This Autumn we appear to have perfect grass seed weather!
For those who don’t know or who have thankfully not experienced it, grass seeds, though little, are a huge danger to our animals.
Pets both big and small can be affected by the lodgement of grass seeds in their eyes, ears, nose, mouth, between toes and they can even lodge straight through the skin.
The most dangerous and alarming attribute of grass seeds is that they migrate through the body. Because the body identifies the seed as a foreign object, it tries to reject and wall out the seed causing an abscess. If an abscess forms in the brain, spinal cord or behind eyes, it may result in the death of the animal.
It is very important to act on early signs of grass seed lodgement as the longer they are left the harder and more complicated the process becomes to remove them.
Signs of grass seeds include soreness or lumps on your animals skin, sore ears, shaking or titling of the head, sore eyes with any discharge, squinting or swelling, and redness or swelling between toes.
Be sure to brush and check your pet’s coat to make sure no seeds are attached, avoid grass seed areas until seeds have dropped or been mowed, keep paddocks slashed and the use of enclosed fly veils can protect horse’s eyes from the seeds.