lick - pet crusader
in overgrown areas of parks. When out hiking, fitting your dog with protective dog shoes and a mesh face mask could help prevent these hitchhikers from catching a ride on Fido. Additionally, groom your four-legged pal immediately after walks removing foreign debris from his coat and inspecting the undercoat, inside the ears and between the toes. Keeping fur neatly trimmed between the toes may also help you more easily spot these dangerous intruders. Signs Your Pet Has Gotten into Foxtails Foxtails can create abscesses, pockets of infection under the skin that requiring draining by your veterinarian. In the ear canal, lungs or nasal passages, these culprits may need to be surgically removed. They can inflame the eyes and eyelids and can also cause inflammation and swelling to the back of the throat and around the private areas. Along with the barbs, dirt and bacteria enter the pet’s body so foxtails can lead to even more serious conditions as internal organs may be affected. According to a study of 182 cases, the most common site of grass awn localization was the external ear canal, involving 51% of all foxtail cases. Dangers of
Foxtails (also known as grass awns, diaspores, and spear grass) are annual summer grasses that bloom during spring and, as the weather turns warm, dry out and hitch a ride on anything that passes by. That is how they become dangerous for our pets. Shaped like the tail of a furry fox, the seeds are arranged in spikey clusters at the top of the grass with backward facing barbs that get stuck everywhere! The spikes are designed to burrow further and further into an object or into your pet with every movement the animal makes. The real danger of foxtails is that they can be swallowed, inhaled, travel into the ear canal or lungs, and penetrate your pet’s skin often requiring surgical removal. Foxtail Prevention The challenge is preventing Fido from encountering foxtails in the first place, so where do they grow? Everywhere! Most pervasive in the Western U.S. (particularly California), these grass awns can be found in all but seven states. Only Florida, Georgia, Hawaii, Louisiana, North Carolina, South Carolina, and Virginia remain foxtail-free, so be on the look-out for grass awns on hillsides, trails, open fields, and
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