Grass and grass seeds can cause immediate reactions on dogs. At the same time that grass is seeding there are many pollens around and these can also cause your dog to be an itchy dog! The spores from the pollens are absorbed into the dog’s skin and a reaction can present.
Often feet are the first to be affected – becoming red, inflamed and itchy. Then the constant gnawing at the feet just makes matters worse – the fur between the toes will be a browning colour, with deep red patches and may display a couple of lesions from the constant licking, nibbling and biting! Depending on the severity this can be transferred to the muzzle and again is due to the constant licking
The poor dogs don’t realize they are just making everything worse. They just know they are ITCHY and are trying to relieve it!
Kikuyu grass is one grass known to cause severe reactions which may be due to the way it grows as a mat covering the whole surface – with very thick leaves and tiny little hairs.
So what can you do to help your itchy dog?
- Washing your dog with a gentle natural soap when they are itchy helps to remove a build up on the skin, removes dirt, which can further irritate, and keeps the areas clean
- Wash your dog after each walk
- If only the feet are affected you can make an effective saline water bath like a trough – shallow plastic tray – filled with boiled (then cooled) water adding 1 teaspoon of salt per 1 cup of water. Swish the feet around to remove dirt but more importantly to remove pollens trapped in the fur. Pat dry and apply Eezapet. Eezapet contains powerful herbs that offer anti-bacterial, anti-microbial and anti-inflammatory properties, whilst also relieving the itch.
- Relieving the itch is paramount! It’s the itch/scratch cycle that has to be broken. Did you know that Eezapet relieves the itch within 5-15 minutes! Case studies with the SPCA also show that the itch is relieved for approx. 4-6 hours before needing to reapply.
- If your dog’s feet are affected by grasses constantly then Eezapet can also be used as a barrier – as it contains beeswax which means that Eezapet is thicker than most other topical products so it can offer protection. In this case apply Eezapet to the likely-to-be affected area before walking your dog.
- If you have an itchy dog that has sore tender feet I would recommend applying before and after walks.
Other side effects asides from itchy, red, inflamed skin can be sneezing, red eyes, snoring (due to inflamed throat – think hay fever symptoms). If you have all of these symptoms then most likely they have a grass allergy.