Are Dog Whiskers With Split Ends a Problem?

Dog whiskers are more than a just a cute characteristic on your dog's face. Whiskers are a part of your dog's navigational system, allowing him to sense things in his surroundings. Whiskers take a lot of abuse, so they often get damaged. If your dog has whiskers with split ends it is not typically a sign of a problem unless there are other, more serious symptoms present.

Anatomy of a Whisker

Whiskers on a dog are thicker, specialized hairs located on your dog's face. Their structure is the same as normal hair except that the roots of the hair are deeper and have nerves at the root. This structure allows the whiskers to act as sensory receptors.

Damaged Whiskers

A dog uses his whiskers to sense things and move among his surroundings where whiskers can be split or damaged. Just as with the hair on the rest of his body, your dog will occasionally shed his whiskers and new whiskers will grow in to take their place. Split and damaged whiskers should become a concern only when there are other symptoms such as significant hair loss or skin problems.

Split whiskers are a common occurrence among dogs. While the split end can be carefully trimmed off, the simplest thing to do is allow the whisker to be shed and replaced.