Grass Awn In Dogs Foot

The most common presentation is a draining tract between the toes.

Grass awn in dogs foot.

The barbed seed heads of the foxtail plant can work their way into any part of your dog or cat from the nose to between the toes and inside the ears eyes and mouth they can even simply dig themselves directly into a patch of skin. 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. These seeds or grass awns can become lodged in pet ears between toes and under the skin. Whether you call them awns mean seeds timothy foxtails cheat grass june grass downy brome or any other number of colloquial names to dogs they generally mean one thing and that s trouble.

But if the seeds have penetrated the skin or have been inhaled or ingested usually pain inflammation and swelling will result. Further motion enables the grass awn to migrate. If the seeds are just tangled in the fur only matting of the hair coat may be seen. The foxtail plant is a grass like weed.

Movement from the dog allows the grass awn to pierce the dog s skin becoming embedded due to the barbs. 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. Foxtail plants can be risky for your dog. However grass awns can also cause much more serious health problems when they enter through the mouth or nose of a dog and migrate through the respiratory or gastrointestinal tract.

Grass awns can be inhaled swallowed and even penetrate the dog s skin.