malicious. xP


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## taxtell (Sep 17, 2009)

Malicious...lol.

I bet my groomer laughs like this "Muahahahahahaha!" when she trims faces, right?

Another poodle, foiled!


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## KCWood (Nov 20, 2009)

taxtell said:


> Malicious...lol.
> 
> I bet my groomer laughs like this "Muahahahahahaha!" when she trims faces, right?
> 
> Another poodle, foiled!


This really did make me lol. It's a great mental picture.


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## Fluffyspoos (Aug 11, 2009)

taxtell said:


> Malicious...lol.
> 
> I bet my groomer laughs like this "Muahahahahahaha!" when she trims faces, right?
> 
> Another poodle, foiled!


That is EXACTLY how I groom, I also cackle like the wicked witch from the west when trimming nails, and practice my world domination laugh when cleaning ears.

Grooming is serious business.



(I'm totally kidding, of course.)


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## spoofly (Jan 20, 2010)

Fluffyspoos said:


> That is EXACTLY how I groom, I also cackle like the wicked witch from the west when trimming nails, and practice my world domination laugh when cleaning ears.
> 
> Grooming is serious business.
> 
> ...


Lmao!!!


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