Grass Awn Dog Ear

Grass awns may get caught in a dog s paws nostrils face and ears.

Grass awn dog ear.

Foxtail plants can be risky for your dog. The most common presentation is a draining tract between the toes. These seeds or grass awns can become lodged in pet ears between toes and under the skin. 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. Movement from the dog allows the grass awn to pierce the dog s skin becoming embedded due to the barbs. But if the seeds have penetrated the skin or have been inhaled or ingested usually pain inflammation and swelling will result. If the seeds are just tangled in the fur only matting of the hair coat may be seen.

The foxtail plant is a grass like weed. The barbed seed heads of the foxtail plant can work their way into any part of your dog or cat from the nose to between the toes and inside the ears eyes and mouth they can even simply dig themselves directly into a patch of skin. The problem with grass awns is that they are difficult to be located. 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.

They may also become embedded in the body. 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. If grass awns are not removed in a timely fashion they will lead to the formation of painful abscesses which need regular drainage of fluids. Grass awns are deadly dangerous for your dog.