You can find foxtail grass all over town, primarily in medians and areas around telephone poles. Image from Seattle DogSpot.
Growing up and living primarily in the South, I’d never heard of foxtail grass until I moved to the Pacific Northwest because it’s prevalent primarily in the western US.
But now that I’ve learned about what it could do to my dogs, I see it all over Seattle.
FOXTAIL GRASS – WHAT IS IT??
Foxtails are grasses with seed awns that are extremely dangerous to dogs. Foxtail awns are barbed, razor-sharp needles, designed to burrow into the ground with the seed.
The sharp needles on the seed heads of the foxtail plant can also work their way into any part of your dog, 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.
WHAT DO FOXTAILS LOOK LIKE?
A German Shepherd needed surgery to remove and clear large internal abscesses caused by foxtail. The dog made a full recovery after surgery. Image from Acadiavetclinic.com.
At this time of year, foxtails in Washington have green, lush heads that resemble a finer version of wheat or barley. But the moment the plants start to dry in the summer the heads start to fall apart, and each barbed seed becomes a danger to any dog who goes near it.
Furthermore, because the seeds don’t break down inside a dog’s body, they can cause significant damage.
SYMPTOMS FOXTAILS CAN CAUSE IN DOGS
According to WebMD.com, “Embedded foxtails can cause discharge, abscesses, swelling, pain, and death.”
Dogs with an infected grass awn penetration will show signs typical of an infection: lethargy, loss of appetite, painful swellings, or signs of drainage.
If your dog is displaying any of the following symptoms, check for foxtails or talk to your vet:
Foxtail seeds are like velcro – they can attach themselves anywhere on your dog and are hard to removes. Image from aplusanimalhospital.com
• Foxtails often lodge in dogs’ feet and can easily become embedded between their toes. Check for foxtails if you notice swelling or limping or if your dog is constantly licking the area.
• If your dog is shaking his head, tilting it to the side, or scratching incessantly at an ear, it could be the sign of a foxtail — one that may be so deep inside the ear canal you can’t see it. Your veterinarian needs to take a look in the ear using a special scope.
• Redness, discharge, swelling, squinting, and pawing could be signs your dog has a foxtail lodged in its eye. If you think this may be the case, seek veterinary care immediately.
• If you see discharge from the nose, or if your dog is sneezing frequently and intensely, a foxtail could be lodged in a nasal passage.
• Foxtails can find their way into your dog’s penis or vagina. If you notice your dog persistently licking at its genitals, foxtails could be the cause.
• Foxtails can also lodge under a dog’s skin, which causes visible swelling and/or pus discharge.
PROTECTING YOUR DOGS FROM FOXTAILS
Preventing foxtails from embedding themselves in your dog is critically important. WebMD notes that “once a foxtail has penetrated the skin and entered into muscular tissue or organs, removing it almost always requires an anesthetic and surgical procedure by a veterinarian.
It’s important to check your dog’s feet for foxtails, especially in between its pads. Photo from mypetlovesdcah.com.
By following these tips you can significantly reduce the chances that your dog will suffer from health complications caused by foxtails:
• Do not ever let your dog anywhere near foxtails. You’ll find them almost anywhere: along roadsides, in fields, around telephone poles, and in sidewalk plantings. In fact, I saw several patches of foxtails while walking my dogs in Seattle.
• Keep them out of your dog’s yard and enclosure. The best way to get rid of them is to pull them out. I would recommend against mowing them because you could blow seeds all over your yard.
• Keep your dog’s coat clean and well-groomed. This will help reduce seed accumulation and make for easier daily inspections.
• Inspect your dog daily for hair mats (where grass awns like to hide) and between toes. Clipping the hair between paw pads will reduce potential for picking up the seeds.
Closeup view of foxtail grass. Image from dogdotcat.
• Any time your dog is excessively sneezing, drooling, shaking their head, scratching ears, whining, licking at its paw or other body part excessively, have it checked by your veterinarian as soon as possible to prevent further damage.
• For dogs out frequently in areas with foxtails, consider a commercial product, such as the OutFox® Field Guard to keep grass awns away from eyes, nose, mouth and ears.
• Most importantly, be vigilant about watching for foxtails whenever you’re out with your dog. I’ve seen several patches of foxtails in my neighborhood. Yesterday I found a small patch of them on my street about 30 yards from my house.
If your dog shows any of the symptoms associate with the health problems foxtails can cause, take it to a vet immediately.
PICTURES OF FOXTAIL GRASS AROUND SEATTLE
Here are some pictures I took of foxtails in found in my neighborhood. They should give you an idea what to watch for when you walk your dog around Seattle.
Foxtail grass in Seattle. Photo from Seattle DogSpot
Foxtail grass around street sign. Photo from Seattle DogSpot.
Here’s more around a tree by the sidewalk. Photo from Seattle DogSpot.
More foxtails in Seattle. Photo from Seattle DogSpot.
Another easy way to prevent foxtails seed from getting into your dog’s paws is to purchase smooth sided venttilated dog shoes. This prevents heat burns on their pads from walking kn hot asphalt or cement during the hot summer months as well.
Great idea!
There are several dog hoodies and head bags made of netting on the current market. They are expensive ($38/small to $45 large), but probably do a good job.
can you recommend a website that may have the bags made of netting.
I have a 11 year old pit bull who got a tiny foxtail in her paw for 2 weeks and almost killed her by an infection she was so sick I mean sick and dr didn’t believe the foxtail could cause her sickness she couldn’t even walk so I demanded surgery and she got better the foxtail caused a infection in her paw that almost killed her get them out adapt 500 for surgery
How long was recovery? My pup just got one taken out of his ear. He just isn’t getting better. He stopped shaking his head, but still very worried….
There could be another piece of the foxtail in his ear, ask the vet to check again.
Sorry but you guys are scarring the guggibieszz out of me.i have a husky that has almost all those symptoms.how much does it cost for surgery.can someone who can please help me I’m really sorry but I’m scared….
It depends on the surgery. You should take your dog to a vet asap to determine what the problem is. I hope he’s ok,
Our beagle had one in his neck that became abcessed – emergency surgery cost over $5000. ☹
Wow. Is he ok now?
I weed-whack often, before they mature in the yard area, to avoid the problem. Also, they’re not monsters that jump out from behind bushes and kill in a moment. If you check over your (smooth or medium coat) dog after a walk in wild grasses you can remove them before they ever wiggle into the dog’s flesh. It is much more difficult with a heavy/double-coat dog with so much material to hide in.
Good advice, thanks.
We found here in Alaska that trying to keep the Fox-tail cut short before heading out ..doesn’t work either. They just head out anyhow close to the ground. 🙂 Pulling them is about the only way but oh my goodness… this doesn’t work tell well when you have several acres.
One thing I found that seemed to help get rid of them was to plant a close and fast growing lawn grass. I found where I had law grass growing, it choked out the fox tail plants over the years. 🙂
Yes, they’re tenacious.
What would you do about a dog that ate one?
Please answer this question!– my dog apparently ate one (or more?) the night before last and once in a while he gags. Am taking him in to the vet tonight but wish there was a natural at-home remedy.
I’m glad you’re going to the vet. I don’t know of any remedy. Do you remember if it was green or brown. The green ones are fairly soft and flexible, so they don’t do much damage. The brown brittle ones are the ones to watch for. They have sharp spikes that can do a lot of damage. Since it’s early in the year my guess is he ate a green one. I hope it works out ok.
I hope your dog is okay, keep us updated.
What happened at the bet with your dog and the eaten fox tail? I think my pup has ate a few too.
Up date ..?
I came to Western Washington from central California where fox tails are pretty much everywhere. I was a vet tech in California and during the summer we saw foxtail cases several times a week. They can be a california vets bread and butter they are so prevalent. While I agree that they can be dangerous if not taken care of and they do have the potential to be fatal, it is actually quite rare. I have assisted in hundreds if not thousands of foxtail removals and not one was fatal. Hey can cause nasty infections due to the bacteria, actinomyces that is carried on them but it can be taken care of by antibiotics.
Keeping the hair on the feet of your long haired dog short and checking paws and coat of your dog each time they go into foxtail ridden areas will go a long way to preventing them from causing problems. I try and keep my dog away from heavy foxtail areas period, but there is a trick I learned from my vet that runs field trial labs. If they sniff up a foxtail and you see it, spit down your dogs nose. Sounds gross but it will soften the foxtail barbs and usually cause your dog to sneeze it right out. I did this with my adventurous lab mix and it saved us an e vet visit:-)
Thanks Becky. I hadn’t heard that – I hope I never have to spit down my dog’s nose.
sounds odd but heck, I’ll try anything with these dang obnoxious weeds. I have a long haired dog with a very thick undercoat. I shave him down short every spring so that the foxtails have nothing to cling to. I also check between the toes, under the tail, ears and “pits” to see if any have hitched a ride. I hate these darn things. My vets could build a new wing on their hospital with the money I have spent on these things over the last 30 years.
I think I put our vet’s kid through college. And grad school.
Thanks for the info. I heard coke a cola put in the nose will make them sneeze them out also
These “foxtail” plants sound horiffic. I have two long haired dogs, but thank God I live in the south. Hope I never see one of these thinks! Can this monstrosity of a plant be harmful to humans?
Good question, I have no idea. I’ll check. But I’m sure it would be bad if you inhaled one.
My son was weed eating and got one up his nose, it was horrible. It took me forever to get it out, I was address of it going any further so I didn’t want him to move, but was about to take him to the hospital when finally with a blunt pair of tweezers I was able to get it out. He still won’t wear a mask when weed eating. :/ Anyways giving my dog a shave today, but I think she had one in her ear (head shaking) so it looks like I’m taking her to the vet tomorrow. Ugh!
I used to live in southern California, where foxtails are exceedingly common. They are annoying to humans but not dangerous. Pretty much there are two things that can happen.
They might attach to your clothes especially your shoes and socks, and when you get back home or get back to your car you have to pick them out (or sometimes it’s easier just to push them through and pull them out the other side).
Or they might attach to your clothes or skin and start poking your skin, which is annoying and irritating but I’ve never had one break the skin. Perhaps they potentially could break through your skin, but a human being will have stopped and (thank heaven for fingers and thumbs) reached down and removed the offending seed long before anything injurious happened.
They are sharp, sticky, and they will poke you and be very annoying. But you’ll instinctively remove them before they actually injure you.
And though they are sharp, they’re not strong like mini-bayonets. If you fell face-first into a clump of foxtails, you’d feel pokes and you’d probably say “ow” but you’d get right up and brush or pick them off and then you’d be good to go … while cursing the accursed foxtails.
I did orienteering in southern California which meant a lot of running off trail — and a lot of running through foxtails; orienteers are very familiar with them. Strong thick gaiters can help or even just thick pants. A constant annoyance, but I never had any adverse health reaction.
Poison oak on the other hand, is a lot more insidious because you don’t even know you’re being contaminated until hours later, and the effects are much more annoying (days of severe itching) and even serious (systemic allergic reaction and scarring, which thankfully always seems to be temporary).
Thanks for your insight. Could they cause internal damage if you accidentally inhaled one?
Could any solid object?
No. If you swallow a coin or marble, they will pass through your body with no problem. Foxtail’s have sharp pointy edges that can cause lot of internal damage.
The newer pennies are toxic because of the zinc in the center. If your dog swallows one, or as ours did covered raisins, give 2 tablespoons hydrogen peroxide and they should vomit their stomach contents within 15 minutes, if not repeat hydrogen peroxide. Our vet told us this and it worked.
I would not ever give hydrogen peroxide to a dog which had swallowed a coin or foreign object, for fear that it would be aspirated while attempting to vomit it back up. Also, while hydrogen peroxide does work to induce vomiting, it also requires follow-up by a veterinarian to ensure that the vomiting stops and does not dehydrate the dog. Remember also that some substances are caustic and shouldn’t be regurgitated.
Food safe hydrogen peroxide MUST be diluted and added to drinking water prior to giving to any animal, otherwise it burns, try a drop on your hand without diluting. Having said that we use it for removing parasites and worms from our pets, farm animals and humans and it’s very effective. I’ve never witnessed this making an animal vomit instantaneously as it can take up to a couple of days to remove the worms which may cause vomiting or diarrhea.
I heard an expert give advise on how to treat poison oak. You must wash with a scrub brush and soap, not a washcloth or anything soft…he used car grease as a comparison of how the oil attaches to your skin. Think car grease, and scrub away…it’s the only way to get rid of the oil.
Thanks for the info.
Use cold water and soap. Hot water opens the pores and lets the oil into the skin, exacerbating the problem.
I live in the south too. GA. And my dog got into a bunch of this stuff today.
Be sure to look him over carefully to make sure you get all of the nettles off him.
Some vets will say oh that lump is only collar scars (on the throat) when its an imbedded foxtail dissapeared below the skin and healed over..My sheltie had these and they caused Horners syndrome (eye paralysis) but the foxtails finally worked through and it cleared up. Print and save this article if needed and dont give up getting a lump removed from under the skin because it can work through the body ending up in damaging locations!
Glad your dog is ok. Those things are dangerous once they get embedded.
Think again, if you’re counting on these little buggers only growing out West. I have a full-blooded, double coated chow and we live in North Georgia. Recently, my dog got one in the webbing between his toes after I let him run around on the newly mowed hay field below my property. The vet thought it must have been a thorn, but couldn’t find anything left behind to prove it.
After I started looking online, I found all the info on Foxtail and realized that MoJo had all the symptoms so I printed out the articles and took them to my vet. The first thing he said was, “Oh we don’t have that here, it’s mostly out west”. Nope, I showed him an article I found online from the North GA Cattlemen’s Assn’ warning local dairymen and pet owners that foxtail is now alive and thriving in ALL 48 states & Canada. They are finding it mixed in with grass seed one purchases under various names including but not limited to “millet” (a/k/a Foxtail Millet).
After 2 surgeries, draining the abscess and several stitches after removing a secondary mass caused by the infection, he’s healed enough to walk on lead again, only now he wears a vinyl coated sock (purchased on Amazon) until the wound is completely closed. And the only time he goes off-lead to run around and play is in his own fenced back yard.
Sorry for your experience but I’m glad your dog survived. Yes, I’ve heard reports of foxtails from across the county, and here in Seattle, they appear to be spreading all over the city.
I’m from Montana and I’ve seen Foxtail do damage not only to dogs and cats but live stock as well. There was a couple of years farmers hay crops were full of it. The one way I’ve seen people get rid of it here is to burn it off, before it goes to seed.
Foxtail is nasty stuff but can be managed by checking our furbabies over throughly.
Our cat got some up his wee-wee! He was listless and I thought he had a UTI! The vet showed me what they pulled out. Ouch!! He recovered completely but it sure was a scare.
Fels Naptha(sp?) brown bar soap was recommended to our family years ago for use with vigorous body scrubbing (finger nails too) after exposure to Poison oak. One’s own fingernails (after scratching) can spread to other parts of the body. It’s important to thoroughly wash all clothes worn during exposure to Poison Oak. My Forest Service son was exposed to Poison Oak many times in his career: arms and legs and hands. Nonetheless with swollen legs and a fever he ran in the annual Blooms Day half-marathon race in Spokane.
Here is one fatality from foxtail…
As a practicing small animal vet, I was presented with an emaciated example of a once nicely fit English Pointer hunting dog, who had had a persistent, soft cough for an undetermined time (it had been so long), a low grade fever, notably elevated WBC, indicative of an infection…probably pneumonia.
Treatment started with a course of antibiotics, which produced some improvement that disappeared in a week or so. Chest X-rays showed some consolidation of the lower parts of the lungs, suggestive of a considerable area of lung involvement, but no noticable cause.
Long story shorter… The owner elected to put his hunting partner to rest, as the unspoken bond between this type owner and his pet dictates. Many of us have experienced this loss, no one likes it, especially the vets who do it, but it is both part of an owners responsibility, and a service of the veterinarian to provide.
A post mortem examination discovered but one Giant Foxtail awn, deep in one lung. The ensueing sterile abscess, created by a healthy body’s efforts to eliminate a foreign object, caused the complete breakdown of the lower lung tissue of both lungs. The ability of this animal to have survived this long, under those conditions was remarkable, and possibly valiant.
Upon this revelation, the owner recalled one of his relatively frequent off season outings with his dog, from which his dog did go home with a cough…apparently not serious enough to demand an answer, but it befell me to be the last vet he visited. Would I have done anything differently? Hindsight suggests many things needed to have been done, but without referral to a large vet center, like a school, few facilities exist in the normal practice to provide them. Hindsight, again.
Most hunting dogs love running in fields, almost as much as hunting there. It’s good exercise, but on one such run, while gulping a lungfull of air, he apparently sucked in one awn, which went straight down his trachea, deep into a lung…an admittedly unusual event, but this time everything necessary came together at the proper time…sadly.
ANY bodily opening is a point of entry for even small awns…they all operate the same… a stiff, pointed end ahead of brush-like fibers that resist going backwards in hair( or a blanket…ever have one stuck in a blanket? No sleep till you turn the light on and fight to get it removed !) and continue to advance with each movement of the confining hair. Just a little, but relentlessly…until it penetrates the resisting object, such as intact skin…they often make their own ‘opening’.
I don’t mean this experience should control your life with your pet, other than to be aware of unfortunate circumstances that exist…in all forms of life. We all put our lives in jeopardy whenever we get onto a street in a car. It must be readily acceptible, but every day some of us, or a loved one, don’t make it back home. Feces occurs!
Thanks for sharing this story. I see more and more people who have never heard of foxtails. Your story will help drive home the danger they pose and probably save the lives of some dogs.
Pete, I know it has been a while since you posted! I wanted to say thanks for posting, I wish I had read these post here before my dog became hill.
My Wheaten Terrier became really hill, vomiting bill and very lethargic over a few days. The vet eventually found he had water around his hart sac! An ultrasound showed nothing else at first than the pericarditis ( water around the hart sac ), then the next day another ultrasound a small hole appeared!. Fast forward, we told the vet to check his left front paw as he was limping and chewing a few days before, she said that nothing was found!!!! He was given antibiotic, and we were than told that the only option was a hart surgery to investigate and fix the hole. The procedure outcome depended on if the finding ( ie cancer..lump… ), but dogs typically did not survive this type of surgery ( the percentage was extremely low. The Vet did not encourage us to pursue this, and was talking to us as if he was dying. We were so shocked as our dog was previously healthy and only five years old. We decided not to put him down that day, took the med and contrary to what she told us to expect our dog got better on antibiotic. We though ” thank God “, we lost confidence in our Vet..we though maybe he needs tlc.. and will pull through. When we follow up and let her know that he was doing really good eating, walking, jumping.. she was really dumbfounded! She said keep an eye on him, and reminded us that the hole was or lump was still on his hart, so the water around it ” a Fact “. She was right, however she missed the biggest “CLUE”. Our dog got sick again when the antibiotic was done! a few days after!. This time, we were only offered to empty the water around the sac! no more antibiotics!. We did not even get a chance to do this.. our dog passed during that night. We were so crushed, and sadden. I felt so guilty, perhaps we should had spent the $20k we said to ourselves. Two weeks later I stumbled upon a veterinary case that fit my dog sickness to a T.. ( limping, chewing paw event prior to sickness. than vomiting, lethargic, pericarditis ect ) made my skin crawl to read the article. Apparently some dogs could go on to take antibiotics until the awns is found and removed in a few cases. So I was crushed I did not have a Vet that could had put one and two together! . I am still angry I did not research myself as it would had end perhaps differently for our beloved fur kid. Now when we walk our dog and see the fox tail, we avoid the area if we can. These seeds are just everywhere, I remember seeing bits of them on my dark hardwood floor after a walk, I never knew than what I know now. The only positive from this, is I tell my story and point to this blog for proof! Everyone sorta disbelief a dry little weed could travel from the paw to the blood and in the hart or lungs. I usually tell them that the seeds are meant to fall of the stem, and they are build to dig in the dirt for the next crop.
I hope anyone reading this helps avoid any potential or preventative to injury. Check your pets fur, and be aware of where they walked. Know when the Foxtail are not green, they could potentially become your worst nightmare.
I’m so sorry you and your dog went through this. Yes, once they get on a dog they can worked their way inside it and cause significant internal damages.
Have had 2 border collies in ER in the last month. They had to be sedated in order to get the seeds out of their throats. We live in central California along the coast where foxtail is EVERYWHERE. Also be aware of spear grass, it’s just as dangerous.
Ugh, glad you caught it in time.
I learned about foxtails when I lived in Northern Ca., where, despite my best efforts to avoid them, one of my dogs did have to have one removed from his nose. In the last few years I am noticing more foxtails in both Virginia and North Carolina too. Everyone would do well to be on the lookout for these noxious weeds.
Seems like they are everywhere now.
Idk where in the south this person grew up but I do know that we have got this here where I live because when i was growing up and even as an adult i remember having to pick that crap out of my socks
I found one on mine yesterday. https://www.seattledogspot.com/dog-health-wellness/why-checking-your-clothes-this-summer-can-save-your-dogs-life/
I had no idea that this “grass” was so harmful to animals until recently.
Last week I took my black lab Brax (4) for a walk in the fields/forest as we usually do. Throughout the next few days his ears got really bad (he always had ear problems being a labrador and all) but then we noticed his eyes weeping green and his breathing to be a little restricted at times and decided he needed to get checked out. The next day the vet confirmed that his symptoms were associated with swimming and administered antibiotics. I was put off because I had mentioned his minor restricted breathing and was shrugged off by the vet. Not to mention Brax swims everywhere and anywhere and hasn’t had previous issues aside from his ears. Needless to say I trusted the opinion of a professional and we received meds for him and went home.
That evening while on our walk, Brax got worse and wasn’t able to swallow or breathe properly. His face contorted into a sneeze position but stayed like that for several minutes. He ate grass like It was going out of style and I knew something was seriously wrong. We monitored him all night and his symptoms worsened with each hour.
We took him in the next day and the vet (who felt horrible) gave him x-rays and Berium to see if there were any blockages. This wasn’t sufficient so the next day we took him in again to get sedated and scoped.
She pulled out masses of foxtail from his enlarged tonsils. It was poisening and choking him. His tonsils were so swollen and he had sores along the roof of his mouth from constantly trying to breath and/or swallow. After researching foxtail I felt stupid. All of the symptoms were right under our nose- ears, eyes, paws, sneezing and finally coughing and restricted breathing.
We tended to our sick pup and are now at the end of the medication (like I said this happened last week)… He isn’t doing well and I don’t know what to do.
As a pet owner I understand the bond and unspoken language between a human and their animal. My dog is showing me that there is something going on, more to what the vet or I can see. His spirit is the only thing that has improved slightly. His nose is dripping blood now a couple times a day, he has zero energy and shaky legs and a husky cough that shakes him to his core. He is not himself and I don’t know if I trust the opinion of another vet where we are.
If anyone has had similar symptoms associated with foxtail, please let me know. I am hoping that because it’s so soon after, that this may be the healing process but I can’t help but feel it’s not the end. Especially after reading about the extensive damage it may cause.
I welcome any and all advice. We just finished prednisone and are almost done silica. His breathing is still quite restricted and it sounds like blowing bubbles into milk. (Weird but accurate)
Thank you
I’m so sorry to hear about your dog. The dangers foxtails pose to dogs is still largely unknown by the general public so you shouldn’t beat yourself up about it. Since it’s been only a week he may still be recovering. I don’t know where you live but I would try another vet to get another opinion. You should also google his symptoms to see if other dogs that got into foxtails had similar problems.
Thank you for your response.
I live in Canada, apparently it grows everywhere here. As for other dogs, they told us they usually get one dog a year with symptoms as bad.
We took him into a different vet where they assessed him to potentially have pneumonia. He is on antibiotics but now his throat has swollen so large he actually looks like a moose. We go back to the vet Monday and will hopefully get more answers.
It’s been a horrible 2 weeks.
Was there more foxtail found? I know this was nearly a year ago but I came across this article and was reading all the posts and saw your story and was hoping your dog is now ok.
Have you/vets checked for other foxtails? When the first clump was pulled out, perhaps one of the seeds remained? Or perhaps another had migrated further in? Since that first vet missed the first time, have other vets looked for MORE foxtails?
So sorry about your pup. I lost my JR to Xylitol poisoning..and nothing I could do.
Take care. Godspeed.
We live on a farm in Oregon and i’ll tell you that burning or pulling is the best method to get rid of it. Then plant another turf type grass that will fill in the area. Round-up doen’t work well as it kills everything and you just have abigger dead spot to deal with. Think about this; pull 24 clumps of grass for seven days, repeat and repeat. Then burn when dry or send to landfill, do not compost as seeds will likly survive and the problem then just spreads.
Thanks for the info.
I have a beagle that has swelling in his penis area there are 2 holes around his genitals stuff coming out we were in northern California rushed him to vet got him on anti-inflammatory but thought it was a spider bite never thought it would be foxtails gave him anti biotics looked like he was getting better we came back to Ohio saw he was licking a lot I think we never got rid of them so don’t have enough money to get him to the vet until money comes in that’s a week away or two just bad timing but things work out.
Oh my gosh, I have never heard of this. I am now scared to death! Is it at Marymoore?
I don’t know but I’ve seen it at Magnuson. As long as you keep an eye on your dog it should be fine.
omg the not good i have a tiny dog it mit get ummm no no will i will keep it safe
We have a farm in KY and went up to mow back in April. We put our dogs in the truck to leave and immediately noticed our French Bulldog’s nose began pouring clear discharge. She was also licking her nose frantically and her neck and chest became soaked from the drainage. The seat cover was also wet. This lasted an hour or so and then she appeared okay. We knew she hadn’t gotten into any poison. The next day she was off balance, her left ear/head was tilted to the left. We took her to the vet and the vet said she couldn’t see down inside her left ear because she had “hair” in it. The vet thought this was odd because she said she hasn’t ever seen hair like that in a Frenchie’s ear. After a trip to the UF Vet School Dept. of Neurology, they say it’s brain inflammation or a brain tumor. They didn’t even look in her ear and totally dismissed our concern about a possible plant awn. We took her to our vet for a follow up a few days later and they said she had a really bad ear infection. Now, she’s tilting her head hard to the right! They have had her on antibiotics, Prednisone and now Atopica. Her balance is slightly better, but her head tilt is still bad. Does anyone have any experience with a plant awn similar to this? We don’t know if she got one up her nasal passage or ear canal… we do know we mowed for 2 days and there were plant awns in the field. We did NOT know about plant awns until after the fact and are trying to piece together anything hat could possibly help her. Her bloodwork is perfect and X-rays don’t show anything. An MRI is $2500 +. We have an appt. with a different Neurologist on Wednesday and hope to have an answer that helps her fully recover. Of course, this is the best dog we’ve ever had and I’d give up a kidney for her if it would save her life.
I’m sorry – it doesn’t sound like any of them even looked for it. Is that right? If so you need to go to a vet and have him/her look for it.
We’ve mentioned it, but they first not even consider it a possibility. They don’t seem to be aware of it here in Florida.
Wow! Thanks for the heads up. I’ve never heard of foxtail grass prior to reading this article! Very good to know. Thank you!!
Glad to help thanks!
Yikes – hope he’s ok now.
“Foxtail” is not any one plant. This is a generic term that can be used for any plant anyone decides the seed of which is a “foxtail” usually meaning any plant with some kind of burrowing awn/seed. It is most often applied to the genera: Bromus, Hordeum, Taeniantherum, Festuca, Bidens, Stipa, Geranium (no awn but has corkscrew seed), Lolium–ANY plant with a burrowing seed. I could list many more genera because “foxtail” is like saying “sedan” of which there are many under the term “sedan”.
Any seed that burrows into an animal has acquired the name “foxtail”. It is not species specific. One has to look at the seed to determine the species.
Thank you. What is the species of the one in my post?
Just wanted to share my recent foxtail saga in hopes that it might help others. I live in California and after the major moisture we had last winter the foxtails have been everywhere. My 2 year old Leonberger (large breed) started licking his front left paw raw and I immediately suspected a foxtail was to blame. The area was inflamed and discharging pus. I have successfully extracted foxtails before so I began soaking his paw in warm water and epsom salt which can help draw the seed out but after a few days it was obvious it wasn’t going to happen.
Not being able to get an appointment at my normal vet I took him elsewhere and was told during the intake with the vet tech, prior to them having inspected his paw, that he would have to be put under for them to work on it and stay overnight for observation. That seemed way over the top so I left and decided to wait until I could take him to my normal vet clinic.
One thing I should mention is that he was not in obvious pain or distress, not limping and mostly leaving it be. That helped me feel okay waiting but had he been in obvious pain my decision might well have been different.
At my regular vet clinic they attempted to find it with forceps as I held him still with the help of another vet tech. This was not successful so the vet decided to put him on an antibiotic and have him come back in 5 days. She also gave me a light sedative to give him prior to the follow up visit so he would be calmer. The idea is that the antibiotic clears up the infection and the “hamburger meat” (her words) that is present with all the inflammation making it easier to find and remove the foxtail.
5 days later we returned to the clinic but his appointment was with a different vet and initially she told me that she would have to put him under in order to work on it. I told her what had happened at the first visit and what the plan was and fortunately her attitude changed and she agreed to try and find it with him awake. It took less than 2 minutes for her to pull out the blood soaked seed!
Obviously every case is different but this approach was new to me and I hope this can help anyone else dealing with these devil seeds.
Thanks for sharing your experience. I’m glad your dog is OK.
My daughter’s dog ( a Iabradoodle about 70 lbs) had some a sore on ihis paw. The Vet gave her antibiotic salve and supposedly his foot is ok. He has since developed a condition of low platelet count. She is saying the vet says it’/s an autoimmune disease and not an infection. I mentioned the possibility that her dog Teddy could still have whatever caused his sore foot still imbedded in his paw. Teddy also has a very swollen, irritated penis. ( don’t know if the two are related ). He was put on prednisone for 2 weeks but is off of that onto a much stronger drug/ dosage of ? for a low platelet condition.
Do you think it’s possible that his problem could be this foxtail type grass …when Teddys WBC and RBC are normal ( he has no infection?) My daughter is determined that his condition is not related at all to this grass ..but that his problem is an unrelated autoimmune disease. Her dog is getting worse all the time. Teddy is only 8 years old and was very happy and active before his infected paw .
Yes, it’s definitely a possibility. I do know one person whose dog had a foxtail in its penis. I don’t know if the vet checked for foxtails or not but I would get a second opinion from another vet. I’ve heard many stories about vets that treated dogs with similar symptoms for months before realizing the problem was a foxtail.
Took my dog out on a hike today in Utah and he came home sneezing constantly like something is tickling/annoying him, looks like I’ll be taking him to the vet this week as a precaution, lets just hope it’s just something irritating and not threatening.
Good you’re having him checked out. Hope he’s ok.
Wow. I live in N central Ark. I have seen these around telephone poles n stop signs, but thankfully never in my yard. My English Mastiff stays mainly in the yard (fenced in) I appreciate all this info n will definitely watch for these fluffy tailed plants when walking him. Hope all ur fur babies stay healthy!
Thank you! Glad to help.
Oh my, thank you so much for this article! I never knew foxtails could be so dangerous for my dog. I will definitely check my Happy after each walk from now on.
Glad we could help!
I would gladly donate money for the city to take better care of these medians (where I mostly see them). It’s crazy to me that these weeds that are known to cause so much damage ($4k in surgery to a friend’s dog) are allowed to proliferate so profusely in a city with such a high dog population.
Does any fund exist? Can citizens clear out the medians ourselves?
I agree. I see them in almost every median and sidewalk. Many more than when I first learned about them a few years ago.
I’m so worried about foxtails I think he has one lodged in his ear flap for the second time. The surgery was so expensive. I just take him walking down the street maybe I won’t let him go anywhere near the bushes but is it present on flat grass too? I’m worried and confused that this hmightbhave happened to him twice in the same area already what if it’s in an even more serious location next
I’m sorry your dog had to have surgery. Foxtails can be almost anywhere. You should look for their distinct shape vs. where they grow because they can grow almost anywhere. When did your dog get the most recent one? If it was recent then it probably isn’t a foxtail because they are dormant in winter. You should still have a vet check it out.
Great article on how to the safe dog from deadly foxtail grass nice tips.
My housemate has a dog and many neighbors and I don’t want to put them at risk. My parking strip is full of them. Is the danger from dried foxtails mitigated by cutting them when they are green, I.e. can the cut green foxtail dry and then become a danger?
It is possible yes. Best think is to bag them and put them in the mulch bin.
It would have been nice to see you have one sentence that includes equal attention on this subject should be given to your cats. Yes, it’s a dog site, but seriously, my dogs best friend is the cat and this article is written like they are no -existent
Unless you walk your cat walk your cat on a leash, which few people do, you have zero control over where your cat goes so this isn’t really relevant for cats. While there may be isolated instances of a cat injured by foxtails, I have yet to see one.
Also, this is a website for dog owners so it focuses on issues relevant to them. Cat owners have lots of other resources available to them.