Cheatgrass Is Dangerous
 
Learn to recognize cheatgrass, avoid the worst areas during peak season, and prevent cheatgrass from injuring your dogs. Cheatgrass is an annual and grows rapidly during the spring rains. In the summer, when cheatgrass dries out and turns brown, it poses the most threat to our dogs. The seed portion of the plant easily falls off if touched, is sticky, and it can work itself into dog's paws, their nose, or their ear canals. The seed has a barbed end and wants to migrate in one direction and is difficult to remove.
 
Linked here are pictures of cheatgrass from when it first emerges in the spring to when it dries in the summer. Learn to recognize the green sprouts emerging in the spring so you can remove them from your yard before they become dangerous. Be sure to remove them before they dry and germinate. http://www.invasive.org/browse/subject.cfm?sub=5214
 
Here's how to prevent cheatgrass injuries:
 
1.Try to avoid areas where cheatgrass is invasive, especially in the dry summer months.
2.Keep it eradicated in your yard.
3.Thoroughly brush and inspect your dog's coat after running in areas where cheatgrass is prevalent. Remove any seeds that are sticking on your dog's coat
4.Inspect in your dog's ears, eyes, nose, tail/anus area, groin, armpits and especially between the toes, and paw pads.
5.If your dogs is sneezing and the mucous is bloody, pawing at its' face, or has watery eyes, get them to a vet immediately. The longer the cheatgrass festers the deeper it will travel and the more damage it can do.
6.If a skin infection or lesion suddenly appears suspect, there could be a small cheatgrass seed under the skin. This will require a vet appointment.
 
Fortunately, our cheatgrass season is short and the grass is not as prevalent as in other parts of the country. With proper precautions, we can let our dogs off leash in many areas.
 
Meredith Gage
Pawsitive Experience
541-318-8459
Trainingdogs123@bendbroadband.com
http://www.pawsitiveexperience.com