Grass Seeds: An Unassuming Threat To Our Hounds

We’re  sure that we can all agree that walking our hounds in Spring is  (generally) a far nicer experience than walking them in Winter.   However, the good thing about winter is that many of the common dangers  to our hounds lay dormant…making it safer for them, if a bit more  miserable due to the rain, snow and cold.

We  recently did a post about the common threats you might come across as a  hound owner in Spring such as flowering bulbs, ticks, bees and spiders,  adders etc etc etc…but one thing we forgot to mention, was grass seeds.

You  may not be aware, but grass seeds, despite being tiny,  innocuous-looking things that you wouldn’t give a second thought to, can  actually pose a very serious threat.  Madness, I know.  But they can  cause a host of health issues from minor irritations to life-threatening  conditions, and care should be taken to check your hound over for any  hitch-hiking grass seeds after any idyllic romps through the spring  meadows and remove them before they become embedded!  

Grass  seeds, particularly those from grasses like wall barley, and barren  brome, foxtail, spear grass, and other barley grass, are designed by  nature to disperse efficiently.  Their seeds, particularly with the  barley and brome, are shaped like darts.  Their barbed, arrow shaped,  structure allows them to latch onto the fur of passing animals for  dispersal and to grow in new locations.

Unfortunately,  this evolutionary advantage makes them a hazard for dogs. The pointed  and barbed structure allows the point of the seed to effortlessly enter  the skin.  Often quite deeply and without immediate notice.  But beyond  penetrating their skin, grass seeds can easily enter a hound’s ears,  eyes, nose, and, as a result, the internal organs.

Depending  on where the seed enters, it will present with a different level of  risk.  It is important to be able to recognise the signs of a grass seed  in your hound for timely intervention before it leads to something more  serious.  If you have been out for a lovely walk across the  countryside, or through fields or meadows that are full of seeding  grasses, you may notice any of the following signs after:

-  Ears: Dogs’ ears are particularly vulnerable due to their shape and the  warm, moist environment inside.  Once inside, a grass seed can cause  severe discomfort, infections, and potentially damage the eardrum or  deeper structures.  In very severe cases, the seed can travel into the  brain.

This will present with shaking of the head, scratching at the ear, redness, discharge, a bad smell, and head tilting.

-  Nose: Sniffing around in tall grass can lead to seeds entering the  nasal passages, where they can cause intense irritation, sneezing, and  even migrate to the lungs, leading to serious respiratory issues.  In  very severe cases, they can travel through the lung lining and migrate  anywhere in the body… and yes, we’ve seen this happen.  Thankfully only  once, but once was enough.

Signs might include persistent sneezing, nasal discharge (possibly bloody), pawing at the nose, and difficulty breathing.

-  Eyes: Seeds can get caught in the fur around the eyes or directly enter  the eye, causing irritation, scratches or ulceration, or even more  severe eye injuries.

Look for any  redness, swelling, excessive tearing, squinting, pawing at the eyes,  and any visible seeds (they can be quite small!)

-  Paws: Seeds can lodge between the toes or in the pads, leading to  painful abscesses, infections, and persistent lameness.  We’ve seen this  several times over the years.  In one instance, the seed travelled  under the skin, and as it moved up the leg, it caused multiple  ulcerations and presented in a way that it was initially diagnosed as  bone cancer.  Until the grass seed was inevitably found under  anaesthetic.

This is the most  common grass seed injury, and signs include limping, licking, or chewing  at the paws, swelling, redness, and visible puncture wounds.  They may  not present with this until well after the walk.

-  Skin: Seeds can penetrate any part of a hounds skin, particularly in  areas with thin fur (which for hounds, is their whole body!).  Most  commonly, the seeds just live under the surface of the skin resulting in  an infection or abscess.  But they can migrate further into the body  causing a host of other complications.

With  how thing greyhounds fur is, it should be easy to see when something is  wrong and you’ll be looking for any redness, swelling, pus-filled  lumps, discomfort, scratching and licking, or localized hair loss.

If left untreated, grass seeds can lead to severe health issues…especially if they move deeper into the body.

Grass  seeds will, in most cases, cause a localised infection around where the  seed is embedded.  This could become an abscess, which can be painful  and potentially require surgical drainage.  In both instances, a quick  trip to the vet to remove the foreign body, get some antibiotics and  pain killers, and your hound will be right as rain in a few days.

But  if the grass seed has gotten further into the body, your hound could  develop more systemic and life-threatening infections, or organ damage.   Internal abscessing and inflammation from a foreign body can present in  so many ways, showing symptoms that can relate to literally countless  medical conditions, that your vet could very easily misdiagnose your  hound.

If your hound develops any  illness within hours or days of walking or running around seeding  grass, tell your vet.  They won’t necessarily know to think it’s a grass  seed without that knowledge.  And every second counts.

Migrating  seeds inside the body can cause such catastrophic damage, so quickly,  that your hound can die without the proper intervention, and even then,  there are no guarantees.

We know  of one hound who died last year.  She inhaled two grass seeds that got  past the lining of the lungs, one moving to the hip, near the spine, and  the other in the abdomen.  The only sign was that the hound became lame  on her back leg, seemingly out of nowhere, and was immediately taken to  the vet.

The hound was  misdiagnosed and sent home with anti-inflammatory pain killers.  The  series of events that came after this were so swift, and tragic, despite  the owner fighting for her with every fibre of her being.  She knew  something was wrong and went back to the vet and fought for further  investigation, they found a mass in her hip and believed she had bone  cancer and referred her to the specialist hospital.  But before anything  could be done, withing hours of getting to the specialist, the hound  lost her life to multi-organ failure.

Taking  that phone call was devastating, as was all the calls we took over the  years of hounds we had homed that were no longer with us.  Thankfully,  the owner has since given a home to another hound, and although we are  no longer in contact, we know she will forever love the one she lost.

It’s  stories like these that make you want to wrap your hounds up in bubble  wrap and never leave the house.  But we can’t be scared to let our  hounds live their fullest lives.  Which is why care should be taken.

Avoid  high risk areas during peak grass seed season, discourage your hound  from walking or running through tall grasses with seed heads in full  bloom.  Particularly barley grasses!  And keep them on a lead so to  prevent them from sniffing and playing in the tall grass.

Regularly  groom your hound, check their ears, paws, legs and belly after every  walk, and remove any grass seeds found.  If they have punctured the  skin, make sure to clean the area thoroughly and take them to the vet as  necessary.

If you have any  concerns, or your hound becomes unwell or lame shortly after visiting  grassy areas, contact your vet immediately.

While  it seems insane that something so small could pose such a significant  threat, being aware of the risks means you can proactively put measures  in place to keep your hound safe this Spring and Summer!