18/10/2018
https://www.facebook.com/1387864697923137/posts/1591153654260906/
BEWARE GRASS SEED SEASON !
All pet owners, in particular, dog owners, should know of the dangers of these apparently harmless little seeds & how to prevent your pet from being affected.
During Spring time or 'grass seed season' avoid taking your dog for walks in grassy areas ie: bush, sand dunes, unkempt parklands etc. Try to stick the the maintained lawn reserves or beaches avoiding the dunes.
Your own back yard needs to be well maintained & all long grass removed before the seeds form & 'blow off'. The season is about to start now in October & will last for around 3 months until all the grasses have shed their seeds & they are no longer so abundant in the environment.
Grass seeds commonly pe*****te the skin between the toes of dogs & get up their noses as they sniff around in the grass. This can cause great distress & discomfort for the dogs as well as serious infections.
Seeds have also been known to pe*****te their eyes when they get stuck under dogs eyelids. They are commonly found deep in the ear ca**ls. They've also been known to migrate into the spinal column.
Your Veterinary Surgeon may not always be successful in removing them either as they are very tiny & tend to migrate considerable distance under the skin. Dogs often require one or more surgery so to find the seed & if they are reintroduced to the same environments from which they picked up the seeds in the first place, it's not uncommon for the same dog to be presented to the vet again for the same thing, potentially costing their owners many hundreds of dollars.
The first sign of a grass seed pe*******on somewhere in its body is either the dog frequently licking at an area and / or a small swollen weepy abscess forms at the site. In the case of eye pe*******ons, your dogs eye will suddenly become very squinty & teary, & the dog may rub or paw at the eye. If a seed is inhaled up the nose, usually violent repetitive sneezing occurs. If the seeds have pe*****ted the throat or tonsils, a dog may hack & cough, or have difficulty eating or vocalising. If grass seeds have entered the ear ca**l, a dog will usually shake or scratch at it’s head or have a ‘head tilt’.
Prevention - long coated dogs should be either clipped short or groomed out & inspected daily if they've been in high risk areas.
Learning how to properly examine your dog for seeds is vital to prevention, ie: look deep between the toes, ears, v***a, beards, armpits, In fact everywhere on the dog is at risk. Grass seeds are designed to attach themselves to anything they come in contact with & they're very good at it.
A high pressure hair dryer with a concentrator nozzle is an excellent way of finding seeds; as you move it across the coat, it will separate the hair so you can see to the skin. Is a very effective way of scanning the dogs whole body for seeds especially in the case of big long coated dogs. Dog Groomers frequently find seeds this way when ‘blow drying’ dogs. Commonly found are seeds that are just sitting in the coat; seeds that have partially pe*****ted the skin & can be removed, & seeds that have completely worked their way under the skin & require surgical removal.
At home, a thorough brush & inspection of your dogs coat after every walk is recommended. Long coated dogs are most commonly affected, however, such is the efficiency of these seeds to attach themselves to anything that brushes past them, that even very short coated dogs & even cats can be affected, although cats are frequently grooming themselves so usually manage to remove them before they become a problem.
Vigilance in the coming months could save your pet from the trauma this can cause; however, if you are concerned about your pet, early intervention is often key so please seek Veterinary advise as soon as possible.
