FOXTAIL GRASS and CHEATGRASS
This is the time of year for some of us to start watching for Foxtail grass (sometimes called "barley grass") and Cheatgrass, our little 4-legged pals are in "danger" of picking up these nasty seed heads!!!! We have these grasses in Washington, Oregon and California...I don't know about the rest of you. I have googled these grasses and found pictures...you could also check with your vet. WDJ has in the past had an article on this subject (several years ago).
There is information onMyCorgi.com, possibly pictures.
Comment
-
Comment by RILEY, MAGGIE and Christine Kemp on July 29, 2010 at 1:47pm
-
Oh no...sure hope you got them all :) If your pups are like Riley their nose is almost always on the ground...those nasty barbs could be in haled through the nose. The ears are picker-uppers too.
-
Comment by John Wolff on July 29, 2010 at 12:33pm
-
7/28/10. Found 3 foxtails in Gwynnie since bathing & combing 3 days earlier. 2 were found by feel in her belly fur. I was checking her paws due to a possible limp, and spotted what looked like 1 hair just slightly longer/thicker than the rest. It was a foxtail spine lodged very deep between two toes, as deep as it could possibly be, easily overlooked, I almost missed it even though I was looking closely.
Stroke these seeds, and you will see they're like sharkskin -- you can only stroke them one way -- they must be covered with tiny barbs.
They've been ripe and shedding all over our Seattle neighborhood since mid-July.
-
-
These nasty little barbs can enter the pups body through eyes, ears, nose, paws, undercarriage...get in hair and work their way through skin and go anywhere in the body! If you have been in an area where these grasses were growing, check/comb pup. The foxtail seeds barbs (when ripe) beak off easily and move with the wind, they can be found lurking on the ground or loose in a bush. I suspect the cheatgrass seed barbs do the same. We have foxtail in our yard, the seeds blow in from neighboring yards so they come back every year. We don't want to use chemicals to kill this stuff so we cut it off or pull it up (that helps for one season). It is something we are aware of and use caution around.
-
Comment by Geri & Sidney on June 18, 2010 at 2:25am
-
http://www.mycorgi.com/profiles/blogs/satellite-ears-foxtail
Here was our story :)
-
-
Sidney got a cheatgrass barb in his ear last summer. He was so uncomfortable, poor little guy, but we didn't know at the time what the matter was. We got him to the vet the next morning and they were able to pull it out. I'm so glad we didn't wait or blow it off.
-
-
The foxtail seeds are borers, they do not come back out unless they reach the other side! And yes do cause infections. (This is what I have read). Hope never to experience the effect of either Foxtail or Cheatgrass on my pups.
-
-
Foxtail gets over 1 ft. high (I should've posted a photo of the intact plant). Cheatgrass is much lover, I believe.
I have seen desert hikers wearing snow gaitors because of cheatgrass, and I've heard of people throwing away socks because they can't get the spines out.
I have never encountered ripe cheatgrass.
I've heard of vets lancing an abcess and finding a foxtail seed inside.
-
-
Cheatgrass
-
-
Not a problem until it's ripe, releasing seeds?foxtail grass
-
-
Foxtail is all over our neighborhood in Seattle, tall now but not yet ripe. Cheatgrass, I believe, is a different species.
Rescue Store
Stay Connected
FDA Recall
Canadian Food Inspection Agency Recall
Groups
We support...
Badge
© 2024 Created by Sam Tsang.
Powered by
You need to be a member of MyCorgi.com to add comments!
Join MyCorgi.com