Author |
Message |
< 16ga. General Discussion ~ Foxtail |
|
Posted:
Sat Dec 03, 2022 9:18 am
|
|
|
Joined: 04 Mar 2019
Posts: 1852
Location: Central ND
|
|
This has probably been written about before but....
I have a 3 year old GSP Marty. It's been pretty cold here in ND and I have been hunting on the better days, which have been few and far between. Anyway, a week ago, about 3 days after I last hunted him, Marty had a very slight limp, sometimes but not always, but for the most part he was running around like he always does, flat out. Started looking at his right foot and there was a tiny spot where there probably was an infection. The Vet gave me antibiotics and had me soak his foot in epsom salts. The infection didn't seem to get worse, but it wasn't getting better. After 5 days, the Vet opened the infected part of his foot and found foxtail seeds.
Marty is fine, a couple of stitches was all it took.
Just wanted to give a heads up and a reminder that dumb stuff can happen and to pay attention so that it doesn't get worse. Dogs, they are the reason I love upland bird hunting. |
_________________ Mark...You are entitled to your own opinion. You aren't entitled to your own facts. |
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted:
Sat Dec 03, 2022 9:35 am
|
|
|
Member
Joined: 19 May 2006
Posts: 325
Location: Too far south in New England
|
|
Thanks for this, I was not aware. I did a quick search and WebMD has an article about it. Apparently they can also be inhaled and dig into a lung, scary stuff.
I know of a couple foxtail patches in some spots I hunt, mostly because they were my “signpost” to getting into a duck spot in the dark. I’ll be watching for them more vigilantly now. |
_________________ "You keep saying that word. I do not think it means what you think it means" - Inigo Montoya |
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted:
Sat Dec 03, 2022 11:27 am
|
|
|
Member
Joined: 15 Dec 2009
Posts: 226
Location: eastern oregon
|
|
Another problem I have had is cheat grass seeds in my dog's ear canals. Had to have the vet take them out. |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted:
Sat Dec 03, 2022 11:31 am
|
|
|
Member
Joined: 26 Jun 2005
Posts: 376
Location: North ID.
|
|
Although the dogs are very durable, stuff happens and at times require the services of a Vet! I guess that's an obvious statement, but nothing to trifle with in many instances!
Returned from a SD hunt a little over a week ago and was texting my hunting friend who spent another week hunting. He said one evening he noticed one of his labs was bleeding quite a bit from his penis area. He took him to the vet the next day and somehow his dog had got a decent cut on his penis that required stitches. He figured it may have happened when he was bulldozing his way through a cattail patch! Kind of unusual injury perhaps, but another thing to watch out for! |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted:
Sat Dec 03, 2022 11:44 am
|
|
|
Member
Joined: 09 Jan 2013
Posts: 2177
Location: Florida
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted:
Sat Dec 10, 2022 6:13 pm
|
|
|
Joined: 15 Jun 2010
Posts: 1358
Location: Twin Cities, MN
|
|
Foxtail seeds have barbs that help them burrow into the ground and germinate. This means if the get into your dogs skin they can keep burrowing farther in. They can go from just under the skin into muscle and even into the chest cavity. Very nasty as the seeds don’t show up well on X-ray. |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted:
Mon Dec 12, 2022 8:59 am
|
|
|
Joined: 30 Sep 2019
Posts: 145
Location: Colorado
|
|
Thanks for the “heads up” on Foxtail.
I’ve already twice paid for the cheatgrass removals. |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted:
Mon Dec 12, 2022 9:52 am
|
|
|
Joined: 24 Jul 2016
Posts: 548
Location: Ohio
|
|
The pooch is taking quite the beating this year. Foxtail and porcupine all in one year. |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted:
Mon Dec 12, 2022 10:01 am
|
|
|
Joined: 04 Mar 2019
Posts: 1852
Location: Central ND
|
|
Yeah he did, but he's back to being Marty. I am hoping that after the snow that is predicted for tomorrow and Wednesday I will be able to hunt him a couple more times before the season ends. |
_________________ Mark...You are entitled to your own opinion. You aren't entitled to your own facts. |
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted:
Mon Dec 12, 2022 8:52 pm
|
|
|
Joined: 09 Aug 2007
Posts: 452
Location: WI
|
|
There are different kinds of foxtail, some are worse than others. It has more to do with the state of maturity of the seed head. Mature ones are really the only ones that are a problem, as the seed head has hardened off. The only foxtail I have had trouble with is Foxtail Barley, and then only with the horses when there's some in their hay. It can get stuck in and around their mouths, and the only treatment is time and foxtail free hay.
The equine vet also suggests mouth rinses with a dilute solution of chlorhexidine gluconate, which they are happy to sell me as a concentrate for $5 for 6oz. Of course, I get the same thing for $20 a gallon (udder wash) at Fleet Farm. |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted:
Tue Dec 13, 2022 7:12 am
|
|
|
Joined: 24 Jun 2013
Posts: 2069
Location: canandaigua - western n.y. (formerly deerhunter)
|
|
after my trips out to SoDak , I've become really appreciative of what Mark Peden's Britts , Peach and Cream , Marty - the whole crew of dogs and what they go thru . HAPPILY !! Sat down on a clean looking road bank near where the dogs were working hot , and wholly cripes . You really needed cowboy chaps and leather to keep from the assault from the prickers , pokers and all the other crap on the ground . And that was clean looking ground ! Foxtail , just one more thing coming at you ! |
_________________ Molly sez AArrrooooooah ! |
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted:
Wed Dec 21, 2022 9:01 pm
|
|
|
Member
Joined: 29 Jan 2010
Posts: 687
Location: McPherson, KS
|
|
goathoof wrote: |
Another problem I have had cheat grass seeds in my dog's ear canals. Had to have the vet take them out.
|
Twice I have had cheat awns buried in between my dogs' toes. The first one was an easy fix, the vet pulled it out with forceps. The second one required probing until it was found. |
_________________ Illegimati Non Carborundum Est |
|
|
|
|
|
|