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DOGGY BLOGGY

DOGGY BLOGGY Grass Seed Danger

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By Adrian Deasley

Grass seeds, or awns are a real danger to your pooch.

How much do you know about grass seeds? I didn’t know much myself, oh I’d heard that they could be a danger but until I looked into it I had no idea how dangerous they could be. I thought I’d put up some info here just in case any of you out there aren’t aware.

The picture up there is what they look like, as a kid I would throw them at my friends so that they would stick to their clothes. Harmless fun but grass awns can actually be inhaled, swallowed or even penetrate your dogs skin. If they do find their way under the skin they can cause painful abscesses that will need regular drainage of fluids.

Finding Grass Seeds on your dog.

One of the issues is that they can be hard to find. Obviously this is even more difficult with a long haired hound. If you find one remove it as quickly as possible. If you don’t see any but you can see that your dog is in discomfort or pain then you may have to call your vet. Depending on where the seed is the symptoms can vary:

  1. Hair: No infections or abscesses, matted hair only

  2. Ear canal: The dog shakes the head, scratches or rubs the ears, holds his head at a slightly tilted angle

  3. Between the eye/eyelid: The eyes of the dog get inflamed, sometimes including discharge or tears

  4. Nose: The dog sneezes, paws at the nose, and experiences nasal discharge

  5. Gums, Tongue, Mouth: If swallowed, grass awns may stick to the back of the throat near the tonsils and cause inflammation and swelling.

  6. Lungs and Other Organs (inhalation or migration): The dog shows signs of serious sickness, which can result in short breath and vomit episodes.

The best thing you can do is to try and prevent the situation altogether. It is probably impossible to prevent your dog from coming into contact with grass awns at some point but there are a few things you can do to minimise risk.

Grooming your dog immediately after a walk and removing any seeds on his or her coat is good practise. You should take particular care when inspecting your dogs toes, ears and shoulders.

Clipping the fur between your dogs toes and paw pads can make it easier to spot grass awns. Do take double care whenever you see them running through long grass or obviously seeding grass.

I’d like to thank tractive.com for the original article posted last year: https://tractive.com/blog/en/safety/grass-awns-can-be-deadly-dangerous-for-your-dog-2

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