Beware of the dangers of Infections caused by Grass Seeds in our Pets

29 17:51:01

The real Dangers of Grass Seeds

Is Your dog in Danger?

As a responsible pet owner, we need to be vigilant and beware of the dangers of infections caused by grass seeds in our pets during late autumn and summer. As the grass dries out and dogs run or roll in the drying grass the seeds stick into their fur or paws and work their way into their ears or nostrils.

Titan after his operation to remove lump

The wind may be enough to blow the seeds into your yard and may not be visible unless you are looking for them. The barb on the seed allows it to work its way deeper into the fur and will embed itself into the skin causing disastrous results if left unattended. I have learned from personal experience and cannot stress enough the dangers of infections that a simple grass seed can cause to your unsuspecting dog.

Seeds cause problems to both dogs and cats although cats continually groom their coat, which lessens the risk of infection to them.

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How to check for grass seeds

During summer keep small dogs fur trimmed or shaved

How to Check your dog for these seeds Everyone needs to check their dogs every week, especially when your dog has access to areas where they grow. Removal of them could prevent expensive and serious problems later.

Start at Lower Back

To do this you need to run your fingers very slowly from the tail and work your fingers up over your dog’s body feeling for any small abnormalities. Pay special attention to their ears, paws, eyes and mouth, virtually everywhere on their body. Also check his tail. Pets with the longer fur can make them even harder to find.

We have a blue Heeler and his fur is not long yet it is still very hard to detect these small grass seeds.

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He has two little Shih-Ztus like in the picture above that I am in the middle of trimming and they are still working although an earlier model.

Have you checked your dog

Grass seeds can be a Death Sentence

In a worse case scenario it could be a death sentence. Failure to find them could mean they work their way deep into their body tissues and get into their abdomen or even their lungs. Do not underestimate how dangerous an undetected seed can be to your dogs’ health.

The barbs on the seed make it harder to pull out when you do find them. It will often be easier if two people do it together, as when and if you do find a seed partially embedded into the dog he may not like the pain caused while extracting the seed. The dog may bite if it is in pain.

Use Tweezers to remove embedded grass seeds

We have found the best way to remove the seed is with tweezers. Once you find a seed, get a firm grip on it making sure you do not have any dog hairs caught in the tweezers then pull using a steady pressure.

Grass seeds found on and in our dogs skin

Signs of grass seed infections

Watery eyes
Swelling or lumps
Shaking of the head
Holding head on side
Sneezing
Drooling

How to help prevent these problems with your pet

Keep your dog out of long grass
Keep lawns cut to prevent seeding
Check your dog daily if possible for signs of seeds
Keep all long haired dogs clipped short in summer
Continual licking of paw or other parts of body

Embedded grass seed with only small bit showing outside skin

Personal experience this week

We checked our dog and were amazed that in one night we found all these grass seeds in the above picture on and embedded in our dogs’ skin and fur. The one next to the match was virtually right inside and was hard to remove. We were just lucky to find it in time. Two more were partially embedded under the skin.

Past personal experience

My dog Titan had a large lump come up on his neck and I took him to the vet. Blood tests revealed that it was not cancerous. They decided to operate and after a long time they removed as much as possible but had to leave a small amount as it was right on his jugular vein. We were very lucky to save him. If we had checked him regularly for grass seeds, we may have saved him from this near death operation.

Conclusion

If you love your pet, please check your dog for these. By the way, it will take more than five minutes to do a thorough search too, which is time well spent if you love your dog.

It is terrific to have your own lovable dog as they make wonderful friends and pets. Although you need to keep in mind that a dog is not a toy. A dog owner needs to be a responsible pet owner and take care of their mate just the same as they would their own child. After all in many cases owners virtually treat their mate as one of the family.

Dogs cannot tell us if they have a pain, or are sick and suffering from something they have eaten or if they have been bitten. We as responsible pet owners need to look for the obvious symptoms. Signs of a dog limping, a wet nose, unusually quiet are all signs to be aware of.

So be responsible, if you don't have the time to look after a dog then rethink - and don't buy a dog on the spur of a whim decision.