Grass Seeds In Feet - Long Haired Dog

[AustralianKiwi]

Hello there, we have a lovely Glamour coat German Shepherd - which is long haired to the extreme. We have a lot of dry barley grass (think thats what its called) and these grass seeds have gotten into between his toes. There are about three or four between each toe. We took him to the vet and he removed the initial infestation and shaved certain areas. Some feet still have long hair. We are not sure weather to take him back (another anesthetic???) and have all feet shaved.

Is there a home remedy - ie bath in one cup of oil per 5 litres of water to soak them out???. We think we may have to buy him some boots???.

Any suggestions welcome..... Thinking of buying muzzle, holding him down and trimming myself. He is docile and friendly, but very excitable and does not like me playing with his feet. Not sure if its cause they sore - or he has adversity to me touching them.

thanks

Kirsty

[wuffles]

If there are still grass seeds stuck in his feet I would go to the vet.

I check between my boy's toes whenever we have been walking near grass seeds. Just a quick look/feel between each toe. We also keep our lawn short so that there are at least none to worry about in our yard.

[Diva]

If he were mine I'd start by teaching him to accept having his feet handled, then keep them trimmed myself.

I have to do that for one of mine who has a heavy coat (not a GSD) and what I call 'pixie feet' - lots of long hair on them. The problem for her is not so much grass seeds but just that if they get wet they stay wet and she can start licking and irritating them. Now she has nice neat feet and just the rest of her looks like an old rug.

Edited October 21, 2009 by Diva

[poodlefan]

You need to check between your dog toes daily, clip his feet or both.

He needs to be trained to tolerate having his feet handled.

[Miranda]

I have long coated dogs and I take the hair out between the toes and underneath the pads with scissors, there is no need to clip them. You need to train your dog to have his feet handled. I check their feet, ears and under their elbows when they come back from their run and make sure that the grass in the yard is kept short. Grass seeds can also occasionally enter the nostrils and eyes and sometimes travel through the body, I know of one dog who died when a grass seed entered a vital organ.

There are no home remedies that I know of other than to bathe the area in hot salt water, this may help to draw them out. You can either leave them to make their way out (painful for the dog) or have them removed by the vet if they can find them. The best solution is prevention, check your dog for grass seeds on a daily basis or keep him out of the grass. Personally I wouldn't run any of my dogs in an area infested with grass seeds.

Edited October 21, 2009 by Miranda

[ellz]

Grass seeds are pretty much designed for one-way travel and it is a lucky dog (or person) indeed who manages to have one successfully removed once it has started moving through the body.

I had a dog which picked one up just beside her vulva during a pee stop and it ended up inside her stomach cavity, making a nice gooey little channel for itself along the way and causing her to open up a 50 cent piece sized hole next to her vulva trying to get at it.....literally OVERNIGHT!

The best you can do is keep the grass down so that it can't go to seed and keep the foot hair trimmed.

[Tinne]

You need to check between your dog toes daily, clip his feet or both.

He needs to be trained to tolerate having his feet handled.

Most definitely.

We live on a farm & in spring & early summer barley grass is rife. The only way we have found to stop it, even slightly, is to make sure you mow the grass with a catcher attached & empty it into a bin where it can either be burnt or taken away. It's much better if youcan get the grasses before they start making seeds otherwise it needs to be kept at constantly. Another very bad grass is spear grass.

We check our dogs all over every time we pat them for grass seeds & check between the toes at least once daily. Another place to check is the arm pit. Some grass seeds love to get in in warm areas.

[SparkyTansy]

Ditto what Miranda said... trim with scissors (you can get round tipped ones from a pet supply) and check daily after going to seed infested areas.

[pesh]

Like what has been said, train and trim. You're going to have this dog for a long time and wouldn't like the dog anesthetised each summer.

[AustralianKiwi]

thanks everyone..... Looks like we be having lessons on "foot handling" and getting "hair trimmed". I am happy to perservere and trim his feet. The problem is we have about 10 acres of this barley grass - so mowing with a catcher close to full time job. Next year we will get sprayed afore it goes to seed. The other issue I have is TOO MANY ANIMALS. He is one of four dogs (two long haired shepherds, long haired aust shepherd and one short haired), I also have nine cats, goats, calves, steers and sheep. The grass seed annoys all of them. Please don't say I should not have this many animals as they are all well fed and I devote individual time to each of them. We have not brought a dog or cat from anywhere - rather we have taken in animals that others brought as Puppy or Kitten then lost interest in. Even the sheep came from a family that bottle raised her, and five years later they decide to landscape.... so sheep out of the equation.

thanks again and I will post next week (no computer access at home) advising how we went.

Kindest Regards

Kirsty

[CP*]

Also try lathering the feet with some baby oil - as long as he lets you touch his feet. Rub some on your hands then onto the fur, it helps prevent the seeds from sticking in the fur or burrowing in. There is also a spray for preventing burrs and grass seed (cant remember what its called just now), you could try spraying on the baby oil if you dont want to touch his feet.

[Miranda]

I'm surprised you have any grass long enough to seed if you have goats, calves, steers and sheep! I used to live on 23 acres and we had 6 poll hereford steers and 2 horses and that was enough to keep the grass short in all three paddocks. We also had a 1 acre house paddock and kept the grass short with a ride on.

If the livestock aren't keeping the grass down use a tractor and slasher next year to cut the grass before it seeds, I wouldn't be happy living in a situation surrounded by long, dry grass, apart from the hassle of grass seeds it's also a fire hazard.

[CP*]

You could also try 'Cowboy Magic' - use the detangler spray to get the seeds out or use the conditioner to heavily condition the coat during grass seed season. There is also another product called T.H.E. Stuff, which is meant to prevent burrs and seeds getting stuck (haven't tried it myself though, the baby oil is heaps cheaper)

[AustralianKiwi]

Update on Grass Seeds. Kane now sits and has his feet done. I spent two hole days working on this.... just slowly pick up the foot - put down..... again and again - then next open toes and put foot down etc etc.

we are now free of grass seed, I plan to return the muzzle I brought as we did not need, and the round ended sissors are great. His feet are now nice and short and the mower is working overtime. Next year we will spray the grass afore it seeds - we are new to the property and did not even realise.....

thanks for all you comments.....

Kirsty

[Diva]

Well done.