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There’s nothing quite like escaping a hectic schedule and taking a long walk with your dog. Communing with nature, smelling the grass and leaves, seeing the look of joy on your dog’s face – these are the moments we most look forward to. But outdoors in that serene environment may lurk a seemingly harmless weed that can literally wreak havoc on your dog’s health: the foxtail plant.
What Is A Foxtail?
Foxtail plant is a grass-like weed that’s prevalent throughout much of the Western United States. It grows in meadows and along roadsides, and is particularly troublesome in drier climates.

Once the grass dries, the barbed seeds of this plant, called awns (or “foxtails”), become brittle and easily snap off, sticking to whatever unfortunate creature happens to be walking by. Dogs are most frequently affected (especially those with long ears and curly hair, where the awns stick more easily), but cats can be affected also.
These foxtails can become embedded in your pet’s ears, eyes, nose, mouth, toes, or in sensitive areas around the genitals. Foxtails can also be inhaled through the nose or become lodged in your pet’s throat. Not only are they extremely painful, foxtails can work their way under the skin and deep into tissue, causing infection, draining abscesses, and swelling. They will continue to cause irritation until they’re removed.
But it doesn’t end there. Like an entity out of some bad horror movie, once underneath the skin, foxtails are able to migrate, and can wind up in the eardrum, heart, brain, spine, lungs, or other internal organs. Left untreated, foxtails can even cause death.
Symptoms of an Embedded Foxtail
If your pet has an embedded foxtail, symptoms will depend on the foxtail’s location.
- Skin: This is the most common site for foxtails in pets. Areas most frequently affected include the feet (especially between the toes), chest, shoulders, and armpits. Symptoms of foxtails in the skin can include swelling, pain, drainage from the site, redness, and hair loss (from the animal licking the affected area). Pets with a foxtail in the foot will often limp.
- Eye: A foxtail in the eye will cause severe swelling, pain, and discharge. Pets will squint, paw at the eye, and attempt to hold the eye tightly closed.
- Ear: If a foxtail becomes embedded in the ear, the pet will often continuously shake his head, scratch or paw at the ear, or hold his head low and tilted at an angle. An infection may develop, causing discharge from the ear.
- Nose: A foxtail in the nose can cause violent sneezing, and blood or mucous may drain from one nostril.
- Throat: If a foxtail becomes lodged in the throat, it will usually stick behind the tonsils and cause a dry, hacking cough, gagging, and/or frequent hard swallowing. The pet may also continuously stretch his neck forward as he gags.
- Genitals: If the genital area is affected, pets will consistently lick this area, causing redness and irritation.
- Internal organs: Foxtails that migrate deep into the body and lodge in internal organs may cause loss of appetite (leading to weight loss), coughing, difficulty breathing, and lethargy.
Diagnosis
Diagnosis is usually done based on symptoms and exposure history. Unfortunately, foxtails can be notoriously difficult to find, leading to significant frustration for both the veterinarian and the pet guardian! Foxtails quickly become deeply entangled in fur, and once they’ve migrated, do not show up on x-rays. However, the inflammation and swelling associated with embedded foxtails may be detectable with a CT scan, if necessary.

Treatment
If you suspect your dog or cat may have picked up a foxtail, schedule an appointment with your veterinarian immediately.
Once the foxtail is located, the only treatment is to physically remove it. Depending on the location, sedation or anesthesia may be required.
Once it’s been removed, most symptoms will resolve rapidly over the following 24-48 hours. Your veterinarian will most likely prescribe antibiotics, and, once at home, you may need to clean and flush the area where the foxtail was removed for several days. Pain medication may also be prescribed if appropriate.
Additionally, depending upon where on your pet’s body the foxtail was found, the veterinarian may recommend that your pet go home with an E-collar or “cone” to prevent them from licking the affected area.
Preventing Foxtail Problems
No matter how careful you are, you and your pet may still encounter foxtails. However, there are a few things you can do to reduce the risk:
- Keep your dog on a leash at all times, and away from tall, dry grass.
- Examine your dog’s coat after each walk, especially during foxtail season (May through December). Brush him or her, and look carefully for any awns in the fur, especially around the armpits and groin.
- Carefully check your pet’s feet, particularly the webbed areas between the toes.
- Look closely at your pet’s face, ears, and mouth. Run your fingers along the gum line to ensure no foxtails found their way into the mouth.
- Pets who squat to urinate are at increased risk for foxtails lodging in their genitalia, so don’t forget to examine this area as well.
- Consider trimming your dog’s hair (especially around the toes and ears) during the spring and summer months to make foxtails easier to see.
- Remember, foxtails can occur in cats too! If your cat goes outside, be sure to check him or her periodically as well.

Final Thoughts
Foxtails are more than just a nuisance – if left untreated, they can be life-threatening. If you find a foxtail on your pet that has not burrowed into the skin, you can use tweezers to safely remove it.
However, if it’s embedded, or if the area is red and swollen, contact your veterinarian immediately. Remember, foxtails won’t come out on their own, so never hesitate to seek treatment for your pet if he or she is ever unlucky enough to pick up one of these dangerous little hitchhikers.
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Has your pet ever been affected by foxtails? Please share your stories with us in the comments below!
my dog had a red bump between her toes. it was sweallen. took her to 3 vets and none could figure out why. we thought it was a tick bite. the vet squeeze the wound and drained it. after reading this i realize it was a fox tail
and after walking around the neighborhood i found tons of those horrible plants. my question is when the foxtail irritated my dog’s paw and made it swallen was it becausebecause it was under the skin? they never did x rays. but im afraid it couldve migrated to her leg. she is completely healed now. does the swallen means it got inbeded on her paw? thank you
Hi Rosalyn! It would be very difficult to tell for sure if the red, swollen area was caused by a foxtail since they aren’t able to be seen on x-rays. This is what makes them so frustrating since they are so difficult to find and remove! If it was a foxtail, then yes, it could have caused swelling and redness if it went through the skin and became embedded in your dog’s foot. However, other things can also become embedded in the skin and cause swelling, so often it’s difficult to know for sure what caused the problem. Dogs can also develop red painful bumps between their toes called “interdigital cysts” that are fairly common as well.
The fact that your dog is completely healed now is a good sign (usually if a foreign object becomes embedded, it will continue to cause problems like pain, infection, and chronic sores that drain and won’t heal). Hopefully she won’t have any other issues! If you still suspect a foxtail and are worried that it might have migrated, the only way to really try to find it (that I’m aware of) is with a CT scan, and even then, it can be tricky. But you can always talk to a vet you trust for more information.
Thank you so much for reading and for sharing your story! Hopefully it will help other dog parents to always be on the lookout for foxtails.
Thank you so much for your feedback . I will bring it up to her vet to be sure. she was also caughing and gaging at some point. we couldnt figure out what it was. it stopped after 2 weeks almost. she is a lab-pit bull mix, 9m, short hair gold always getting into trouble but we love her!. thank goodness for pet insurance!
She sounds beautiful! And yes, pet insurance is a very good thing! 🙂
I NEED HELP! ASAP
If anyone can offer some advice PLEASE DO!
I have a field adjacent to my property that is currently loaded with foxtails. There is a raccoon family that comes to my property each night to have some water and sleep in one of my giant trees. Lately I can hear one of them hacking like crazy and I am certain it has a foxtail lodged in its throat. If I were to capture it in a trap and take it to the 24 hr. animal hospital it would be extremely traumatic for the raccoon and cost thousands in sedation and surgery fees. I know that they cannot be dislodged on their own. I have to come up with an alternative. Anything.. I am considering putting some hairball remedy gel onto some food and by ingesting it perhaps it will lube the raccoons throat enough to make the foxtail soggy and make its throat slippery enough to cause some relief. I have been mothering generations of these raccoons for 25 years now as well as many other animals that inhabit my area here on my San Diego hillside.
Please, no advice or opinions needed on anything relating to wildlife or the dangers of inner acting with them. I just want to focus on the situation at hand. If anyone has any advice or ideas on how to treat this problem or on how to relieve the hacking please post.
Thank you so much guys!!
Julee ????????????
This reply is many years later but check with a holistic vet if this can be used on raccoons first in case this ever happens again! Silica 30C or 6C could possibly help expel the foxtail if it’s not too stuck
https://www.dogsnaturallymagazine.com/remove-foxtails-from-dog/
Adopted a dog that had a wound on his scrotum which I found out from the shelter was from a foxtail. Two month later after wearing a cone daily, we think it’s finally healed. Tiny little pin size bubble keeps appearing. He has already had an exploratory surgery and three rounds of antibiotics. Help needed.
Hi Carol, I truly sympathize. 🙁 Foxtails can be incredibly hard to find and very tricky to treat! Just a thought, but have you asked your vet about referring you to a specialist for another set of eyes to look at it? Oftentimes second opinions can be well worth the time and effort!
Thankyou so much for replying! Yes I have considered another vet but need a good recommendationight. This shelter vet is not charging me so we donate what we can. Husbands company just closed its doors so can’t afford an mri or ct scan. Also have another small dog to care for. Did not know this dog had a fox tail when I got him. (Brussels Shih tzu). He has a wonderful personality. Very attached to him already. My personal vet knows nothing about nutrition and barely looks over my dogs on exams. Only knows how to push Science Diet cd. Do you know where I can get good ph test strips for dogs urine. Just changed my other dog (Shih Tzu) over to Fromm lamb and lentil grain free with veg. She is doing great but need to keep an eye on her urin ph. I now put water in their food as well as Kefir (probiotic). Thank you Camille ????
A good vet you trust is SO important, so I hope you find one that you feel comfortable with! Regarding the urine test strips, if you just need to check the pH, chewy.com has Solid Gold Urine pH Test Strips right now at a very good price. Other test strips that check for additional things like glucose, protein, and blood in the urine can be found online if you search for “veterinary urine test strips”. Make sure you get a veterinary product made specifically for pets.
I’m sorry to hear about your husband’s job situation, and hope that your family (both two-legged and four-legged) is back on its feet very soon!!
Hi there, walking my dog near the beach and around long grass and suddenly she starts to have a sneezing fit, I’ve never seen a dog sneeze like that before, there was saliva everywhere. I then noticed some foxtail where she had been sniffing ( I’ve never heard of foxtail and dangers to docs just to be clear) anyway she was sneezing so hard she bumped her nose and caused it to start bleeding. Then the sneezing stopped and would come back periodically through the night, and I took her to my vet the next day, my vet had a look and said if she isn’t sneezing sporadically then maybe she has got it out. By the way my dog hardly ever sneezes. However she still sneezes about 3-4 times a day. Not as much now and it’s been a couple of days but I’m still worried. I’ve looked at her nose and on the left side her nose is running more than the other side, and she isn’t sneezing as much, not sure what I should do and I can’t seem to find anything on the net explaining the symptoms over a couple of days, it only seems to explain when it’s just happened.
Hi Ryan! I would definitely be concerned about something up the nose in this scenario (whether a foxtail, or something else). If your dog was fine before and suddenly began sneezing violently while you were outside, and she has discharge from just one nostril, in my opinion the chances are pretty good that something got lodged in her nose. Did your vet sedate her to look in her nose? The best way to tell if there is truly a foreign body up the nose is to do a rhinoscopy, where the dog is anesthetized and a scope with a light on the end is passed into the nose to see what’s there and to possibly retrieve it. However, sometimes if the foreign body is not too far up into the nasal cavity, the dog can be sedated and a pair of long forceps can be inserted into the nose to pull out whatever’s there.
I would recommend having her examined again, either by your vet or by another vet who has experience removing nasal foreign bodies. Foxtails that remain in the nose can cause serious sinus infections at best, and worst case scenario, they can migrate into other areas like the brain, causing life-threatening complications. Better to be safe than sorry when it comes to foxtails!
Good luck, and please let me know what happens!
Hi Camille, firstly thanks for replying to my post. And to answer your question, the vet did not sedate her she just looked in her nose with a small light and couldn’t find anything, she then gave me an anti inflammatory to give her once a day and told me to see how she was in a couple of days. However she isn’t sneezing often but when she does sneeze she twists her nose to the left side as she did when she first started sneezing after sniffing the around the foxtail . I am concerned as normally she doesn’t sneeze at all. She still has an appetite and is playful. I’m just wondering if it is normal for her to sneeze for a couple of days if the object has dislodged and made its way out. Like I said I’ve never heard of this until I did some research the other day. I will be getting in touch with my vet in the morning and see where we go from there. I will keep you all posted. Once again thanks for getting back to me.
Hi Ryan, regarding if it’s normal for dogs to sneeze after something has been dislodged, it’s possible, but usually it subsides. If your dog is still sneezing after several days, I think you are doing the right thing by following up again with your vet. One thing I have learned over the years (both in veterinary medicine and as a pet parent) is to always trust your gut. If you feel like something is still wrong, it’s always better to err on the side of caution – especially with something like foxtails. Good luck, and thank you for keeping us updated!
I was wondering if there was a follow up on Ryan’s dog that had the nasal issue?
We are dealing with the same thing with our dog. Frequent sneezing and slightly lethargic we took him to the vet who suggested a dental issue and gave us antibiotics and told to recheck in 5 days. 2 days later with him heavily lethargic and a loss of appetite we took him to another vet that did an endoscopy of the nose found nothing, but did a nasal flush to be sure there werent any foriegn bodies in the nasal cavity.
That was 4 days ago. Still fairly lethargic and appetite is not great, especially since he ia a lab.
Second vet is now suggesting a 50/50 success rate CT scan. Just wondering what Ryan has found and what others that read this think should be the next step.
I had a Dane swallow one the end of July. Even though we thought we got all of the barbs out, we must’ve missed one or two. It’s been a nightmare and an expensive one. His tonsils got huge. Several rounds of antibiotics, sneezing blood, months of steroids, more sedation to check his nasal cavity & tonsils. You’d never think one small plant could cause such chaos in your life. I’m hoping we’ve gotten it taken care of finally. Time will tell as we wean him off steroids this time.
It should also be mentioned that the infection throws their whole body out of wack. Mine has a lot of sensitivies that weren’t there in the past. As his body heals, they’re subsiding. It’s not just the immediate area that effected. I hate foxtails.
What a nightmare for your dog, and for you! 🙁 Foxtails really are a menace. Hope this time things are finally resolved!
Hi
I’m very sad to say my beautiful lucy passed away last night. About a month or so ago I noticed her cough or hack once in a while. Usually when I was walking her. It wasn’t a repeated cough it was just one cough. I told wife and said maybe I should go get it checked out. She said wait to see a few more days. I waited and it went away. However a couple weeks later we started noticing her breathing a little harder than usual and appetite wasn’t the same but it was hot out so figured the heat was getting to her and she is 8 and half years old doberman.
Well the cough went away but the breathing got worse and we started noticing her chest was beating more rapidly so we brought her to emergency and told them she was coughing a few weeks back but it stopped and now we have new symptoms. He gave us medicine for her throat and gas pills for her stomach thinking it was a gas thing. He said come back in two days. We then scheduled our usual vet instead of emergency doctor cause family vet was always great and helped her. Our family vet said to stop taking those vets snd get an ultrasound at the emergency vet we were previously at so we left and called but they couldn’t get us in for four days. We called another vet few hours away and they said they did ultrasound. We drove all the way there and they said we were misinformed and they do them on mondays only.
They were worried about her so they were suppose to do xray then drain her chest after looking at xray cause the fluid build up. Next thing we know we got called in cause she in cardiac arrest and actually died right in front of us wtf. We are devastated.
My question to you is when she was coughing or hacking that one time periodically I can see that possibly being a sign of foxtail now that I have just heard of foxtails but why would the hacking stop? And why did it only happen very seldom and only one at a time? Is this a normal sign of foxtail because the vet told us she not sure what happened she has never encountered that before. They were leaning towards tumor cause all three vets said the don’t think its cardiovascular. I was told after she passed about foxtail so I did some research. Did I fail to see this and kill my beautiful Lucy cause I didn’t bring her in with that short cough or hack? Thank you
Hi Rob. First, please accept my sincerest condolences on the loss of Lucy. I apologize for the delayed response, as I was out of the country for several weeks and just now saw your message. My heart goes out to you and your family.
Although we may never know for sure, based on what you described, in my opinion I think it’s probably unlikely that it was a foxtail that caused Lucy’s symptoms. I would have initially suspected cardiovascular disease, since Dobermans are prone to heart issues. But if the veterinarians ruled it out, it’s also possible that (as they said) Lucy could have had a tumor in her chest, or elsewhere, that caused her heart to fail. Dobermans are also more prone to developing heart-based tumors called chemodectomas that are often difficult to diagnose. The fact that she had a buildup of fluid in her lungs and a decreased appetite would support the tumor idea, but the frustrating thing is the not knowing.
That’s why it’s so important that you don’t blame yourself for what happened. You didn’t cause Lucy’s passing, in fact you did everything you could to get her the treatment that she needed. A periodic cough in dogs isn’t unusual and can be caused by several different things, many of which are harmless. And even if you had taken her to the vet the very day you first heard the cough, the outcome could have still been the same, since whatever it was that she had could have already been in an advanced stage. So please don’t ever think that you are responsible for Lucy’s death – it’s obvious from your message that you loved her and worried about her and gave her a good life. When these things happen and we’re left with more questions than answers, it’s easy to look back and feel like there was more we could have done. I’ve experienced that with my own pets, and I know exactly how it feels, so you’re definitely not alone!
I’m so sorry for your loss, and I wish I could offer more concrete answers. I hope there is some comfort in knowing that you were with her until the end, and that you know in your heart that Lucy knew she was truly loved. <3
Our dog swallowed some foxtail and started coughing violently and eating grass to try and vomit. We took him home and had him eat and drink to try and get it down. He improved slightly but breathing was funny.
Got worse over a couple of days, still eating and drinking but coughing.
Took him to vet and she sedated him and removed foxtail fibres from his tonsil area. He seems better after 3 weeks and antibiotics, but he still doesn’t have his full bark back- it seems like his throat gets scratchy it irritated.
Does he just need more healing time?
Hi Laurie, I’m very happy to hear that the vet was able to find and remove the foxtails from your dog’s throat, sometimes they can be very hard to locate! Regarding his bark, it’s very possible that he could still have some irritation in his throat from the trauma that will get better with time. Hopefully he just needs more time to heal up from that ordeal! However, I would definitely mention it to your vet too so that she is aware.
My old female pitbull has been coughing and hacking since coming in from outside, where there are currently foxtails in the corner of the yard. I’ve caught her eating grass before, so I’m concerned she ate one of these and I feel like its lodged in her throat. Shes having a hard time drinking and she seems very uncomfortable. I tried to open her mouth to look in her throat but she was squirming and her tongue was blocking my view. I can’t take her to the vet because of the COVID-19 situation. What can I do from home?
I have a big tom cat that is the boss of the six houses or more in my neighborhood. He was shy at first but became my great niece’s buddy. This big cat would let my girls 5yrs and 6yrs old do anything to him. They moved and he has become part of our family. He comes every morning and evening to get loved on and eat. He was a big talker but he has stopped talking and is not eating he’s lost weight and the only thing he can get down right now is ensure and some food you mix with water. Unfortunately I’m on ssdi and cannot afford a vet. I don’t know how to help him. He is a great cat and I’m a dog person lol. To make things worse I just found out the girls are coming in a month!!!! PLEASE ANYONE SOME ADVICE. One of my little girls just got diagnosed with epilepsy and she cannot lose her Fred!!!
My cat ate a foxtail about one hour ago. I was too late to stop him. If an x-ray or mri can’t find it. How do remove it from your cat?
Hi Mary, I would call your vet ASAP and seek their professional opinion. It’s always best to call a vet quickly after you’ve witnessed something being swallowed, since things usually move through our pets’ stomachs and into their small intestines within about 5 hours. Since you saw it happen and you know exactly what it was, your vet should be able to advise you on next steps. Good luck, I hope things resolve quickly!
First I’d like to thank you for this posting site. Very helpful. My standard poodle ate fox tails 3 days ago. Unknowing to me they were so bad. Minutes later he was gut wrenchingly violently ill. I thought he was going to die right there in the park. He vomited 3 times had major mouth attacks like chewing fits — finally subsided enough to get him into the car and to hospital. We were actually traveling so we had to find a vet fast. Gods graces led us to a vet hospital. By the time he arrived he was better. They did an exam reported back that he seemed ok vitals were good, nothing found in the mouth, and that he was no longer hacking ( coughing)or gaging or vomiting. Quite alert. They gave him fluids and an injection to help with nausea so he would eat later —which he did— and told us if he continued hacking and coughing to bring him back the next day and they would sedate him to see if there was something in his tonsils. The night was long.. he coughed only one or twice and hacked or last time as though he was getting something out of his throat. By morning he seemed much better— a liitle tired but still ate and drank a little water not as much as I would have wished. By night he was better still ate and drank more water. His energy was good running playing .. so needless to say we did not return to have him sedated. It’s now day 4 we are home he is happy yet we are noticing a little coughing has returned. Appetite ok . Is it too late to get the throat checked. Or are the fox tails still able to be seen? What procedure should I expect from his good but very expensive vet. My research says it could get very very expensive— and without tangible results. Thank you
My dog came inside yesterday and was salivating a lot and hacking. I tried giving him some bread and water and he would eat fine. He later on hacked up a foxtail, he continued salivating for a few hours after he spit up the foxtail but overall seemed himself and ended up sleeping the rest of the night. Do you think he got the foxtail out and that’s it or what do you recommend I do? I just want to make sure my baby is okay.
Hi Lizette! Is your dog acting normally this morning? If so, he probably got the foxtail out, but if not, to be safe I would just give your vet a quick call and ask for their direction. If he’s coughing, salivating, or otherwise acting uncomfortable, you would want to make sure there is nothing left that might be lodged in his throat. If he’s fine today, I would suggest keeping a close eye on him and making sure he doesn’t show any other signs of discomfort or strange behavior.
My Dog started coughing and gagging a couple of weeks ago. He was salivating and seemed nauseous. I took him to the vet. They did not check for foxtails or ask about them. He was given some anti-nausea medicine and had some blood work done. Everything was normal. He seems a bit better. He’s still occasionally gagging and coughing but not like before. His appetite has improved but not 100%. No other outward signs of infection or irritation. Everything I read talks about immediate affects of foxtails in throat but what if it is not removed and what might those symptoms be after a couple of weeks? I am trying to do some research on why my dog might still be coughing.
Idk what to do about my cat. she is primarily indoor cat.. 2yrs old. she was a ferrel kitten i snatched up to tame… bcuz i needed a friend. tho she can be rather feisty with her attitude. She is rather cuddly. She is a longer hair fluff ball which is not like any of her siblings… she wants to dart outside and she can be hard to hold back… shes a 12 lber. Now my point… when she gets outside she bee lines to find a fox tail and goobles them down… its like seriously her favorite thing to do. Then she usually throws up inside the house… ususlly its the fox tail and fur shes swallowed… i figured its how she clears her fur out because other than this i really never see her coughing out fur balls… and it seems like its instinct in her to do this. I weed-eat and clear as many as i can but there are sooo many that it’s impossible to do all…she seems to eat green ones ive not yet seen her eating a dried one… but i also dont know how to stop it…
right now she has a large bump under her chin toward her throat. Idk how to tell if its cat acne or a stuck fox tail… i am down and out so i really cant afford a vet visit. Other than the physical bump shes showing no sign of struggles. No diet changes. No coughing. No sneezing. No weezing. No obvious discomfort. The bump doesnt seem warmer to the tough… i know sometimes boils can do that. But that doesnt seem the case here. Its hard to tell if its discolored becuz her hair is so thick… any advice will be appreciated
My dog may have ingested a fox tail. I can’t afford to take her to the vet. Is there anything I can do at home. She is a sixty five pound pit bull.
My little dog got a foxtail between his toes. He licked it tell it started to bleed. I took him to the vet the tried to find it and couldn’t. That was $700 for nothing. His foot is still swollen. The spot right where they were digging around is really big. Like it’s right there. I don’t have the money to take him back. Should I let him lick it?