urge to herd Posted October 30, 2015 Report Share Posted October 30, 2015 I took Gibbs for his usual off-leash walk on the same path every afternoon. The path has some tiny, wicked sharp burrs that he picks up now and then. He picks up his foot, I remove the nasty burr and off he goes. This can happen anywhere from not at all to 4 or 5 times each walk. Monday, he started holding his left rear paw up. I picked out a burr. We continued on our way. He picked up that same paw at least 4 more times, but I didn't find any more burrs. Once we got home I examined the paw very closely, pulled the toes apart slightly, pressed on the pads, dug around a little bit between the pads. Nothing. He did lick my hand several times during the hideous ordeal, other than that, no sign that anything was wrong. I decided to walk him on leash for a few days, just in case. The dog walker saw no signs of a limp on Tuesday. I have seen no signs of limping on that leg at all. Today I took him on a 20 minute easy walk in the a.m., then another 20 minute walk around 2. No limping, no distress. Just got back from the late afternoon walk. Took him to the same path where he started limping on Monday. He started picking up his left front foot. Couldn't find anything. Picked up that same paw at least 3 more times, each time I found nothing. Headed for home after that. We go from the packed earth path to a grassy one. No picking up of any paw, some mild gamboling about, no sign of Any Thing Wrong Ever. Have I taught this dog to limp without meaning to? I am one perplexed human. Ruth and Gibbs Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gideon's girl Posted October 30, 2015 Report Share Posted October 30, 2015 We have these things called sandspurs and the points on them have microscopic burrs, so when you pull them out the ofter leave behind a very small piece, and that's exactly how the dogs act. Me too, if I get one. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
urge to herd Posted October 30, 2015 Author Report Share Posted October 30, 2015 Are they irregularly shaped, so that there is one relatively large spur and a couple tiny ones? It's only on this one path that I find these burrs. I'll see if I can find a pic. Thanks, Ruth and Gibbs Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
urge to herd Posted October 30, 2015 Author Report Share Posted October 30, 2015 Gideon's Girl, I found some pix and they do look a lot like the nasty things I see. The thing is, I've walked my dogs along that path for 13 years, pulled those burrs out of their paws, and this is the first time I've seen a response like this, with the repeated limping. And, the only mention I found of sand spurs occurring was in Florida and thereabouts. I'm in Northern CA. Will see if the county extension people might know something. Thanks for the idea. Ruth and Gibbs Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TxMom Posted October 30, 2015 Report Share Posted October 30, 2015 We have a type of burr here in Texas that's similar to what Gideon's Girl described. When you pull one out, it can hurt for a good while afterward -- I've pulled a lot of them out of my feet! I'm not sure what they're really called... we always called them sticker burrs when I was a kid. It may not be your answer, but you could very well have your own local variation on a sandspur. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
urge to herd Posted October 30, 2015 Author Report Share Posted October 30, 2015 Whereabouts in Texas do you live? I grew up there - Waco from 2nd through 5th grade, and Houston from 6th through high school. I don't recall ever coming across these as a kid, and we were all running around barefoot in the summer. Ruth and Gibbs Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
urge to herd Posted October 30, 2015 Author Report Share Posted October 30, 2015 Took Agent Gibbs out to the dog park for some running and intense frolicking. Nary a limp to be seen. I'll keep an eye on him, of course, and not walk that particular path until we get some rain. Thanks for the info about the sand spurs, Gideon's Girl! Ruth and Gibbs Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TxMom Posted October 30, 2015 Report Share Posted October 30, 2015 Whereabouts in Texas do you live? I grew up there - Waco from 2nd through 5th grade, and Houston from 6th through high school. I don't recall ever coming across these as a kid, and we were all running around barefoot in the summer. Ruth and Gibbs Just outside of Austin -- grew up in Cedar Park and Leander, and now in the Pflugerville area. Spent four years in Waco as a Baylor student, though! I don't know that I ran across sticker burrs much in suburban areas. We were out on acreage, and I was dumb enough to walk around barefoot outside a lot (still am, but we're in suburbia now). If you've got a St. Augustine type lawn like we do now, that chokes them out. But they do pretty well in areas that are left to native grasses. I don't think I stepped on them much in wooded areas, either -- mostly open grassy areas. If you've got shoes on, they'll even embed themselves into the sole of your shoe and then when you try to pull them out they snag your fingers. Miserable little things. Again, you might or might not have your own variation on them in CA, but if you do I can definitely attest that when you remove a burr with a barb on the end of it, it can sting for quite a while afterward. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gideon's girl Posted October 30, 2015 Report Share Posted October 30, 2015 TxMom, yep, those are just like our sand spurs. We actually have about five different types, some are soft and some have more or less actual spurs on each seed pod. I grew up in SoCal in LA county and we didn't have anything like them then, but they have something like them now. Global economies cause global weeds, I guess. Ruth, I'm glad I gave you something else to consider, but very sorry if you have our nasties, or anything like them. When I get one under my skin, it can take 3 days for it to stop bothering me, and sometimes it only bothers me when I brush up against something just the right way. Poor Gibbs. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
urge to herd Posted October 30, 2015 Author Report Share Posted October 30, 2015 The good, no, GREAT news is the Gibbs went for a little ball-playing session this a.m. and had no trouble at all, in any paw. I just got back from a visit with a friend who lives about 30 miles north of me, much drier, hillier and very much less developed. We took a walk around a lake with her 2 dogs and Gibbs and again, no problems. Gibbs is a very happy dog right now. Gideon's Girl, my dogs have had run-ins with those for as long as I can remember. I'd just remove the tiny fiends from whichever paw, and no limping after that. This is the first time I've seen the continued limping in the 13 years I've lived here. And the wee nasty things look the same as they have before. A puzzle. TxMom, I graduated from UT, in the late 70s. Loved that town. Yes, we lived in suburbia where crabgrass was what lawns were made of. Thanks for the info. Without this Board, Gibbs would be on leash only for the next week or so, and not enjoying it. Ruth and Gibbs Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sue R Posted October 31, 2015 Report Share Posted October 31, 2015 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
geonni banner Posted October 31, 2015 Report Share Posted October 31, 2015 The bane of my existence when I lived in the Texas panhandle were goatheads. Vicious thorns that will go right through the sole of flip-flops or cheap sneakers. Thank goD we don't have 'em around here. Although I did find a patch of them growing along the RR track near me. I went back with a garbage bag and pulled them all up and picked up every sticker I could find. Only a couple came up the following year and I pulled them up before they fruited. Awful things - so painful! https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tribulus_terrestris Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kingfisher7151 Posted October 31, 2015 Report Share Posted October 31, 2015 I HATE goatheads. Nasty little suckers. They grow all around our arena, so much that we can't keep up with them. Then the poor dogs limp about as they keep picking them up. I'm not sure which I hate more, goatheads or the other bristley things with the barbs. You can't possibly pull them out without also stabbing your fingers. I have some very strong emotions about teeny little inconveniences. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gideon's girl Posted October 31, 2015 Report Share Posted October 31, 2015 Ours aren't recognizable from common grass until they start to put a head on, which is in September and October. So during those months, I spend 15-20 minutes, twice a day, walking my pastures and pulling them, then they go in the burn pit. Of course, I never find them all. And some years I have more time to search for them. Some days, I really think a flamethrower would be nice to have... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
urge to herd Posted October 31, 2015 Author Report Share Posted October 31, 2015 The goatheads are exactly like the stickers I'm referring to. I wish I could pull the damn things out of the ground. Might start doing that in early spring, if we get any rain at all. They seem to either soften or wash away during the rains, then we're bothered by them from around mid June through the first couple rains. The bad news - for the first time ever, Gibbs stepped on one right here in the mobile home park. Aargh! Ruth and Gibbs Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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