Dog owners beware: It's foxtail season again

They're starting to crop up in my yard again -- they're the horror of spring for dog owners everywhere, California's foxtails.

These weeds -- that can enter your dog's body through noses or ears or mouths or paws or just the skin in general -- can cause serious and even fatal injury to your pet, and cost you hundreds of dollars in vet bills.

Fritz, one of my terriers years ago, sniffed a couple up his nose one night, requiring an emergency vet visit after I noticed he was violently sneezing and spraying blood all over the kitchen floor.

There's no easy way to get rid of these nasty weeds once they take root in your yard. Around Southern California and in other western states, they are one of the few dreaded hallmarks of spring and summer.

Pulling them out by their roots -- preferably while they're still green -- is the most effective way to rid your yard of them. But it can be a painstaking (and back-breaking) chore.






Here are some helpful links about foxtails and the particular danger they pose to pets:

Foxtails: A Deadly Summertime Danger

A Dog Owner's Guide to California Foxtails

Foxtails Can be Hazardous to Your Pet's Health

Foxtails (which includes a description of symptoms your dog may display if one of these stickers invades his body)


And here's an earlier post from June 2009 that we did at South Bay Pets on the topic.

I did hear from a reader recently about a creative way  to protect pets from foxtails by way of a new product. But I'm not sure my dogs would go for such a thing.

It's called the the OutFox Field Guard (patent pending), a "high-tech mesh" hood that fits around your dog's head. Guess you'd still have to manually check their paws and, on long-haired dogs, the rest of their bodies for stray stickers.

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Comments welcome -- as well as any stories you have of foxtails. They're a special pet peeve of mine every year.