6 Surprising Facts about a Dog's Cowlicks

By Linda Cole

Does Your Dog Have a Cowlick?

Most of us have dealt with a stubborn lock of hair that can't be combed flat no matter what. But did you know that dogs also have cowlicks? These small patches of hair grow in a spiral or circular pattern in a different direction from the rest of the hair. Interestingly, the direction a cowlick grows can even tell you something about your furry friend's behavior and personality.

There Are Two Types of Cowlicks

Cowlicks are also called hair whorls or hair swirls, and appear in two different ways — simple or tufted.

Simple cowlicks: Hairs stem from one central point and part to form a flat, swirling pattern
Tufted swirls: Hairs merge from various directions to one central point, forming a tuft at the base

Tufted swirls aren't as common on dogs as simple ones. Cowlicks on a dog's elbow are good examples of tufted hair swirls.

Cowlicks Can Grow in Two Directions

Some cowlicks are easier to see on short-coated dogs, but on dogs with longer coats you can still feel where the hair grows in the opposite direction. A hair swirl can grow clockwise or counterclockwise. Hair swirls on the right side of a dog's body usually grow clockwise, and those on the left side generally grow counterclockwise.

Where Do Cowlicks Grow?

You can find cowlicks in 10 different areas on your dog's body. The most common locations are:

Chest — usually found in the middle
Front legs — on the upper part of the leg
Elbows — close to the bony part of the elbow on the back of the front legs
Rump — two cowlicks on each side, near the rectum

Some dogs also have hair swirls on the side of the face, side of the neck, and in the abdominal region, though these are considered uncommon.

Cowlicks Can Give You Clues About Personality

The direction of a dog's cowlick and where it sits on the body correlates with paw preference, and can even offer insight into personality and behavior. Scientists have been studying animals for decades to determine if they have a left or right paw or hoof preference.

Left-pawed animals tend to be more cautious and fearful
Right-pawed animals tend to be more inquisitive and bold

Research on cattle found that the direction and location of hair whorls indicated whether they were cautious or inquisitive. For hundreds of years, people training horses have evaluated the hair whorls on the forehead to understand how a horse would react.

A 2009 study on canine trainees entering guide dog school found that right-pawed dogs with a counterclockwise hair swirl on their chest were twice as likely to graduate than their left-pawed counterparts with a clockwise swirl.

One Dog Breed Has a Special Cowlick

The Rhodesian Ridgeback — a native of southern Africa bred to track lions and hold them at bay until hunters arrived — has the most distinguishing cowlick of any breed: a striking ridge of hair growing in the opposite direction along the back.

According to the American Kennel Club standard, the ridge should have two identical whorls (crowns) opposite each other, and those whorls must not extend further down the ridge than one third of its length. The ridge and crowns are so important that a dog without the ridge is disqualified in the show ring, and having just one whorl or more than two is considered a serious fault.

Your Dog Might Have a Zipper Nose

Some dogs have a thin line of hair growing in a different direction on the bridge of the nose — also a cowlick, sometimes called a zipper nose.

If you want to find out if your pooch has a paw preference, grab some CANIDAE treats to reward him as you do the simple tests in our article, How to Tell If Your Pet Is Right Pawed or Left Pawed, then find your dog's cowlicks to see which direction they grow.