Don't know if this is a daft question or not but is it normal for the whiskers to break? When we first got Rocky we thought that they had been cut! On closer inspection on a couple that were still long it appears that they have just snapped at the base where they are slightly thicker. They're down to about 1cm long now and whenever they start to grow slightly they snap again. I just didn't know whether this was normal or not or if there was anything we could do to help them grow i.e. is it a deficiency that stops them growing/makes them brittle like nails in humans? thanks in advance and sorry again if this is a silly question. We're still new to Labs!
Re: Whiskers! An interesting question. Sorry I have no idea. Can't say I have noticed this happening on Lilly. Hmmmm.....
Re: Whiskers! Very interesting question Hollie. I remember when we had our first health check of our pup, a few days after being brought home, the vet commented on the absence of whiskers, actually the vet thought the breeders must've cut them and wondered why? He has whiskers now (8 months old) but they are a bit random! Some short and a few long ones.
Re: Whiskers! Well I'd say yes it's normal but maybe somebody else has had more experience. My labs have certainly had broken whiskers. All the sniffing these Labradors love to do damages the whiskers. I was once told that if you have a lab who sniffs a lot it damages the hair follicles so they get a grey beard younger. Not sure how true that is but scout has got some speckles of grey on his chin and muzzle and he's three. My old lab started going grey at three a well both avid sniffers. Scott however doesn't seem to have any yet. When Scott and scout were little pups they had really thick whiskers. They are now finer. My old lab was always sniffing and sticking his nose in and had short whiskers.
Re: Whiskers! Hmmm the sniffing about could definitely explain it! He's constantly got his nose the ground on walks, scouting for something tasty! It doesn't seem to affect him at all - it just affects those puppy cuddles when they poke through your clothes haha!
Re: Whiskers! [quote author=hollie link=topic=6462.msg85969#msg85969 date=1402146399] Don't know if this is a daft question or not but is it normal for the whiskers to break? [/quote] No, I don't think it's usual for them just to break - I think whiskers are really important things for pups, helps them detect all sorts of things. Charlie singed some of his finding out the wood burner couldn't be chewed, but no other damage, so I guess they did their job! Grew back fine though.
Re: Whiskers! Ours looks look like this at 20 months... image by dexterpops02, on Flickr A fine set!i find a few round the house sometimes,they look complete...why on earth would you cut them ? That made me lookup what they are for....I found this http://www.psychologytoday.com/blog/canine-corner/201109/why-do-dogs-have-whiskers
Re: Whiskers! I tried to take a picture but black whisker on a black pup made it pretty hard! Hopefully they'll grow back I don't understand why anyone would purposely cut them off either seeing as they do provide quite an important function :-\
Re: Whiskers! I agree with Julie that they shouldn't just break so if for example they easily break if touched that's not normal. If he gets up to stuff that could damage them though than they will break like all hair but because they are thicker and deeper rooted they can stand rougher treatment.
Re: Whiskers! It does make sense though that it could happen if he's got his nose to the ground when we're out. It's like he's burrowing sometimes! I just wondered if there was something that was making them brittle or domething. You know like when a person has brittle nails? I'm going to keep an eye on it and hopefully they'll grow longer!
