Grass Awn In Dogs

The seeds of the nasty foxtail grass seem to have a special affinity for invading dogs bodies.

Grass awn in dogs.

The problem with grass awns is that they are difficult to be located. However grass awns can also cause much more serious health problems when they enter through the mouth or nose of a dog and migrate through the respiratory or gastrointestinal tract. Grass awns are deadly dangerous for your dog. But if the seeds have penetrated the skin or have been inhaled or ingested usually pain inflammation and swelling will result.

Whether you call them awns mean seeds timothy foxtails cheat grass june grass downy brome or any other number of colloquial names to dogs they generally mean one thing and that s trouble. The signs associated with grass seeds and awns depend upon the location of the grass seed. Once inside they start a relentless crawl forward traveling deeper into a dog. Each of these sites is a mere port of entry for these sturdy seeds.

Grass awns from weeds like cheatgrass and foxtail first become attached to a dog s coat while running or walking through these tall grasses. Grass awns can be inhaled swallowed and even penetrate the dog s skin. The height of many dogs lines up well with the location of the seed pods on the grasses and contact with the grass allows the sharp lightweight grass awns to stick to the dog. The most common presentation is a draining tract between the toes.

They get sniffed into dog noses work their way into dog ears and lodge between dog toes. The three most common hazards of foxtails to dogs are these. An awn is a hairy or bristle like appendage growing from the ear or flower of barley rye and many types of widely growing grasses.