# What Are Whiskers For?



## Ninde'Gold (Oct 21, 2006)

Do they feel with them like cats do? Do they feel anything at all in them?

I always though they had feeling in them , then I read on here that someone trims then, which made me think, wouldn't that hurt them?

Today, I accidentally pulled one out of Tucker when I was grabbing a toy from him, he didn't even notice... which makes me think they must not feel them?

So what are they there for? lol


----------



## Jo Ellen (Feb 25, 2007)

I heard on a documentary that when you touch a dog's whiskers, they blink. In that sense, they can protect the eyes !!

Also, whiskers are rooted much deeper than ordinary hair. I believe they are sensory. Think about it. Dogs spend much of their time with their noses to the ground ... it makes sense they would have some functional sensors around their noses.

Maybe you pulled on a little whisker, maybe it was new or maybe it was not as deeply rooted, which is why you were able to pull it free. I wouldn't attempt to pull out just any old whisker though ... some of them are very strong and I bet it would sting like hell to have it pulled out. 

That's what I think :wave:


----------



## Joe (Apr 9, 2005)

*Whiskers (Vibrissa)

*Whiskers (Vibrissae) are hairs, usually specialized for tactile sensation, that grow around the nostrils or other parts of the face of dogs.
They are usually thicker and stiffer than other types of hair.
Like human eyelashes, they prompt the dog to close its eyes when they're brushed. 

The whiskers on dogs are highly sensitive to air currents and vibrations. Dogs react quickly when anything brushes against their whiskers.
Many dog groomers clip their dog's whiskers for show purposes, although it can often impair a dog's ability to hunt and play. 

Whiskers consist of inert material and contain no nerves. What makes whiskers different from other hairs is that they are implanted in a special follicle sealed by a capsule of blood, called a blood sinus. 

Touching a vibrissa causes it to bend, and the blood in the sinus is pushed to one side or the other. The blood amplifies the movement and allows the nerves at the base to detect extremely small deflections.

Whiskers offer an advantage to animals that do not always have sight to rely on to navigate or to find food, or when the usefulness of non-tactile senses is limited. Information from the vibrissea is transmitted and processed through the trigeminal nerve to brainstem and thalamus then barrel cortex of the brain.

Resources:
What are dogs' whiskers for?
Vibrissa - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Also added to our glossary: *WHISKERS*

Joe


----------



## monomer (Apr 21, 2005)

WHAT???!!! We have a glossary now!? Get out... When did we get a glossary? How does it work?

Just checked it out... I must have been sleeping when you guys started that. Good deal...


----------



## Carsonsdaddy (Nov 1, 2006)

monomer said:


> WHAT???!!! We have a glossary now!? Get out... When did we get a glossary? How does it work?


It's been there for a while.... and you can add to it. I was hoping you would since you have A TON of knowledge. It's on the "tool bar" at the top of the page.


----------



## lovestofly (Feb 25, 2007)

What a fountain of information! Holy Crap, this is pretty cool! Thanks Joe!


----------



## sharlin (Feb 26, 2007)

They're tennis ball finders in a dark room - what else???


----------



## Joe (Apr 9, 2005)

GLOSSARY feature is available at:
http://www.goldenretrieverforum.com/glossary.php

You can also see 'Glossary' option in our top navigation menu.

Anyhow, to explain this a little:

We are starting this glossary with the goal to alphabetically list different dog related terms, which in return should help all of us (members and visitors) to widen our common knowledge of dogs in general.

There are 3 different categories you can submit your terms to:

*Glossary of General Dog Terms*
(A list of terms and definitions particular to the general dog related terms.)

*Glossary of Dog Diseases*
(Glossary of diseases commonly associated with dogs.)

*Glossary of Dog Breeds*
(Goal of this glossary is to alphabetically categorize all known dog breeds, providing detailed descriptions of their morphological diversity.)

Dear members, every one of us is a little pocket of knowledge and I really believe sharing our knowledge can be of tremendous help to all of us.

This feature was just added, so please help me a little to add some new terms into one of existing categories.
If you can't fit your term into any existing category, please contact me and I will add a new one.


----------



## Jo Ellen (Feb 25, 2007)

Cool! I just added one ... cruciate ligament. It probably should go under something like dog anatomy though, do you think?


----------

