Mustaches, A Must-have Dog Tool

More or less abundant, shorter or longer, mustaches are a detail that usually add grace and personality to the face of dogs. But, in addition to this aesthetic issue, they are there to fulfill an important function. Let’s tell you what she is.

The importance of not mutilating pets for aesthetic reasons

It is always important to have information about the physical and behavioral characteristics of our pets.

In this way, in addition to understanding them better, we will avoid making serious mistakes for fashion reasons or because we assume that, in this way, he will look prettier.

We refer to the mutilation of tails and ears, removal of claws and also the trimming of whiskers.

So, if you’re taking your dog to the hairdresser, or if you’re doing a stylist, please understand that his dog’s whiskers shouldn’t be cut.

Why mustaches are critical for dogs

But what is the importance of mustaches in dogs? So, these hairs are thicker than most of their coat, fulfilling a function similar to the pulp of our fingers.

Although a dog’s sense of touch depends on skin receptors that are spread throughout his body, most of them are at the base of the hair follicles.

And, consequently, some of the fur of our four-legged friends is specially gifted to transmit tactile information to  their brains . They are called by the tactiles, among them, there are those found in mustaches. But, it’s not just them. They are divided into five groups:

• Supraciliary (above the eyebrows)
• from the chin
• Zygomatic (cheek area, cheekbones)

• Lip
• mandibular

Tactile hair, an essential tool for pets

So, these tactile hairs – also called vibrissae – are essential to provide animals with different types of information. But how do they do it?

Any movement of these hairs, no matter how light, is amplified. Thus, it becomes a stimulus for the large number of nerve endings that surround the follicles.

In this way, when the animal rubs an object with one of these hairs, its brain has, at the same time, information about the proximity and shape of this element.

More information on dogs’ mustaches and other tactile hair

Therefore, the vibrissae act as a complement to the sense of sight, when the animal has vision difficulties or finds itself in places with poor light.

In this way, they allow dogs to measure spaces and, for example, determine if they are in a narrow place, without the need to use their eyesight. And they also help to protect the eyes. Like? Making pets blink when their whiskers come in contact with an object.

And while there’s no rule for how much hair dogs have on their whiskers – more or less and size has to do with breed and genetics – our canine friends depend on them to move in the dark without falling over. things ahead, as with people.

Remember that you must not cut your pet’s whiskers

At this point, there is no longer any doubt that the whiskers and other hard hairs on the animals’ faces are essential for them to orient themselves and perceive what is around them.

So, you already know why you should never cut them. Remember this. And don’t try to use scissors to cut them, although sometimes your pet, from a human point of view, looks unkempt. You must learn to appreciate the beauty of  it, with the vibrissae included in it.

If you think about it, most mammals that have whiskers use them as sensory organs. Without going any further on this subject, for cats they are also a more than essential tool. The fact that we don’t have these mustaches doesn’t mean that we can’t appreciate and understand their importance in the animals that have them.