Is Grass Seed Safe For Dogs?

How amazing is your lawn? A well-manicured, trimmed, and watered yard will often appeal to pets, including dogs. Enough grass on the surface will help boost its appeal.

While grass ensures your property is appealing, it can also be a nightmare for children and pets. Whether treated or not, grass lawns can be dangerous to dogs. You must be careful when selecting and maintaining such lawns to avoid health complications.

Excellent lawn seeding can be challenging for many pet owners since it requires additional expertise. Unless you choose suitable grass, it will be significantly challenging for dogs to avoid injuries. Here are a few insights into how grass and grass seeds affect your pet.

What Is Grass Seed?

Grass seeds are the seeds used to grow grass. They measure between one and two centimeters, and their edges are pointy and relatively sharp, making them unsafe for dogs.

How Grass Seed Harms Your Pet?

Grass seeds can harm your pet through consumption or skin penetration. Either method can cause significant internal and external injuries to your dog.

Suppose your dog consumes these grass seeds accidentally. In that case, the chemicals on the surface of the seeds will affect your dog’s gastrointestinal tract, triggering irritation, vomiting, raptures, and pricks. These chemicals could also cause allergies and infectious diseases.

On the other hand, grass seeds can penetrate the dog’s skin and paws. It is quite common among dogs that like digging through the soil.

Consequences Of Grass Seed Penetration

Grass seed penetration causes multiple health complications in dogs. They often get stuck in the dog’s skin, forming painful boils.

The symptoms and consequences will often vary with the affected body part. Here is a breakdown of the different body parts of the dog that will likely be affected.

Ears

Yes, your dog’s ears can also be affected. The various clinical symptoms include head tilting, redness, shaking, and itchiness. The consequences of grass seed penetration into the ear include a ruptured ear drum, ear infections, and hearing loss.

Nose And Lungs

The nose and lungs are affected by both grass seed penetration and consumption. Your dog will cough, retch, and have difficulty eating. Its tonsils will be inflamed and the throat damaged. Your dog might need surgery in severe cases.

Genitals

Grass seeds can adversely affect the urinal and reproductive health of your pet. It causes pain during urination, blood in the urine, redness, and swelling in the abdominal region. In this case, surgical treatment will be vital.

Paws

Paws are more susceptible to injuries from grass seeds, particularly among dogs that like digging. Clinical symptoms include swelling, itchiness, and redness. Your dog will likely limp and keep licking these paws. The ligaments and joints could also get injured.

Treatment For Grass Seed-Caused Dog Injuries

Proactive measures are the best ways to protect your dog from injuries caused by grass seeds. Various methods can help reduce the risk of such injuries.

First, ensure the dog does not walk on or around long grass. Increased grass lengths expose your pet to seeds and thorns that could cause injuries. You must also groom your pet and regularly trim its excess hair.

The treatment option will vary with the extent of the injury sustained. Tweezers are often enough to pull the seeds from the skin or paws of your dog. However, in severe cases, surgery will be vital. This procedure requires the use of anesthesia and sedatives to minimize pain.

A vet could also recommend antibiotics and anti-inflammatory medicine. This choice is suitable for injuries that will likely require long-term care.

Is Pet-Friendly Grass Seed Necessary?

Pet-friendly grass seed is vital for protecting your dog by minimizing injuries and exposure to chemicals. These grass seeds must be free from chemicals and thorny or pricky structures.

Prioritize pet-friendly fertilizer to minimize health complications for your dog. Ingesting harmful synthetic fertilizer could readily cause gastrointestinal irritation, kidney issues, and burns in dogs.

You’ll often need to choose between perennial ryegrass and centipede grass.

Centipede grass is excellent for warm regions, boasting self-repairing capabilities. It is suitable for homes with dogs that love digging, as it grows back relatively quickly. Its ability to withstand extreme temperatures makes it ideal for winter too.

Perennial ryegrass will be your best bet if you are looking for soft grass. This grass grows relatively fast, allowing you to cover the patches left by digging dogs. Yet, it is significantly friendly to pets, minimizing chemical exposure and dog injuries.

Various elements are a priority when choosing pet-friendly grass and grass seed. Always consider ease of maintenance, adaptability to different climates, dog safety, and growth rate. Initial affordability could also be a vital factor.

Final Thoughts

The grass is beautiful, and it significantly improves curb appeal. Yet, the wrong choice could injure your pet. Grass seed affects your dog through consumption or penetration. Always prioritize keeping your dog away from grass seed!