Warm weather and longer days. This is the time everyone gets
outside to enjoy the best climate in the best place on earth.
Anywhere you look, there are people out walking, playing, or
working in their yard.
Warm weather and longer days. This is the time everyone gets outside to enjoy the best climate in the best place on earth. Anywhere you look, there are people out walking, playing, or working in their yard.
Spring’s arrival means lots of new growth for plants and grasses, some of which are dangerous to pets. So for dog and cat owners, this is the time to take special precautions. Every year, veterinarians warn pet owners to beware of the dangers of one particular weed, the foxtail.
This is a banner year for foxtail barley (its botanical name is hordeum jubatum). Growth has been spurred by lots of winter rain and warm spring sunshine. Foxtails are a native plant to our area and you can find them everywhere. They’re in fields (like in this picture), in parks, and even in many backyards. Unfortunately, foxtails are more than just a pesky weed. They can be downright dangerous for pets.
The close-up photos show foxtail plants with their normal seed “package” on the end of each stem. Every awn is made up of many barbed seeds stacked upon each other. As the plant dries, these seeds separate, and the pointed end of each one imbeds wherever it lands. For pets, this can be a real problem.
Most people know foxtails as pesky little stickers that lodge in their socks during a hike across a field. Dry foxtails literally fly off the end of the plant, landing as far as 3 feet away. If they lodge in the feathers or fur of an animal (or in a person’s clothing), they can be transported long distances before falling to the ground and starting a new plant. This is Mother Nature’s way of ensuring survival. And if you’ve ever had one of these guys stick in your clothing, you know how uncomfortable it can be.
But imagine the discomfort for a dog when a foxtail sticks in his fur. He can’t pull it away and remove it. And its sharp tip can easily penetrate his skin because the barbs on its sides propel it forward. It literally pushes its way into the body, and once through the skin, it can travel almost anywhere.
Any veterinarian in this area can tell you a “horror” story where a dog’s problem started with a small entry hole between the toes. This small lesion may have been there only a day or two, but the foxtail that created it started a tract (or infected tunnel) that traveled up the leg 4 to 6 inches or more!
Foxtails can migrate anywhere in the body, sometimes even ending up in the chest or abdomen. They carry bacteria as they tunnel through tissues, causing serious, sometimes life-threatening infection. Small penetrating wounds can become very dangerous. And caring for them and their infection can be very expensive.
During the summer, vets find foxtails in ear canals, in noses, and under eyelids of dogs and cats. We’ve found these weeds lodged in the urethra of some pets and in the prepuce of others (ouch!). One of our colleagues even removed one of these seeds from inside the bladder of a dog!
So what do you do if you have a dog and you live in foxtail country? Take some precautions, and you’ll avoid a lot of problems.
First, keep weeds under control. Whether you use a weed-whacker or buy some goats to eat down the grass (or even if you insist on using herbicide sprays), do something to keep the weeds out of your pet’s environment.
Check your dog or cat;s fur every day. Do a thorough exam between the toes and throughout his entire coat. Make sure there aren’t any foxtails trapped against his skin.
Consider giving your pooch a summer clip or trim when the weather becomes warmer. He’ll be a lot more comfortable and foxtails will be a lot easier to detect.
And remember – if you prevent foxtails from contacting your pet, you’ll save yourself lots of worry and money.
