Jess The Spaniel his had a great time over the summer. Being totally nose driven she just loves the long grass and will spend hours charging through it at top speed with little regard for her safety, or the fact that I can’t join in because I am too short and can’t see where I am going.
All this gallivanting is all well and good. She loses weight, has a great time, I just follow She Who Should be Obeyed so that I don’t get lost but when we get home then the licking starts…
All this lovely long grass and bounding about comes at a price. Some of these grasses produce really horrid big seeds that get everywhere. The seed have little barbs on them, a bit like fishing hooks, that mean they hang onto fur. The hairs on the seeds and their pointy ends mean that they are hard to remove and if they get stuck in your enormous flapping ears or between your toes, up your nose or in your throat they can only stay there, or worse move forward.
Big Ears Jess gets them everywhere. If she is shaking her head we know there is one in one of her huge lug holes. Constant sneezing suggest ones in her most precious nose and a disgusting coughing noise indicates one in the throat. Licking paws endlessly often means there is one gone between her toes and they can be really sore, and end up entering the body through the skin.
SWSBO has owned two spaniels now and considers herself something of an expert on the grass seed issue:
Feet – check between the toes after every walk and cut the fur that grows between them to make the blighters easier to find.
Nose and ears – These are a vet job.
Throat – A tin of Chappie. No other dog food works as well as Chappie is very sticky. This trick was explained by a vet… after the huge emergency fee had been charged. A tin of Chappie costs 69p and worth a try before the Men in Green Coats get involved.
So my Canine Friends, take care of yourselves, it’s a nasty seedy jungle out there!!!
Woof Woof!!!!
Diggers xxx
