Cattails and sneezing

[Sarah and Willow]

Hello All,

Yesterday we took the dogs out and stopped at a frozen lake to play fetch. Willow found an old, dry cattail and before I noticed, chewed on it. It burst into a bunch of fly-aways (seed?). I didn't think anything of it, but today she has been sneezing quite a bit...

Should I be concerned, and should I call a vet? I tried an internet search and didn't come up with much. Apparently most people were mistaken with "foxtails"...

I took a flashlight and looked up her nose the best I could, but didn't find anything. She is acting fine. Tired out from a lot of exercise yesterday, and it's not that much sneezing. Has anyone had any experience with this?

[Karen, Jasper and Jackdoodle]

Are you sure it was a cattail and not a foxtail? The latter can be extremely dangerous, and can also be impossible to see once it gets into the skin. Cattails in seed are pretty difficult to identify.

Cattail

Foxtail

[Sarah and Willow]

Hello Karen, 

100% sure it was a cattail. Sadly, foxtails and cattails are in abundance around here. The cattail was sticking up out of the swamp. It looked just like a frozen cattail, it didn't have the appearance of the fluffy 'gone to seed' look, which makes me feel a little better....

I called the vet office, and of course they told me to just bring her in to be on the safe side. Which I would love to do but I would also love to not spend a huge bill on an urgent care visit on a Sunday. I called her dog daycare/trainers and she suggested I do a saline rinse and keep an eye on her, and then make an appointment if I felt it was necessary.

I am just a little distraught, I want to be able to do what is best for her, but also financially we just had her spayed and I'm trying to catch up from that bill! I feel like a terrible person, but I would like to try the "wait and see" routine if it isn't a dire emergency.

[Sarah and Willow]

Okay, so I know I didn't get much response to my problem here. But I still want to share what I've found...

I'm thinking the vet receptionist may have thought "foxtails" as well, as they are in abundance here, and they probably get more calls on foxtails than some hysterical lady worried about cattails.

All the internet searches of "cattails dog nose" revealed a bunch of gun dog forums. Apparently those dogs and people are constantly running through cattails. So my thought is sure, the fluff is irritating her sinuses and eyes, but not necessarily embedding itself in her nasal cavity.

This only partially helps my worrying, If the sneezing doesn't subside, I'll be making that vet appointment.

[Karen, Jasper and Jackdoodle]

The thing is, you don't know what may have gotten into her nose, or if it's still there, and of course, none of us has any way of knowing either, so there is no way any of us can give you any advice other than going to the vet. A foreign body embedded in the nasal cavity can be very serious or even life threatening, and I don't think there is anything you can do at home for that. I really hope that's not the case.

I would strongly suggest that you get health insurance for Willow. We have had many discussions here about pet insurance, if you want to do a search. 

[Sarah and Willow]

That is true! And I will keep an eye on her and bring her in if there is no improvement. I'm just trying not to beat myself up over making the decision to not rush her into urgent care.

I'll look into pet insurance. I plan on taking Willow out and about all summer, and I don't want to see dollar signs on every possible hazard we run into.

[Marnie, Stanlee's Mom]

We do not have an issue with foxtails as it does not grow in our area so i can't give you advice.  I found a fairly good article (link included) that I thought I would share.  http://www.whole-dog-journal.com/issues/6_8/features/5563-1.html

Note there is a link at the bottom of the article to click on to see symptoms and treatment.

 

Good luck and keep us posted!