I show my Rough Collie. Whiskers grow back incredibly fast. Dogs are very different than cats (cats rely strongly on their whiskers. Dogs do not). He will be just fine. Just ask literally any poodle owner (the clean muzzle they have nearly always involves shaving off the whiskers). I was also torn up about it the first time I had to trim his whiskers. Now it doesn't bother me at all.
Have poodle, can confirm. I also felt bad about it. But I did my homework, and consensus is as above. They're not cats. Their whiskers are mostly vestigial. Trimming my girls doesn't seem to effect her at all.
In Germany and Austria (and possibly other European countries), it's forbidden to cut them under the latest animal protection act. They argue that, since they *can* be used as sensory organs, cutting them is akin to 'temporary amputation'.
Sounds like complete bullshit to me, but just another perspective I guess. Btw, the whiskers talked about in that law include the ones above their eyes, which could be argued to serve a non trivial purpose, especially with working dogs. But OP is talking about just the whiskers around the snout, which I agree aren't really a big deal for the dog.
The whole “cats rely on their whiskers to the point of trimming them is abuse” is kinda a myth. Long hair cats have much longer whiskers, this does not make them any more sensitive than shorthair cats with shorter whiskers. Some breeds have either no whiskers or just stubby whiskers. This also has zero effect on their ability to do anything a cat with “normal” whiskers can do.
I have a foster kitten who has had nubby weird whiskers since he was born and they're starting to look normal at 9 weeks, can confidently say he's doing exactly the same if not better than his siblings as far as senses go 😂
Don't trim if you don't want to. If it's prevalent in your breed, it may make it harder to finish.
I trim my breed. It doesn't appear to affect them in any substantial way, literally every single dog at a specialty from puppy classes to veterans has trimmed whiskers. Mine is more annoyed when I trim the lip line than the whiskers.
I like how the “breed standard” is something that has to be artificially implemented. Your dog must have trimmed whiskers or he’s not X breed, even though the breed is born with the fucking whiskers. It strikes me as contradictory and ridiculous.
I do not know a single breed that lists trimmed whiskers as standard. I'm not quite sure you know what a standard is?
It feels like you are more interested in grand standing, but I can film a clip of the complete non-reaction to whisker trimming if you're open to learning. It's a grooming preference, not a part of a written standard.
The OP and several commenters said that they HAVE to trim their dog’s whiskers for a showing.
I’m not grandstanding about anything. Whiskers have no nerves in them, so trim them if you like, that’s not the point. The point is that it seems silly to require certain procedures for showing a specific breed when the breed isn’t that way naturally. “Look at my perfect specimen of a . I artificially altered his appearance so he looks less like he did before—the way he was born as a member of —and now he looks more like a *should* look.” Shouldn’t they look… the way they are? Without modification?
If you feel so bad about it, then don't cut them. Take shit from the judges, don't place or don't finish. WHO CARES, BESIDES YOU? At the end if the day, will you feel batter about not finishing or shaving the whiskers?
trimming whiskers is not animal abuse at all. my dog gets her whiskers shaved every few months at her regular grooming. not a show dog, but i have her with small whiskers all the time. it doesnt harm the dog, they will fine. dogs dont use whiskers like cats do.
as long as its just trimming them, not plucking them. plucking them could be considered abuse, but just trimming the whiskers is absolutely fine, they grow back. my dog's whiskers grow back faster than her fur.
They are sensitive and are packed with nerves. whilst a dog can live without , many vets advice against it. Dogs also use their whiskers to communicate and cutting them can lead to stress or anxiety in dogs. I don't see any value in causing even mild discomfort to a dog over asthetics. It's wild to me that any person would see that as ok. To me that's Akin to giving a dog a tattoo . Why would u. They are considered as a part of the sensory organs , cutting them would make it an amputation because of this specification. It's actually prohibited in many countries and lawfully considered a form of abuse.
The whisker itself doesn’t have a nerve in it. The skin has nerves and the wirey hair that is the whisker communicates to the skin when it gets bumped. In no way is it animal abuse, it literally causes 0 pain
Prong collars and e collars are prohibited in some countries too. But many here will confirm that it is not abuse.
Trimming whiskers isn’t permanent like a tattoo so it’s not really comparable. And even then, many dogs do have tattoos from being spayed/neutered or as identification
i agree. those collars are tools, they *can* be used incorrectly and hurt a dog, but they can also be very helpful if you know how to use them.
the tattoo thing i agree with as well. and with stray cats, they will get their ear docked to show that they are fixed. those are permanent things that arent abuse. whiskers grow back, as i said, faster than fur. calling it abuse to trim them is ridiculous
some dogs *need* their faces shaved. or else her fur would grow on and on, and get too long, inevitably collecting bacterias, inevitably getting very tangled and hurting her by trying to brush it out, inevitably will grow into her mouth and she gets stuck in a loop of licking her lips, trying to get the overgrown fur out of her mouth. my dog lives a happy life, unaffected by her lack of long whiskers. i dont see it as abuse. i see it can caring enough for her to not want her to struggle when long facial fur.
Trimming a face without trimming whiskers would be like cutting every other hair on your head individually. I'd refuse to put a dog through that kind of torture knowing cutting them causes no pain or discomfort lol
They may not use them exactly the same way cats do but dog whiskers are innervated.
It’s common to shave them off but that doesn’t mean they suddenly don’t have nerves when that happens.
It's okay to trim the whiskers at show time. They grow back fast and fine. The dog will be okay with it. Now, you don't do this with cats. But, with dogs, it's fine.
Well. I guess I'm gonna have to Google. Please hold.
Update: the *base* or follicles in the face have a bunch of nerves. The whiskers (wires that we see) don't, so there is no painful sensation.
What is felt, I think, is *in* their face when the whisker is touched. Their whiskers are meant like trip wire with bells on it, to tell the dog about air changes or something touching them.
And so far it seems like there isn't any scientific consensus or proof what the whiskers are actually for. That's all just what people think, I guess.
So, my nail or eye lash don't hurt when cut. But my finger or eye lid knows the nail/lash is being touched. If I *ripped* them out of my body, it would damage the nerves there. Which would hurt.
Whiskers are made of keratin. The exact same thing your nails and hairs are made of. Does it hurt you to trim your hairs and nails? It doesn't because there's no nerves in them. You're spreading wrong information like anikom said.
Does he play with other dogs? Whiskers give distance and motion perception to up close jaw play. Up close visual depth perception is poor for dolichocephalic (long muzzle) and mesocephalic (medium muzzle) breeds, whiskers and fur help pick up the sensory gap. But trimming whiskers makes them appear clean cut. 🤷♀️
I'm a purist, so I dislike removing dog communication tools, like ears, tails, whiskers.
Example: when you're near your dog, touch a tip of their fur on their hindquarters without touching skin. Do they know it? You'll find they do. Removing whiskers may impair bite inhibition because they can't judge what is where during jaw play. Mistakes may cause issues.
Don't trim but do enter. It's one thing to teach a dog obedience and skill as a team together. But removing a part of the dog's sensory organs for aesthetics is a step too far - especially if it makes you uncomfortable.
Frankly the whole showring is sort of...wrong in a way? That we're competing against societal expectations that *we've* put on dogs. Same goes for child beauty pagents - but without the decades of trauma attached to the tail-end.
Yeah i just spoke to my mentor and he laughed his ass off, then he called his wife and she laughed her ass off and then he said not to trim if i'm not ok with it.
In the horse world it is now forbidden to shave the whiskers. It took years and years for them to finally ban it. Just because an animal *can* live without them doesn’t mean they *should*. They are very important for sensory input.
IMO far too many people just go along with what standards ring judges award. Doesn’t mean it’s correct!
Plus, you can be a force for change by not succumbing to these expectations of you. But only if you stand up against it and enter. Glad to hear that the horse pageant world has made some change.
I used to work in the horse business. I remember proofing marketing for an apparel launch that was shot in The Netherlands, I am in Canada. I immediately asked why the horse wasn’t trimmed. My horses have always had whiskers, ear hair etc removed. Holy hell did that make my Dutch counterparts furious! They were absolutely shocked that we still did that to our horses. Anyhow, I don’t do that anymore. I also don’t show anymore so I didn’t know it had changed.
I also used to clip my Dobes whiskers and any extra hair anywhere that interrupted their sharp lines (butt whorls, ears etc). I stopped doing that as well.
Yeah, don’t do it. It’s the entire show scene that’s wrong. Welcome to the world of purebred dog shows, where a closed community of hobbyists and their bizarre evolving breed conformation traits have given us the Frenchie, the bulldog, pugs who can’t breathe, slope-backed GSDs, and the inexplicable push of almost all large breeds to the heavy, round-skulled, excess skin folds, droopy eyed look I’m sure you’ve been noticing if you’re spending time in those circles.
Leave your dog’s whiskers alone. Even if it’s temporary, it’s totally unnecessary. And when you’re at the show, look around and see how many dogs from working breeds have an eerily similar look: drooping eyes, heavy faces, a thick build, skin puddling around their ankles. Check out the mastiffs, the bassets, Newfoundlands, clumber spaniels, even the show bred GSDs I see at the dog park are starting to have ectropion and heavy jowls. Look at the dogs who win prizes: do they look healthy, do they look like they can move well? Are a lot of dogs from very different breeds all starting to look spookily the same, in ways that seem like they might not be so comfortable for the animal?
The bulldoggification of medium to large show breeds is just one example of the warped “conformation” aesthetics in the dog show world. Clipping your shepherd’s whiskers is another one. Show is a fun hobby that can bond you and your dog, but at some point you have to look around and ask yourself: are these really the aesthetic and ethical values you want to accept for yourself and your animals? I checked your post history and saw photos of your shepherd, he’s fluffy and beautiful. Do you really trust the people who created the contemporary Neapolitan Mastiff or Basset to make the call about what looks better or “smoother” ie what tissue structures you should or shouldn’t cut off of his face?
Even without genetics, man. I saw a dobie with the floppy ears and full curly question mark tail for the first time a couple months ago, what’s wrong with these people?
It's all the same community to me although I guess they would bristle at being lumped together. "It's just too much inbreeding" - yeah. why did that happen? because they were too selective.
I’m a dog groomer, trimming whiskers isn’t a big deal. It’s more of a thing in cats or horses, they’re more vestigial in dogs. We trim them off for clean faces all the time and I’ve never once noticed a difference in a dog with them vs without them (I am also a dog trainer so can recognize that sort of thing better than the average groomer). We’re even taught in grooming school not to worry too much about removing whiskers even if by accident - I’m certified via an internationally recognized grooming school.
Whiskers also grow back extremely quickly, even quicker than fur for some dogs. Totally okay if you don’t want to clip them and you’re okay with potentially not doing as well in the show ring but honestly I wouldn’t worry too much about it.
It’s not animal abuse as it doesn’t harm the dog to trim the whiskers. The nerve is not in the whisker it’s in the skin around it so it should be fine to cut. Is it stupid ? Yes. But will it harm your dog in any way ? No
Honestly the entire show ring scene is about money for the people running it. Breed standard is about money. That’s why the AKC has no problem perpetuating the breeding of dogs who are so physically malformed that they have an average lifespan of 4 years due to suffocating on their airways (frenchies). It’s the only dog you can spend thousands on, then have to spend thousands more on on an airway repair surgery just from the deformities resulting from breeding for money rather than function and caring about dogs. The AKC and other show and conformation competitions truly are mostly comprised of dog owners who see dogs as accessories and trophies in my experience, which is why they normalize the harmful practices required by the competition ring. You are right to not want to hurt your dog by cutting their whiskers that have literal nerve endings in them. Thank you for putting your dog first ❤️
This; i'm seriously waiting for someone to... idek sue them for animal abuse/destruction of healthy animals etc?
Idk why this popped in my feed but i have never understood why trimming a dog whiskers was not treated the same as handicapping a cat the same way
You don’t sue for a crime. You sue to be compensated for a loss.
Animal abuse is a crime. However, you will never get anyone to charge the AKC with this crime. The AKC is a club. The club doesn’t breed or show dogs. They maintain records, create the rules for dog events, and help enforce those rules. The AKC doesn’t inspect breeders.
Breed standards are created by national breed clubs. Judges’ decisions over time serve to evolve how those rules are interpreted.
From what I understand, trimming whiskers is not painful as the nerve endings are in the follicle, not the actual hair. If you PLUCKED the whiskers, that'd be painful. Like clipping fingernails doesn't hurt but pulling the entire fingernail out absolutely would. I have a poodle and he gets his face shaved during grooms, which includes his whiskers. It does not hurt him. They grow back pretty quickly.
Sites describing it as "amputation" are being dramatic imo. Whiskers are useful but not essential. You can sense more information when you have longer fingernails, sure, but clipping them isn't the same as amputating your fingers. Having long hair means you sense when it touches something, but cutting it short doesn't really deprive you of anything. Would it be useful to have that extra sensory input? Yes. Are you fine without it? Also yes. That being said, cutting a dog's whiskers for no reason would be dumb.
If that's your only hangup about showing your dog, I'd just cut them. No use in jumping through all the hoops to show them just to do something that will put you at a disadvantage. If you don't want to cut them, maybe focus on something other than shows. The AKC doesn't necessarily care if dogs are healthy anyway, considering the standards for brachycephalic dogs like pugs.
If you're still concerned, I'd talk to your vet. They're more qualified to have an opinion on this than a bunch of randoms on the internet.
Don't trim . It's an amputation as they are apart of the sensory organs . There's no value in it beyond getting the medal. I would still enter the competition but make a big point of not trimming them. It's against the law in Germany , Switzerland , austria, I expect France to do the same soon since the have done it for horses . In Sweden u would likely be penalized for trimming them in show. It's a fucking stupid trend that needs to stop. Many vets advice against it .
Many breeds have their faces shaved - poodles , pwd, cockers and so so many get them trimmed - like every single dog with a beard. It's been that way since the breeds were created and there's no pain associated with it . Poodles are the original hunting / retrieving dogs and they can still do their jobs just fine.
Breed standards however for grooming do varey . And yes vets do disagree on if it's ok or not . Just basic bs of the world is there is no 100% who agree, even that 1 out of 10 dentists disagrees. But I gotta say , if countries in Europe make it illegal , it's at the very least a Worthy thing to look at from a new perspective
I show my Rough Collie. Whiskers grow back incredibly fast. Dogs are very different than cats (cats rely strongly on their whiskers. Dogs do not). He will be just fine. Just ask literally any poodle owner (the clean muzzle they have nearly always involves shaving off the whiskers). I was also torn up about it the first time I had to trim his whiskers. Now it doesn't bother me at all.
Have poodle, can confirm. I also felt bad about it. But I did my homework, and consensus is as above. They're not cats. Their whiskers are mostly vestigial. Trimming my girls doesn't seem to effect her at all.
In Germany and Austria (and possibly other European countries), it's forbidden to cut them under the latest animal protection act. They argue that, since they *can* be used as sensory organs, cutting them is akin to 'temporary amputation'. Sounds like complete bullshit to me, but just another perspective I guess. Btw, the whiskers talked about in that law include the ones above their eyes, which could be argued to serve a non trivial purpose, especially with working dogs. But OP is talking about just the whiskers around the snout, which I agree aren't really a big deal for the dog.
It is BS, and Europe is in the middle of losing their minds in regard to animals. Because, you know, they have nothing else to be concerned about.
I don't disagree
Also have poodle, can also confirm.
The whole “cats rely on their whiskers to the point of trimming them is abuse” is kinda a myth. Long hair cats have much longer whiskers, this does not make them any more sensitive than shorthair cats with shorter whiskers. Some breeds have either no whiskers or just stubby whiskers. This also has zero effect on their ability to do anything a cat with “normal” whiskers can do.
I have a foster kitten who has had nubby weird whiskers since he was born and they're starting to look normal at 9 weeks, can confidently say he's doing exactly the same if not better than his siblings as far as senses go 😂
Too cute! And kittens often have their whiskers chewed off by mom cat. Or possibly siblings. Or both.
Don't trim if you don't want to. If it's prevalent in your breed, it may make it harder to finish. I trim my breed. It doesn't appear to affect them in any substantial way, literally every single dog at a specialty from puppy classes to veterans has trimmed whiskers. Mine is more annoyed when I trim the lip line than the whiskers.
I like how the “breed standard” is something that has to be artificially implemented. Your dog must have trimmed whiskers or he’s not X breed, even though the breed is born with the fucking whiskers. It strikes me as contradictory and ridiculous.
I do not know a single breed that lists trimmed whiskers as standard. I'm not quite sure you know what a standard is? It feels like you are more interested in grand standing, but I can film a clip of the complete non-reaction to whisker trimming if you're open to learning. It's a grooming preference, not a part of a written standard.
The OP and several commenters said that they HAVE to trim their dog’s whiskers for a showing. I’m not grandstanding about anything. Whiskers have no nerves in them, so trim them if you like, that’s not the point. The point is that it seems silly to require certain procedures for showing a specific breed when the breed isn’t that way naturally. “Look at my perfect specimen of a. I artificially altered his appearance so he looks less like he did before—the way he was born as a member of —and now he looks more like a *should* look.” Shouldn’t they look… the way they are? Without modification?
I fucking hate that the groomer has as much (or more) weight than the handler when showing the dog.
If you feel so bad about it, then don't cut them. Take shit from the judges, don't place or don't finish. WHO CARES, BESIDES YOU? At the end if the day, will you feel batter about not finishing or shaving the whiskers?
trimming whiskers is not animal abuse at all. my dog gets her whiskers shaved every few months at her regular grooming. not a show dog, but i have her with small whiskers all the time. it doesnt harm the dog, they will fine. dogs dont use whiskers like cats do. as long as its just trimming them, not plucking them. plucking them could be considered abuse, but just trimming the whiskers is absolutely fine, they grow back. my dog's whiskers grow back faster than her fur.
They are sensitive and are packed with nerves. whilst a dog can live without , many vets advice against it. Dogs also use their whiskers to communicate and cutting them can lead to stress or anxiety in dogs. I don't see any value in causing even mild discomfort to a dog over asthetics. It's wild to me that any person would see that as ok. To me that's Akin to giving a dog a tattoo . Why would u. They are considered as a part of the sensory organs , cutting them would make it an amputation because of this specification. It's actually prohibited in many countries and lawfully considered a form of abuse.
The whisker itself doesn’t have a nerve in it. The skin has nerves and the wirey hair that is the whisker communicates to the skin when it gets bumped. In no way is it animal abuse, it literally causes 0 pain
Prong collars and e collars are prohibited in some countries too. But many here will confirm that it is not abuse. Trimming whiskers isn’t permanent like a tattoo so it’s not really comparable. And even then, many dogs do have tattoos from being spayed/neutered or as identification
i agree. those collars are tools, they *can* be used incorrectly and hurt a dog, but they can also be very helpful if you know how to use them. the tattoo thing i agree with as well. and with stray cats, they will get their ear docked to show that they are fixed. those are permanent things that arent abuse. whiskers grow back, as i said, faster than fur. calling it abuse to trim them is ridiculous
some dogs *need* their faces shaved. or else her fur would grow on and on, and get too long, inevitably collecting bacterias, inevitably getting very tangled and hurting her by trying to brush it out, inevitably will grow into her mouth and she gets stuck in a loop of licking her lips, trying to get the overgrown fur out of her mouth. my dog lives a happy life, unaffected by her lack of long whiskers. i dont see it as abuse. i see it can caring enough for her to not want her to struggle when long facial fur.
So it's not possible without trimming the whiskers or , it's too much of task to attempt.
Trimming a face without trimming whiskers would be like cutting every other hair on your head individually. I'd refuse to put a dog through that kind of torture knowing cutting them causes no pain or discomfort lol
my groomer only gets paid $60 per groom. and they already take 2 hours. i wont ask them to do anything more than a simple groom.
They may not use them exactly the same way cats do but dog whiskers are innervated. It’s common to shave them off but that doesn’t mean they suddenly don’t have nerves when that happens.
They don’t have nerves. Only the root has nerves.
It's okay to trim the whiskers at show time. They grow back fast and fine. The dog will be okay with it. Now, you don't do this with cats. But, with dogs, it's fine.
I never did this to my working dog, he still finished.
My WSS is from serious show lines and never heard of such a thing. That’s insane. Are you in America?
No, i'm in Argentina! Also hes FCA/FCI not AKC
As a groomer, I shave whiskers all the time . Many breed standard cuts call for it . Definitely not abuse lol
What's with the whisker controversy? I didn't think it affected dogs.. mine pull there's out all the time. Is it breed specific?
Dog whiskers have nerves in them just like cats do. It’s a very common practice to shave them but they do feel.
The whisker doesn’t have a nerve in it, it’s the skin around the whisker. It’s basically just a very corse hair
They don’t have nerves in them you idiot. Stop spreading objectively wrong information.
It’s not wrong but if it makes you feel better to yell at strangers, go nuts.
Well. I guess I'm gonna have to Google. Please hold. Update: the *base* or follicles in the face have a bunch of nerves. The whiskers (wires that we see) don't, so there is no painful sensation. What is felt, I think, is *in* their face when the whisker is touched. Their whiskers are meant like trip wire with bells on it, to tell the dog about air changes or something touching them. And so far it seems like there isn't any scientific consensus or proof what the whiskers are actually for. That's all just what people think, I guess. So, my nail or eye lash don't hurt when cut. But my finger or eye lid knows the nail/lash is being touched. If I *ripped* them out of my body, it would damage the nerves there. Which would hurt.
Whiskers are made of keratin. The exact same thing your nails and hairs are made of. Does it hurt you to trim your hairs and nails? It doesn't because there's no nerves in them. You're spreading wrong information like anikom said.
It doesn’t harm the dog at all.
Does he play with other dogs? Whiskers give distance and motion perception to up close jaw play. Up close visual depth perception is poor for dolichocephalic (long muzzle) and mesocephalic (medium muzzle) breeds, whiskers and fur help pick up the sensory gap. But trimming whiskers makes them appear clean cut. 🤷♀️
Yes he plays with my GSD!
I'm a purist, so I dislike removing dog communication tools, like ears, tails, whiskers. Example: when you're near your dog, touch a tip of their fur on their hindquarters without touching skin. Do they know it? You'll find they do. Removing whiskers may impair bite inhibition because they can't judge what is where during jaw play. Mistakes may cause issues.
Don't trim but do enter. It's one thing to teach a dog obedience and skill as a team together. But removing a part of the dog's sensory organs for aesthetics is a step too far - especially if it makes you uncomfortable. Frankly the whole showring is sort of...wrong in a way? That we're competing against societal expectations that *we've* put on dogs. Same goes for child beauty pagents - but without the decades of trauma attached to the tail-end.
Yeah i just spoke to my mentor and he laughed his ass off, then he called his wife and she laughed her ass off and then he said not to trim if i'm not ok with it.
In the horse world it is now forbidden to shave the whiskers. It took years and years for them to finally ban it. Just because an animal *can* live without them doesn’t mean they *should*. They are very important for sensory input. IMO far too many people just go along with what standards ring judges award. Doesn’t mean it’s correct!
Plus, you can be a force for change by not succumbing to these expectations of you. But only if you stand up against it and enter. Glad to hear that the horse pageant world has made some change.
I used to work in the horse business. I remember proofing marketing for an apparel launch that was shot in The Netherlands, I am in Canada. I immediately asked why the horse wasn’t trimmed. My horses have always had whiskers, ear hair etc removed. Holy hell did that make my Dutch counterparts furious! They were absolutely shocked that we still did that to our horses. Anyhow, I don’t do that anymore. I also don’t show anymore so I didn’t know it had changed. I also used to clip my Dobes whiskers and any extra hair anywhere that interrupted their sharp lines (butt whorls, ears etc). I stopped doing that as well.
Yeah, don’t do it. It’s the entire show scene that’s wrong. Welcome to the world of purebred dog shows, where a closed community of hobbyists and their bizarre evolving breed conformation traits have given us the Frenchie, the bulldog, pugs who can’t breathe, slope-backed GSDs, and the inexplicable push of almost all large breeds to the heavy, round-skulled, excess skin folds, droopy eyed look I’m sure you’ve been noticing if you’re spending time in those circles. Leave your dog’s whiskers alone. Even if it’s temporary, it’s totally unnecessary. And when you’re at the show, look around and see how many dogs from working breeds have an eerily similar look: drooping eyes, heavy faces, a thick build, skin puddling around their ankles. Check out the mastiffs, the bassets, Newfoundlands, clumber spaniels, even the show bred GSDs I see at the dog park are starting to have ectropion and heavy jowls. Look at the dogs who win prizes: do they look healthy, do they look like they can move well? Are a lot of dogs from very different breeds all starting to look spookily the same, in ways that seem like they might not be so comfortable for the animal? The bulldoggification of medium to large show breeds is just one example of the warped “conformation” aesthetics in the dog show world. Clipping your shepherd’s whiskers is another one. Show is a fun hobby that can bond you and your dog, but at some point you have to look around and ask yourself: are these really the aesthetic and ethical values you want to accept for yourself and your animals? I checked your post history and saw photos of your shepherd, he’s fluffy and beautiful. Do you really trust the people who created the contemporary Neapolitan Mastiff or Basset to make the call about what looks better or “smoother” ie what tissue structures you should or shouldn’t cut off of his face?
Don't forget the ruination that is doberman genetics as well. These people are collectively nuts.
Even without genetics, man. I saw a dobie with the floppy ears and full curly question mark tail for the first time a couple months ago, what’s wrong with these people?
Working line dobes are genetically ruined as well though, it's just too much inbreeding and how difficult it is to get rid of DCM
It's all the same community to me although I guess they would bristle at being lumped together. "It's just too much inbreeding" - yeah. why did that happen? because they were too selective.
I’m a dog groomer, trimming whiskers isn’t a big deal. It’s more of a thing in cats or horses, they’re more vestigial in dogs. We trim them off for clean faces all the time and I’ve never once noticed a difference in a dog with them vs without them (I am also a dog trainer so can recognize that sort of thing better than the average groomer). We’re even taught in grooming school not to worry too much about removing whiskers even if by accident - I’m certified via an internationally recognized grooming school. Whiskers also grow back extremely quickly, even quicker than fur for some dogs. Totally okay if you don’t want to clip them and you’re okay with potentially not doing as well in the show ring but honestly I wouldn’t worry too much about it.
It’s not animal abuse as it doesn’t harm the dog to trim the whiskers. The nerve is not in the whisker it’s in the skin around it so it should be fine to cut. Is it stupid ? Yes. But will it harm your dog in any way ? No
Not don’t trim, loose the points. It is not right and u know it so do good by your dog.
+1
fuck the shows and the fucking gatekeepers enjoy life with your dog.
It's not animal abuse, it's just stupid
Honestly the entire show ring scene is about money for the people running it. Breed standard is about money. That’s why the AKC has no problem perpetuating the breeding of dogs who are so physically malformed that they have an average lifespan of 4 years due to suffocating on their airways (frenchies). It’s the only dog you can spend thousands on, then have to spend thousands more on on an airway repair surgery just from the deformities resulting from breeding for money rather than function and caring about dogs. The AKC and other show and conformation competitions truly are mostly comprised of dog owners who see dogs as accessories and trophies in my experience, which is why they normalize the harmful practices required by the competition ring. You are right to not want to hurt your dog by cutting their whiskers that have literal nerve endings in them. Thank you for putting your dog first ❤️
This; i'm seriously waiting for someone to... idek sue them for animal abuse/destruction of healthy animals etc? Idk why this popped in my feed but i have never understood why trimming a dog whiskers was not treated the same as handicapping a cat the same way
You don’t sue for a crime. You sue to be compensated for a loss. Animal abuse is a crime. However, you will never get anyone to charge the AKC with this crime. The AKC is a club. The club doesn’t breed or show dogs. They maintain records, create the rules for dog events, and help enforce those rules. The AKC doesn’t inspect breeders. Breed standards are created by national breed clubs. Judges’ decisions over time serve to evolve how those rules are interpreted.
Who cares about stupid shows, let your dog live a normal life. Shows are pointless and only for the owner
From what I understand, trimming whiskers is not painful as the nerve endings are in the follicle, not the actual hair. If you PLUCKED the whiskers, that'd be painful. Like clipping fingernails doesn't hurt but pulling the entire fingernail out absolutely would. I have a poodle and he gets his face shaved during grooms, which includes his whiskers. It does not hurt him. They grow back pretty quickly. Sites describing it as "amputation" are being dramatic imo. Whiskers are useful but not essential. You can sense more information when you have longer fingernails, sure, but clipping them isn't the same as amputating your fingers. Having long hair means you sense when it touches something, but cutting it short doesn't really deprive you of anything. Would it be useful to have that extra sensory input? Yes. Are you fine without it? Also yes. That being said, cutting a dog's whiskers for no reason would be dumb. If that's your only hangup about showing your dog, I'd just cut them. No use in jumping through all the hoops to show them just to do something that will put you at a disadvantage. If you don't want to cut them, maybe focus on something other than shows. The AKC doesn't necessarily care if dogs are healthy anyway, considering the standards for brachycephalic dogs like pugs. If you're still concerned, I'd talk to your vet. They're more qualified to have an opinion on this than a bunch of randoms on the internet.
Don't trim . It's an amputation as they are apart of the sensory organs . There's no value in it beyond getting the medal. I would still enter the competition but make a big point of not trimming them. It's against the law in Germany , Switzerland , austria, I expect France to do the same soon since the have done it for horses . In Sweden u would likely be penalized for trimming them in show. It's a fucking stupid trend that needs to stop. Many vets advice against it .
Many breeds have their faces shaved - poodles , pwd, cockers and so so many get them trimmed - like every single dog with a beard. It's been that way since the breeds were created and there's no pain associated with it . Poodles are the original hunting / retrieving dogs and they can still do their jobs just fine.
Not a single vet will tell you not to get your dog groomed to breed standard
Breed standards however for grooming do varey . And yes vets do disagree on if it's ok or not . Just basic bs of the world is there is no 100% who agree, even that 1 out of 10 dentists disagrees. But I gotta say , if countries in Europe make it illegal , it's at the very least a Worthy thing to look at from a new perspective