Furocious
This blog emanates from the East Coast, specifically Baltimore, but Foxtails do not. Few of us natives, east of the Mississippi, know first hand the dangers to dogs that Foxtail, a grassy weed, can pose to them. However, if you’re reading this and live in a Western state or if you will be traveling with your furry friend out West this summer, bone up on the dangers of this plant, the seeds of which can travel through the dog’s body and land in their lung, brain or other organs.
Foxtail seeds in the ears, nose, and eyes are critical and can lead to death of not promptly treated. The burrs on the seed, once inside hook into the dog and cannot be expelled. Symptoms that one may be present include tender/painful lump(s), swelling, sudden, violent and continuous sneezing among other signs. The best preventative is to avoid areas where Foxtail grows. If you cannot do that, then brushing and checking for the seeds on the body is vital. Seeds have been known to travel through paws, the nose (very painful) and even the urea and if found, may be removed surgically—but finding them is difficult. The challenge is that they are tiny and may not evident once they enter the body.
If you’re traveling west of the Mississippi this summer, the following reference article is an excellent ‘how-to’ on Foxtail http://www.sfdog.org/do/foxtails.pdf. It outlines the resultant health hazards, ways of mitigating the problem, ‘how to’ on what to do and offers visuals on what the plant looks like. FUROCIOUS was shocked to learn the seriousness, painful and, even possibly, fatal outcome of an encounter with this plant. Special thanks to Westie fan, Sue Schullery, for turning FUROCIOUS onto this great resource.
Be prepared and your dog will enjoy his summer right alongside you - happy tails lead to happy trails! High-paw!
Posted by .(JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address) on 06/08/11 at 10:20 AM
