Royston Vets – Grass Seed Season
Spring and summer are lovely seasons for taking long walks on the green with our dogs…but be careful about grass seeds!
In fact, grass seeds are in the terminal part of shrubs or grasses and at some point, they become dry and hard and can detach from the rest of the plant or fall on the ground. Their shape makes them very insidious and able to enter the skin and progress deep into the tissues or into a body cavity. They can get everywhere! Common locations are between the toes, where they can make a fistula under the skin and cause infections, or they can get inside the nose, making your dog sneeze very often. They can also go in the conjunctival sac and cause a painful eye infection, or in the ears and make your dog shake its head and make his ear very sore, in very serious occasions dogs can inhale a grass seed, and if not retrieved in time it can cause serious infections in the lungs or in the abdomen.
So avoid if possible walking your dog in places with a lot of grass seeds and always check your pet after a walk, paying special attention to the paws, ears and eyes. Think about keeping hairs short in those areas if it makes the job easier. And if you notice your pet shaking their head, sneezing a lot, limping with a fistula or a puncture between the toes/pads, or suddenly having a bad cough, then seek veterinary advice.
