Big Paws Only Dog Forums
BPO Medical Forum => Medical Conditions & Diseases => : jabear September 01, 2005, 10:07:35 PM
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Two weeks ago Bear went camping/hiking with Michael on the boys weekend trip. He had a blast as you saw from the photos and well...he got a foxtail stuck on the top of his nuckle. :o
I am usually really good about cleaning him and brushing him after trips to make sure nothing gross is hanging around. Well, this time I found two ticks (gross!) and a few foxtails. I thought he was great! I even cleaned up his toe pads and cut his belly hair last weekend. Well- Monday comes around and Nicki calls me at work and says "ok- don't panic"....of course I am freaking out as she says this..."but Bear has a nasty foot. It looks kinda bad". So I worry the whole way home and when I walk in I see some hair pulled out and he is licking it. There is a hole in the center of it and I am thinking ok, it must has been a foxtail he got out and he will be fine. I cleaned it and put a sock on him to prevent licking and hoped it would be better in the morning. Unfortunately, we had no such luck. :(
It has gotten worse and today I took him to the vet. She said it was a foxtail and told me that they just travel through the body. She even told me that one tiny dog died a few weeks ago because a foxtail got into he lungs and punctured one. Yikes!! So, she shaved his toe area where the infection was and applied topical stuff to numb it. Then she took out some tweezer things to try to get it out. She didn't find anything and is hoping that it has gone already but if no we have to go back next week. He'll then be put out and she will take it out by cutting him. :o So for now we are hoping for the best! He is on anit-inflamatories and has to soak his paw twice a day.
I never knew that foxtails could be so nasty and do so much damage. I hope that he heels soon! My poor baby feel so bad. Here are some pics from today.
1. Bear chillin' in the front seat on the way to get Michael.
2. Bear & I loving each other (I had the camera in my left hand)
3. Bear's paw post-vet
4. Bear's paw post-vet
5. Sad little cub after soaking his paw
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oh he looks terrible! poor cubs!
i'll just have to cheer him up tomorrow lol
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I know! Please do...my poor baby.
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Poor Bear. Foxtails are nasty especially in the Spring. They work their way in and in and have a hard time coming out. I have had them get in nose and vet has to get them out with long tweezers. Sure hope it is out but I know Bear is getting good care.
Peggy
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OMG Peggy! That is awful.
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Poor Bear! :-* Spencer says kisses makes all booboo's better. We've never had to deal with foxtails luckily. Burdocks... yes.. oodles and oodles of burdocks, but no foxtails. We're wishing Bear the best luck getting his paw better, poor pupper!
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Daneinsane,
Foxtails are evil! They look innocent enough but are not. Here is a picture of two types. They burrow in the skin and in our case create an infection when they can't get out of the skin.
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That poor "little" guy!...Ty for the foxtail info...I will be on the lookout!
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Awww poor bear :'( thanks for the info, I never knew that could happen. I thought that foxtail was those annoying round spiky ball things, but now I know what they are and will be on the look out!
Nina
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Poor little bear. I had never heard of foxtails either - thanks for the info. Now what the heck are BURDOCKS?!?! ???
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OMG!! I'm soo sorry Bear has to deal with this, he's so friggin' adorable!! I read an aritcle on Foxtails about a month ago, but didn't know if it was a hoax or not, apparently it isn't. I hope he gets better soon, his paw looks so sore!
Andi
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Oh man! sorry to hear about Bear's paw, that looks like it hurts. Get better soon bear.
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Poor Bear cub! Mean ol' foxtails! I hope he is feeling better soon. Give him kisses for me!
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Are burdocks "sticky burrs?"
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Poor little bear. I had never heard of foxtails either - thanks for the info. Now what the heck are BURDOCKS?!?! ???
They are horrid little things(about 1-2" in diameter) that look like brown spikey balls. They have little hooks on the end of each spike to grab on to clothing, hair, fur etc... They then explode/fall apart when you try to remove them, each of the spines seperating from the ball. They grow in huge bushes with hundreds per plant. When they attach, they are like velcro and gather all surrounding hair/fur into a big not. Needless to say, they are a HUGE PITA. :P Even worse, Mojo learned that he gets brushed when he gets them, so he likes to run full tilt through Burdock bushes. Yuck!
http://www.vet.purdue.edu/depts/addl/toxic/plant02.htm
(http://nathanielclark.org/images/burdock_sm.jpg)
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Foxtails and burdox....gros s sticky things that hurt our babies. I hate them both.
Thanks for the sympathy everyone. Bear really appreciates the love he is getting from you all here. :D
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But the absolute granddaddy of all nusiance weeds here is the goathead or often just called stickers. They are all over our roadways this time of year and they are the most painful little bugger you have ever encountered. When the plant is mature these small round blobs emerge that have thorns on them just as sharp as any rose thorn. They are low plants and if you are walking it is easy to step on one because the stickers move away from the plant and you can't always see them. They get stuck to your shoe and you don't realize it then they can get drug into your house and embedded in the carpet. Then you walk across it with bare feet and WHAM does that ever hurt!!!!! Niki doesn't realize that they come from a plant so she just trudges right into them and gets them stuck all over her paws. At that point she can't move at all without terrible pain so she waits patiently for us to lift her paw and remove them. They do not really cause other serious problems like foxtails and I have never seen infections caused by them. They are just a BIG nusiance. Anybody else encounter these?
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Sending well wishes to Bear!
I hate foxtails! We have loads of them here too. I had read all the horror stories of them so I am always extra cautious but they are hard to find and I agree 'evil'!
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Oh no! Poor Bear! I hope he is feeling better today and that his paw gets well soon!
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Oh No! Poor Bear! I hope his foot feels better soon.
BTW, I like the new avatar. It makes me laugh how bear's head looks like 3 times bigger than yours
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You tell Bear That Ice says Those Foxtails better stay outta his buddy! He and I are sorry this happened and Hope he'll be back to his self soon! He looks very sad in that one pic, but we all know he has a good mommy :o) Ice and Ices Dad
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Poor Bear..glad to hear he is doing better... Jasper (in the avatar) also had a bad run in with foxtails as a pup.... snorted one right up his nose and was sneezing uncontrollably . My truck and myself were covered in blood by the time we made it to the vets..... $400.00 later he was doing fine. I no longer let the dogs run in the pasture during the dry season!
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Thanks for the love everyone. And yes, the new avatar makes me look small next to his big ol' head....which makes me laugh every time I see it! :D That is one of the main reasons that I love my giant baby!
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If Bear could talk, he would say, "I told you I wanted to go to the beach!"
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I bet Bear wishes he could have gone to the beach too. ;D A few more weeks....a few more...
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I HATE FOXTAILS!!!! They are the worst!!!!
Cowboy and Chester send drools and we all send hugs!!!
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Newfs are particularily difficult with foxtails because of the amount of hair between pads and those pesky webbed toes. All this makes it easy to pick up foxtails and hard to find them little beggars. We go through this three or four times a year.