Grass seeds – like a thorn in your side, and ears, and eyes and nose…..!
The sun is shining and it feels like summer is here. Unfortunately it also the season for grass seeds – those little barbed arrow like seeds which are attached to the tops of long grass and can cause or pets – especially dogs no end of problems.
When dogs bound through long grass the seeds can become attached to their feet go in their ears or eyes and cause a problem. Because of their shape once they have penetrated the skin they can work their way in further and can even migrate to other parts of the body (e.g. muscle lungs, spine, and brain)
Prime sites are:
- under the eyelids – your dog is likely to suddenly have their eye closed and it eye may become red or cause irritation and pawing at the eye
-in the ears – grass seeds here can cause intense discomfort with constant head shaking and rubbing
-in the paws – seeds get caught particularly in dogs with long hair between the toes. – grass seeds can go in resulting in continual and vigorous licking. Sometimes a small soft inflamed lump occurs which may burst.
- in the nose – resulting in sudden and vigorous sneezing
How are grass seeds treated
Signs associated with grass seeds often come on very suddenly. If you are suspicious your dog may have a grass seed you should make an appointment to see your vet as soon as possible.
Depending on the location of the grass seed and how uncomfortable your dog is exploration for a grass seed may need to be carried out under sedation or a general anaesthetic. Your veterinary practice will successfully remove many grass seeds from pets every summer but unfortunately sometimes because of their shape and tendency to track away from the original site they can be very difficult to find.
In rare cases your pet may need to be referred for specialist imaging to locate the offending seed.
Prevention
Avoid areas with large numbers of grass seeds/ long grass sticking to areas with paths or short grass
Check your dog after walking in meadows or areas with long grass especially their feet including in-between their toes on the top and underside of the foot and their ears and remove any seeds stuck in the fur.
Consider getting the hair around your dogs ears or feet trimmed if they seem to pick up a lot of grass seeds
Dog snoods are commercially available to prevent grass seeds going to ears – these can be useful on walks if your dog is happy to wear them.
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