Grass Awn Dog Treatment

Grass awns are deadly dangerous for your dog.

Grass awn dog treatment. The seeds of the nasty foxtail grass seem to have a special affinity for invading dogs bodies. The problem with grass awns is that they are difficult to be located. Johnson ms martin mws. Once inside they start a relentless crawl forward traveling deeper into a dog.

An awn is a hairy like bristle or appendage from the ear or flower of barley rye or many other types of growing grass. 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. Pneumothorax and focal peritonitis in a dog due to migration of an inhaled grass awn. The most common presentation is a draining tract between the toes.

J small anim pract 2007 48 12 16. The three most common hazards of foxtails to dogs are these. The signs associated with grass seeds and awns depend upon the location of the grass seed. Hopper bj lester nv irwin pj et al.

Fatalities and grass awns. Each of these sites is a mere port of entry for these sturdy seeds. 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. These dangers are usually called awn timothy foxtails cheat grass june grass downy brome or any other colloquial names but for your dog it is all trouble.

These seeds or grass awns can become lodged in pet ears between toes and under the skin. Grass awns can be inhaled swallowed and even penetrate the dog s skin. The awn may carry bacteria as it enters the dog s body and or it may carry bacteria that are normal inhabitants of one part of the body. If a grass awn becomes embedded in your dog and an infection and abscesses develop your dog is at risk for dying if he receives no treatment.

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. 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. But if the seeds have penetrated the skin or have been inhaled or ingested usually pain inflammation and swelling will result. Successful medical treatment of 15 dogs with pyothorax.

Movement from the dog allows the grass awn to pierce the dog s skin becoming embedded due to the barbs. Pieces of plant material typically the awn seed penetrate the skin or are inhaled or ingested as the dog runs through cover the awns of the most problematic grasses are barbed which allows the awn to ratchet itself along through the tissue. They get sniffed into dog noses work their way into dog ears and lodge between dog toes. Vet radiol ultrasound 2004 45 136 138.

Further motion enables the grass awn to migrate.