Article Contributed on: 7/6/2009 3:11:59 PM
This is an update of a piece I previously published regarding weeds and their fiendish impact on our furry friends. This is unsolicited advice on weeds.
This time of year, when the temperatures are hovering in the 90's it is often kosher for news outlets to focus on the common things, like not leaving your dog (or anything else) in a closed car, making sure you have plenty of fresh water for pets (dogs) and other things like that or more lately Michael Jackson, the 4th of July or thunder storms.
I'd like to focus on something less glamorous but just as dangerous, weeds, specifically, cheatgrass and foxtail. I am updating this article because I've noticed the little buggers clinging to my sweats when I return from my AM pooch walks.
Depending on where you were raised you may have different names for these weeds. About.com says "Cheatgrass" is also known as Cheat grass (two words), June Grass, Downy Brome, grass awn, or by the scientific name, Bromus tectorum L., and is a potentially dangerous weed common in many parts of North America.
Foxtails are also called speargrass. Sometimes people refer to the weeds interchangeably. In any case it is that pesky little seed that sticks in you socks when you walk in the weeds.
Just as they stick in your socks, they stick in your buddy's fur. Don't fall into the common misconception that a thick coat will keep them out. I have a Norwegian Elkhound with a VERY thick coat, yet I found a Cheatgrass imbedded in his neck recently. (So far, this year I've caught them prior to embedding in skin) It had festered a bit and took a little to get it out. (I now have two Elkhonds and the furrier of the two has already been picking up the weeds...so far none has made it all the way to his skin).
I could have avoided that circumstance by finding it earlier. I was feeling him, as I do often, for just that issue, when I found it. I had apparently missed it previously.
And... since I originally penned this I've become the proud papa of a honest to goodness Greyhound, (and now another Elkhound... so far the weeds have not attached themselves to the Greyhound) so I'll be able to speak more intelligently about how theses little critters infect a short haired dog.
Cheatgrass and Foxtails often find their way between the toes of your pooch, but you should check everywhere, especially on the underside of him/her and around the neck area where the weeds are likely to touch. (at least on the furry fellow... I'll know more about the shorter haired guy later on the one's I've found so far have been on his lower neck and in his "armpits").
Foxtails and Cheatgrass have tiny barbs (like a fishhook) that only allow them to go one way. In a longer haired dog (or cat) they will get into the fur and gradually work their way to the skin. Dogs and cats have fairly thin skin so it doesn't take much for the weeds to work their way into it. In a shorter haired dog or cat, they will find areas of opportunity, like between the toes or under the legs (armpits).
My best advice is to check your pet often, after every walk if you can. They (your pet(s) will not likely let you know they have an issue until it is too late and/or time to see your vet.