Working dogs, or dogs that spend a lot of time in tall grass, may be outfitted with a commercially available vest that covers and protects the chest and abdomen.Īvoid foxtail-prone areas to prevent injury to your dog. Consider a trim for the summer to reduce the likelihood of attachment. There are a few ways you can avoid foxtails and keep your dog safe.ĭogs with long coats are more likely to pick up these annoying hitchhikers.
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How to Prevent Foxtails From Injuring Your Dog
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Foxtails can travel a great distance through body cavities, so it’s important that the full foxtail is removed.
#Fox tail skin#
Trying to remove the foxtail yourself from a body cavity may result in an incomplete removal, with pieces of the foxtail still embedded in your dog’s skin and ready to burrow deeper. If you are seeing any of the signs listed above or signs that a foxtail has penetrated the skin or entered an opening on your dog’s body, bring your dog to the vet. If you see a foxtail on your dog’s fur or skin, you can attempt to remove it with tweezers. If you live in a foxtail-prone area, ALWAYS check your dog after being outside. How to Remove Foxtails From a DogĮarly removal of the foxtail is important. In very bad cases, surgery may be required to remove foxtails or treat infection resulting from embedded foxtails. In the worst case scenarios, an embedded foxtail can make it to vital organs, including the lungs, spinal cord or brain, heart, and abdominal organs, causing symptoms specific to that organ. Other signs can show up one to several days later. If you live in an area where foxtails are abundant, here are some signs you can look for: What Are the Signs That a Dog Has Foxtails on Them? In some cases, advanced diagnostic tests and procedures may be required to identify and remove the foxtail. The foxtail will continue to cause problems until it is removed. This can lead to much more serious conditions because internal organs may be affected. Once inside, the foxtail continues to burrow, bringing bacteria and dirt along with it. In some cases, foxtails can burrow through the skin, finding their way into the spine or chest and belly cavities. Spaces between the toes (in the paw pads) 1 Why Are Foxtails Dangerous for Dogs?įoxtails can attach to any part of your dog’s body and start the burrowing process.
This hitchhiking behavior is important for foxtail seed dispersal. When the weather is warm, the foxtail dries out and hitches a ride on anything passing by, including dogs. While they are less common in urban areas, they can still be found in areas where grass is allowed to grow uncontrolled. They are most often found in these places: Shown: Brittle grass awn breaking into smaller pieces / Image credit: Where Are Foxtails Found?įoxtails can be found anywhere in the United States but are most common in the West.
Shown: Common wheat grass awns / Image credit: Smith Veterinary Hospital Here are pictures of the dangerous foxtail awns: Here are some pictures of a foxtail plant: 1 The spikes and barbs allow for one-way burrowing, which is great news for the foxtail but bad news for dogs.
Shaped like the tail of a fox, the tip has seeds arranged in spikey clusters with backward-facing barbs. They start growing in spring and are in full bloom by summer. What Is a Foxtail? What Do Foxtails Look Like?įoxtails-also called grass seed awns, mean seeds, timothy, cheatgrass, June grass, Downy Brome, or other local names-are an annual summer grass.
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