Worst weeds for dogs? Foxtails are just a start

by Emily Green, Los Angeles Times

The Dry Garden: Worst weeds for dogs

A romp with your dog in the garden or park should be a happy thing. Life-affirming! Usually it is, until your dog encounters the wrong plant. Then it can swiftly become pain and suffering, first for the dog, then for your bank account. Inspired by my recent emergency room visit with terrier after what seemed like a Kodak moment in a meadow, this column is what amounts to a dog owner’s Most Wanted list of plants that gardeners should remove.

At the top of my list and also the lists of veterinarian Nancy Kay and UC Davis weed scientist Joseph DiTomaso are foxtails. Depending on where you live, foxtails might be any number of grasses with needle-like seed heads. After a spectacularly wet winter and a mild, unusually long growing season this year, foxtails are still standing -- and at their most deadly: dry and brittle. The seeds are primed to embed themselves in your dog. In Southern California, DiTomaso said common foxtail-type grasses are wild barley, Hordeum murinum, and ripgut brome.
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