[Corky/Max]

Here is another post I found that could be important to read!! If you don't know what foxtails look like, look it up---It is a very common weed---I have them in my garden and back yard--where my dogs go. I try to get rid of them as I know how big a problem they can create!!
Our dog, a Golden Retriever, Salty, just went to the vet today. On Saturday, I noticed that his front right paw was swollen so I got down on the ground and checked it out. Sure enough, I found three foxtails in a pocket between his toes starting to burrow into his paw. I got the tweezers and pulled them out but he still had a huge pussy lump that had become infected. The vet was closed on Sunday and we were gone all day Monday, so we got him to the vet today and he had to cut it open and dug around but couldn't find another foxtail. He thinks that I got them all out. Salty is on antibiotic pills and if the swelling doesn't go down they will have to go in surgically to find the foxtail. It has cost a ton of money and I hope he will be all right! I'm so worried about him!

The vet reccommended that we give him and his brother a boot cut and check for foxtails every day. I shaved both of their front feet today and I can tell that it is helping because we didn't find any foxtails after their walk today. It looks like the swelling has gone down but you never know, and I'm really going to be checking them every day now!

The veterinarian said that foxtails can burrow into the skin if the skin moves just a little bit and they can even burrow through bone! They enter the skin, puncture muscle, bone, and organs, then exit and you might never know until they have an infection deep inside them and usually this kills them. Everyone that lives in an area with foxtails needs to prevent their dogs from walking through them because they cause huge amounts of damage and if they get in their ears they can even make them go deaf! Please protect your dogs so this doesn't happen to you too. It's a very stressful and costly experience!

[AuntieDale]

Thanks for the info! I just googled to see pictures of foxtails as I wasn't sure what they looked like...I think I've seen them around...and there is a LOT of info out there, warning dog owners about them.

Then I checked for info on locations - according to what I found, they are most common in California and western U.S.A...

Then I checked Canada, and found they are in every province, so beware everyone! This can be really nasty and, as Corky/Max said, stressful and expensive. Thanks again for this post Corky!