Emergency
Sudden head shaking after a walk through dry grass, sneezing fits, one eye held shut. A grass seed only travels forwards, so the first few hours count.
Emergency. Sudden head shaking, violent sneezing in bouts, blood from one nostril or an eye held shut after a walk through dry grass: do not try to remove the seed from the ear, nose or eye and do not pour anything into the ear. Call your own vet now and go the same day.
Call your own vet or the nearest clinic with an emergency service now, and set off. Do not ask a group what to do: every answer you wait for there is time lost for the dog.
Use this page to know what to observe, what to note and what to ask at the appointment, not to treat at home. If you still have doubts after a consultation, ask another vet or a specialist (dermatologist, internist) for a second opinion, not a group. And if you do not have a regular vet yet, find one now, while your dog is healthy: how to choose a veterinary clinic.
It is July. You have walked along the edge of a field of dry, yellowing grass, and five minutes later your dog is shaking his head as if a wasp had flown into his ear, holding it tilted to one side and rubbing it along the ground. Or he starts sneezing violently, dozens of times in a row, pawing at his nose, and a drop of blood appears at one nostril. It is almost certainly a grass seed. The dry heads of some wild grasses carry tiny barbs that point backwards, so the seed slides in easily and cannot slide back out. Every time the dog moves, it works a little deeper. Here is what to do now, what your vet will do and how to keep it from happening again, because in summer it does.
| Where | What you see | How fast to go |
|---|---|---|
| Ear | Sudden, persistent head shaking, head tilted, scratching at the ear, whimpering when you touch it | Same day; the seed can puncture the eardrum |
| Nose | Violent sneezing in bouts, pawing at the nose, sometimes blood from one nostril | If it does not stop in a few minutes, same day |
| Eye | Holds the eye shut, lots of tears, rubs it with a paw, third eyelid showing | Straight away; the eye can be badly scratched |
| Between the toes | Licks one spot over and over, red swelling, sometimes a small hole, limping | Same day or next day, before it migrates |
| Throat and mouth | Coughing, repeated swallowing, retching, drooling | Same day |
| Under the skin (armpit, belly, groin) | Warm swelling, sometimes a small abscess that bursts and comes back | Within a day or two |
Grass seeds do not show on X-rays. That is why your vet leans heavily on what you tell them: where you walked, what the dog did straight afterwards and since when.
Before you leave, ask which signs mean a piece is still in there (the head shaking comes back, the sneezing comes back, the swelling returns) and how soon to come back if you see them.
The dangerous seeds grow on wild grasses that dry out in early summer: verges, neglected fields, waste ground, embankments and long unmown grass in parks. In our climate the worst stretch usually runs from June to September and peaks in July and August, when the grass is yellow and crumbles in your fingers. Green, mown grass is far less of a risk.
Mantrailing dogs, gundogs and search dogs spend hours with their nose right by the ground, which is exactly where the seeds are. In summer, before a training session or a long sniffing walk, pick a route with mown grass and check his nose and ears at the end. At our sessions we often see dogs start sneezing while they are working; when that happens we stop and look before carrying on. If a dog has just worked through dry grass and keeps sneezing, do not put it down to dust without checking.
Grass seeds are one of the most ordinary summer emergencies and one of the easiest to prevent. A few minutes of checking after a walk can save you a sedation, and sometimes an operation.
What dog owners search for most often on the internet about this problem, with the short answer. The answers are a guide only: the decision belongs to your dog's own vet, after an examination.
Suddenly, usually straight after a walk through dry grass, he starts shaking his head over and over, holds it tilted, scratches or rubs it on the ground and whimpers when you touch the ear. The seed cannot be seen from outside and does not show on X-rays. The vet finds it with an otoscope, often under sedation.
No. The seed sits deep in the ear canal, close to the eardrum, and tweezers cannot see where they are going: you snap it or push it further in, and the dog may jerk. Do not pour in drops or oil either, as they can pass through a punctured eardrum. Only remove a whole seed you can see, caught in the coat.
Yes, especially if the sneezing started suddenly after dry grass, comes in violent bouts with pawing at the nose, and sometimes with blood from one nostril. Now and then the dog sneezes it out in the first few minutes. If it has not stopped within a quarter of an hour or keeps coming back, go the same day; nasal seeds are often removed with an endoscope.
Its tiny barbs only let it move forwards, so it migrates: from the ear through the eardrum, from the nose towards the sinuses, from under the skin into muscle or the chest, where it causes abscesses that keep returning for months. Taken out in the first hours or days, it is usually over with one short sedation.
From June to September, keep away from long dry grass on verges and field edges. After every walk, check his ears, between his toes, his armpits and his eyes. In long-coated dogs, trim the hair between the toes and round the ears. For areas thick with seeds, you can get mesh hoods.
The information on this page is educational and does not replace an examination. For full details and a diagnosis, consult your dog's own veterinarian.
They often come together: the same causes, plans that complement each other.
Head shaking, scratching until he yelps, a yeasty smell. The ear is where it shows, the cause is usually elsewhere, and last time's drops will not find it.
Rusty stains between the toes, red skin, slurping on the sofa every evening. Pododermatitis only names what you see; a diary and photos find the cause sooner.
A goose-honk cough a week after kennels, a night-time cough in an old dog, bursts of sneezing after a field walk. Three sounds, three directions, one first step: film it.
A red eye, watering, brown gunk in the morning, one eye held shut. Conjunctivitis is the word that springs to mind; often it is something else, and eyes do not wait.
Call your own vet or the nearest clinic with an emergency service, say what happened and when, and set off. A call made from the car saves minutes on arrival.