Emily has such a cute little nose! ;-)

[Shelteez2]

Okay, I've admitted it before, but I am a copy cat. I like looking at everybody's close ups, and well I was bored so......I decide to take some close ups of Em. They aren't too great since I took them indoors and had to use the flash, but you can still see what cute nose she has

[K9soul]

Awww, she does have a cute little nose!

[Moose]

Cute pics

[RobiLee]

Indeed she does. That is one cute nose!

Robin

[Twisterdog]

Cute nose!


Ok, maybe I'm blind ... but, does Emily not have whiskers?

[K9soul]

Is Emily shown? I know when we were showing my collie and the breeder was showing us how to groom him for the ring, she cut his whiskers... I didn't really care for that because I love doggy whiskers, but apparently they all did that.

I don't know how true it is as I don't remember the source but I read later if whiskers are continually cut they grow back thinner/finer and the dog loses some of their sensory acuity.

[Shelteez2]

Originally posted by Twisterdog
Cute nose!


Ok, maybe I'm blind ... but, does Emily not have whiskers?

Nah you're not blind. I cut them off

[Shelteez2]

Originally posted by K9soul
Is Emily shown? .......... I didn't really care for that because I love doggy whiskers, but apparently they all did that.

No she's not shown in conformation.
I just like the look of a nice clean nose

Originally posted by K9soul
I don't know how true it is as I don't remember the source but I read later if whiskers are continually cut they grow back thinner/finer and the dog loses some of their sensory acuity. [/B]

Maybe that's why Em's been bumping into walls! (Just kidding)
I'd have to think, that if that were true, there would be a whole lot of poodles with a loss of sensory acuity.

[Twisterdog]

Originally posted by Shelteez2
Nah you're not blind. I cut them off

You are such a weirdo! Why, pray tell, did you do that?

I don't know how true it is as I don't remember the source but I read later if whiskers are continually cut they grow back thinner/finer and the dog loses some of their sensory acuity. [/B]

It's not true at all. Some breeds have their whiskers shaved off every couple of months, for their entire lives ... and still act like normal dogs.

[Shelteez2]

Originally posted by Twisterdog
You are such a weirdo! Why, pray tell, did you do that?

Because it accentuates her nice cute nose!!! Duh! LOL

And because I was bored.........LOL

[Twisterdog]

And because I was bored

You frighten me. I hope you don't get bored at my house! LOL

[Shelteez2]

Originally posted by Twisterdog
You frighten me. I hope you don't get bored at my house! LOL

Mwaahahahahahaha!!!!!

*pictures tons of terriers running around bumping into walls....* LOL

[K9soul]

Well I never thought it was as drastic as bumping into walls. I didn't say I read they go blind

It wouldn't be something we could notice I wouldn't think, and again I said I wasn't sure of the truth of it

Either way, personally I love doggy whiskers

[K9soul]

I got more curious about this and did some more research. I had limited time since I need to get to work soon but I did find a few things about whiskers and their function. From various sites, I found that whiskers serve a much more important function in cats, and wild canids as well. They are indeed a sensory hair, similar and compared to an antennae. I doubt in a domestic dog there would be any real noticeable difference in a dog with or without whiskers, but there IS a difference to them. I don't want to get into quoting a bunch of places and certainly I'm not arguing to cut or not to cut whiskers. My main point here is that they are a sensory organ, and I did my research out of curiosity and wanting to know accurately what their purpose is.

This is from the Singapore Science Centre (www.science.edu.sg):

Dogs also have long, stiff whiskers about the muzzle. The whiskers are also highly sensitive touch organs. A dog's whiskers may sense the wind direction and so help the dog determine the direction from which an odour is coming. These whiskers occur in clusters and serve as sensory structures - anything brushing against these whiskers stimulates the dog to close his eyes, pull away, turn his head, paw his face, or shake his head. Some exhibitors trim the whiskers of their show dogs to give the dog's head and face a smooth look. More importantly, it gives the judge a nice smooth feel in the ring. But such trimming may limit the dog's response to his environment and detracts from the natural appearance of the pet.

There was much more extensive information on how whiskers serve cats, and wild canids.

So no, trimming the whiskers on a dog wouldn't cause bumping into walls or any other dramatic difference like that. I'm guessing that their function has probably decreased in domestic dogs through the thousands of years of domestication, when a dog does not need every sense on alert in order to fill its belly.

[Dogz]

Originally posted by Shelteez2
Okay, I've admitted it before, but I am a copy cat.

Aren't we all? I love taking closeups, and KayAnn was the one that really inspired me.

Emily does have a cute nose! Thanks for sharing the pictures, and it's ok to 'copy cat'-- as long as we get to see the pictures!