Foxtails vs. dogs
Have I mentioned recently how much I loathe foxtails?
Those little dry thistles that can wreak havoc with dogs, especially long-haired dogs, when they burrow into their skin, toes, ears, eyes or nose?
I spent this morning pulling and raking and bagging several clusters of the evil stickers to get them out of my backyard. I confess that I'd waited too long, I should have done this a good month ago when they were still green and attached to plants that can be pulled out whole.
A gardener helped me rid my backyard of the things two years ago and last year we had no recurrence. But several days ago, I began noticing them being traipsed into the house by Tess and Cowboy, who love nothing more than to hang out in the backyard all day. (Carried by the wind, they can get rooted again very easily.) It was time to take action.
I formally declared war this morning. The 90-minute battle left me with five blisters and a sore back, but with considerably fewer foxtails in the yard.
I got most of them, I think, but even a sprig or seed of one left behind is enough to cause trouble so I'll have to head out there again..Also called "wild barley," the stickers are a real hazard to dogs. They have sharp points and microscopic barbs. They bore in, not out. I hate them, hate them, hate them. They are evil.
As for amunition, what I really need at this stage is a monster outdoor vacuum that would suck all the remaining loose, whispy things up. But I'm not sure such a thing is available.
Any experiences out there with foxtails? Either with your dogs or in having found good (efficient?) ways to get rid of them? Without slashing and burning the entire yard?
Meanwhile, I'm trying to check my long-haired dogs' coats frequently to make sure none of the weeds are lodged in there. It's especially important to check in between their toes as well, and that's not always easy. The long hair makes it tough.
But missing one could spell big trouble. I still remember the couple I met in my vet's waiting room last year whose Lab had been through all kinds of horror as doctors tried to track a foxtail that had gotten into their dog's bloodstream and kept moving when they tried to surgically extract it. Foxtails can literally be fatal to a dog if they lodge in the heart or another vital organ.
I've been lucky. So far only one of my former dogs, a little terrier mix named Fritz who has been gone several years now, has been nailed by foxtails. He sniffed two of them up his nose one evening. When he came into the kitchen sneezing violently and spraying blood, I immediately gathered him up and headed for the animal ER in Torrance where a couple hours (and lots of money) later, the vet showed me the two foxtails they'd gotten out of his
nose.
My own vet tells me the best way to get rid of foxtails is to pull them out of the ground by their roots. But once they dry out and detach from their plants, as they're doing right around this time of year, it all becomes much more complicated.
I found a lot of good information on the Web about foxtails and their dangers to dogs. Read them and shudder:
- Foxtail dangers for dogs
- Dog Owners' Guide to California Foxtails
- Foxtails Are Dangerous to Dogs!
- Protect Your Dog from Cheatgrass & Foxtails
- Foxtails in California are a danger to dogs
- Foxtails (includes a good run-down of symptoms your dog may exhibit)
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About the Bloggers
Daily Breeze reporter Donna Littlejohn has shared her homes with a succession of wonderful, funny, and occasionally difficult canines -- Muffin, Fritz, Ellie, Mercy, Pilgrim and now Cowboy, an Australian shepherd-border collie, and Tess, a border collie. From strong-willed terriers to weirdly obsessed Australian shepherds, they've invaded her world with boundless energy, wet noses, muddy paws and soggy tennis balls. But they've really brought so much more than that -- like laughter and joy, some unexpected life lessons, and more than a few tears along the way.
E-mail Donna at donna.littlejohn@dailybreeze.com.
Josh Grossberg grew up with the usual array of animals: goldfish, dogs, hamsters, parakeets and turtles. He now owns the loudest dog in the South Bay(Video: Rocket the Dog) and is the least popular person on his block. He spends his free time in dog parks, pet shops and always has an extra plastic bag in his pocket just in case. He also has a cat.
E-mail Josh at josh.grossberg@dailybreeze.com.
Horses eat them. But you have to allow them to eat them and have access to all of them for a few years. This stress will leave you with a bare dirt yard. Then ytou can start over.
Beware not to use the horse manure in the garden until it has been well composted- that is do not turn for 1-2 years- it needs the thermophilic bacteria to make heat and kill the seeds.
Otherwise, burning is effective, but may be dangerous. Gotta be careful in the dry and heat.
I infected my garden with foxtails when I used fresh horse manure. Though they are the only livestock that tolerate them well, they go right through without digesting and voila! foxtail Hell!
Cows will eat them too, but same thing, they don't digest them. Goats will only eat them green and before they make seed heads. They will NOT eat them to the root so they can come back
We struggled too with this menace. Our puppy got 5 in his nose and ears during his first year. Finally, a solution: http://outfoxfieldguard.com/Home.html
Now if they could only figure out something for his paws......
I had to show the gardener what I was talking about, he wasn't familiar with the term foxtail. I believe he just pulled and raked, but it was pretty effective (and again it followed by my own hours out there pulling and raking as well).
My vet says the best defense is the tear them out by the roots while they're still green. But even then, they can get re-established when they are blown in by the wind. I guess it just requires constant watching. I almost shudder when I see them now!
I'm so glad to read all this. finally someone else who knows what these little monsters are capable of. those without dogs just look at me like im crazy when i talk about them. im fortunate that only one of my dogs (20 lb yorkie) has ever had trouble, and at that only had it stuck in his paw. unfortunately it was imbedded under his paw, so they had to do a bit of surgery and go in and dig it out. anyways i have these things all over my yard. there's really no way for me to just go and pull these out. dona you wrote that your gardner helped rid you of your foxtails before. what did you do? the only thing i've been told to do is kill it all and then rake it up and replant. of course ill do that but thats a last ditch effort. i've heard people mention that theres something you can put down in the spring to help prevent them from growing; but i can't find any more details/info on that. any input anyone had would be wonderful & most appreciated!!
fellow foxtail hater
Heather Nelson
You were smart. Since we didn't have them last year, I wasn't as vigilant but should have been.
What happened to your dogs sounds like what happened to Fritz, the bloody sneezes. At least it was a good, early warning before the weeds traveled any farther inside their bodies!
I think someone should try to invent an anti-foxtail machine. Maybe us. Maybe we could become rich.
Years ago one of our dogs had come back into the house from the backyard, and started sneezing, over and over again. It scared the heck out of me when they continued to sneeze and had blood spray all over. I had never seen anything like this and it scared me very much. Ever since then I am hyper vigilant about keeping those dried weeks out of my backyard. I try to get them while they are still green.