Grooming a Dog's Whiskers

Dogs have long whiskers on their chins, both sides of thier upper lip and on their foreheads. These long whiskers are called vibrissae, and they are three times as deep and twice as thick as ordinary dog hairs. Grooming a dog's whiskers is a delicate practice, and the groomer should be educated thoroughly on proper procedure before attempting to complete this task.

  1. Purpose of Whiskers

    • According to the Pet Place website, dog whiskers, "have an endothelium-lined blood sinus between the inner and outer layers of the dermal portion of the follicle with a rich nerve supply." These super-sensitive whiskers help dogs sense vibrations in air currents, which enables them to sense the proximity and size of nearby objects, and to blink when debris is approaching the facial region.

    Reason to Groom Whiskers

    • The only logical reason for grooming a dog's whiskers is to enter it into a dog show. A dog's ability to navigate his environment safely will be diminished greatly until its whiskers regrow, so you will need to carefully supervise your dog until that happens. In the dog show ring, judges like the look and feel of a dog with a smooth, whisker-free face.

    Grooming Tool

    • Blunt-ended, round-edged scissors are required for grooming a dog's whiskers. Using these scissors ensures that you do not accidentally cut the dog while clipping whiskers very close to its skin. The rounded edges of the scissors keep the sharpest parts of the blades away from direct contact with the dog's skin, and the blunt ends of the scissors ensure that you do not accidentally stab your dog if he moves suddenly.

    Grooming Procedure

    • Muzzle the dog to control movement of the head, for the dog's own safety. Stand in front of the dog and hold the muzzle firmly with one hand. Use the other hand to gently pull the whiskers you wish to trim toward you. Then, use the round edge scissors to clip each whisker individually. Be sure to clip each whisker shorter than its surrounding facial hair, very close to the skin.