Grass Awn In Dogs Foot

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.

Grass awn in dogs foot.

If the seeds are just tangled in the fur only matting of the hair coat may be seen. But if the seeds have penetrated the skin or have been inhaled or ingested usually pain inflammation and swelling will result. 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. 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.

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. Further motion enables the grass awn to migrate. Grass awns are just one of the many danger your dog is exposed to when he or she is outdoors. These seeds or grass awns can become lodged in pet ears between toes and under the skin.

The most common presentation is a draining tract between the toes. The signs associated with grass seeds and awns depend upon the location of the grass seed. 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. Grass awns can be inhaled swallowed and even penetrate the dog s skin.

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.