Grass Awns And Dogs

Pretty much any contact a dog has with grass awns is potentially hazardous.

Grass awns and dogs. Dogs are especially at risk if they have longer coats with a thick undercoat although any animal can be at risk. Like many other issues the real danger to dogs suffering from grass awns is a lack of action on the part of the owner. Grass awns can be inhaled become lodged in the ears swallowed or even just imbedded in the coat or skin. Also known as grass awns these backward pointing barbs typically fall off long wild grass barley and rye and embed themselves in a dog s paws ears armpits tail or skin sometimes causing painful wounds and infections.

Once these issues become serious it takes little time for them to become serious if not life threatening. Learn more about the diagnosis and treatment of grass seeds and awns. 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. The problem with grass awns is that they are difficult to be located.

Grass awns are grass seeds which are sharp sometimes barbed and have the capability to burrow into the skin of our dogs. Worst case scenarios with grass awns. Grass with sharp hygroscopic seeds are common in sa with many grasses producing these so called awns during summer and early winter. Grass awns can penetrate the skin says dr.

Grass awns are deadly dangerous for your dog. 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. Not only can these burrow into the skin but these seeds have the. Should you spot the grass awn make sure to remove it as quickly as you can.

It is when they are not quickly removed by the owner or expelled by the animal that they become problematic.