Grass Awns In Dogs Throat

Grass awns in dogs and cats.

Grass awns in dogs throat.

If the foxtail is visible you may pull it out by hand or with blunt tweezers. 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. It is when they are not quickly removed by the owner or expelled by the animal that they become problematic. The dog shows signs of serious sickness which can result in short breath and vomit episodes.

Many dogs develop a lump where the grass awn is located. Feeding the dog bread may force the seed to move through the throat and into the stomach. 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.

Can be inhaled into lung. Cells begin to wall off the area to contain a potential infection forming an abscess. When a grass awn is embedded the body responds with inflammation. Grass awns otherwise known as foxtails are created by certain types of grasses that are in the seeding stage.

Grass awns can be inhaled become lodged in the ears swallowed or even just imbedded in the coat or skin. Hacking gagging difficulty swallowing when eating or drinking. Lungs and other organs inhalation or migration. Damage to periodontal pockets the tongue or throat.

Grass awns have been known to migrate through the body wall and migrate to the chest and abdominal cavities. If swallowed grass awns may stick to the back of the throat near the tonsils and cause inflammation and swelling. Foxtails in the mouth or throat. Grass seeds and awns in dogs nose throat ears.

Pretty much any contact a dog has with grass awns is potentially hazardous.