Fully Vetted

Pesky things, grass seeds. They are almost as sharp as thorns and in such abundance this time of year. I think we have removed them from most orifices in pets; eyes, noses, nailbeds, ears, the list goes on

Even worse, due to their streamline conformation, grass seeds can work their way into the body , under the skin, up legs or even into body cavities such as the middle or inner ear.

Not all grass seeds are the same. Though I’m no gardener the worse ones are the ones that look like this - I think this is a fox tail variety.

Less harmful seeds are these ones:

So what can be done?  We were discussing this today on the radio.  It’s impractical to suggest never letting your pet near long grass for the whole summer but I would certainly avoid letting dogs romp in long  grass full of the more harmful varieties of seed (lovely as it is to see them bounding around.)  Hairier breeds of dogs and cats seem to pick up more (with King Charles Cavalier Spaniels being the ultimate grass seed vortex) so keeping coats well clipped,especially around ears and feet will help.  Grooming your pets daily is a must to ensure all the seeds are spotted and removed.  And finally keep a close eye on your pet after it has been outdoors.  If it is paying particular attention to a foot or headshaking/sneezing then suspect a seed.  If you can’t find it and the symptoms persist then bring it into us because generally the less time a seed has been in place, the less lodged it will be so the easier it is to remove them.

This entry was posted on Monday, July 28th, 2008 at 10:43 pm and is filed under pet care. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can skip to the end and leave a response. Pinging is currently not allowed.