Grass Awns In Dogs Throat
Grass awns in dogs and cats.
Grass awns in dogs throat. Foxtails in the mouth or throat. It is when they are not quickly removed by the owner or expelled by the animal that they become problematic. How do grass awns injure dogs. Grass seeds and awns in dogs may sound quite harmless but in some cases the damage that they cause can be so severe that it will threaten the life of your dog.
Grass awns have backward pointing barbs that prevent retrograde movement making removal difficult aka painful and causing them to migrate deeper with normal motion. However grass awns can also cause much more serious health problems when they enter through the mouth or nose of a dog and migrate through the respiratory or gastrointestinal tract. Grass awns otherwise known as foxtails are created by certain types of grasses that are in the seeding stage. Hacking gagging difficulty swallowing when eating or drinking.
Damage to periodontal pockets the tongue or throat. Pretty much any contact a dog has with grass awns is potentially hazardous. Cells begin to wall off the area to contain a potential infection forming an abscess. If the foxtail is visible you may pull it out by hand or with blunt tweezers.
Grass awns have been known to migrate through the body wall and migrate to the chest and abdominal cavities. Lungs and other organs inhalation or migration. Feeding the dog bread may force the seed to move through the throat and into the stomach. Can be inhaled into lung.
The dog shows signs of serious sickness which can result in short breath and vomit episodes. Most owners will confuse grass seeds and awns as freshly planted grass seed or the occasional awn that your dog comes in contact with in your yard. Grass awns can be inhaled become lodged in the ears swallowed or even just imbedded in the coat or skin. When a grass awn is embedded the body responds with inflammation.
Grass awns or foxtails are shaped like arrows and they can get attached to the skin of animals or your beloved pet and therefore they can spread among animals in your h.