Grass Awn Dog Ear

Most owners will confuse grass seeds and awns as freshly planted grass seed or the occasional awn that your dog comes in contact with in your yard.

Grass awn dog ear.

Grass seeds and awns in dogs nose throat ears. Dogs pick up loads of cheat grass in their feet and ears. Depending on where the grass awn get stuck contact symptoms can vary accordingly. The most common presentation is a draining tract between the toes.

Dogs with grass seeds in their ears will suddenly start shaking and pawing at their heads and the affected ear often during or soon after a walk. It is when they are not quickly removed by the owner or expelled by the animal that they become problematic. The dog shakes the head scratches or rubs the ears holds his head at a slightly tilted angle between the eye eyelid. There is a red painful.

No infections or abscesses matted hair only ear canal. When a grass awn is embedded the body responds with inflammation. The eyes of the dog get inflamed. Long eared breeds like cocker and springer spaniels are most susceptible.

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. Pretty much any contact a dog has with grass awns is potentially hazardous. It gets into the hair between their toes and penetrates right through the skin eventually making an abscess. One of the most common minor emergencies we see during the summer in the mid southare grass awn foreign bodies.

Grass awns may get caught in a dog s paws nostrils face and ears. Some examples include foxtails speargrass feathergrass and buzzard grass. Grass awns have been known to migrate through the body wall and migrate to the chest and abdominal cavities. Hordeum murinum and hordeum marinum which appear across most of the western u s though are the grass species that cause the most harm to dogs and other animals.

It could be a sign of an underlying illness. Most experts say that letting your dog eat grass poses no real risk. These seeds or grass awns can become lodged in pet ears between toes and under the skin. But do keep an eye on it especially if there is a sudden increase in grass eating.

Symptoms signs grass seeds and awns are very stiff plant fibers that usually have a barb on one end. Grass awns can be inhaled become lodged in the ears swallowed or even just imbedded in the coat or skin. The barb on the end of the seed allows it to get caught in a pet s fur and also to penetrate the skin. They may also become embedded in the body.