Grass Awn's - DEADLY for your dog

I was thinking about heading out to North or South Dakota this fall of 2022, but after reading through this thread, I think I’ll stay in Wisconsin and just let my two French Brittany’s keep after ruffed grouse and woodcock. One or two weeks of pheasant hunting isn’t worth the risk to my dogs or my wallet.
 
Thinblueline said:
I was thinking about heading out to North or South Dakota this fall of 2022, but after reading through this thread, I think I’ll stay in Wisconsin and just let my two French Brittany’s keep after ruffed grouse and woodcock. One or two weeks of pheasant hunting isn’t worth the risk to my dogs or my wallet.
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Mistake!! SD is pretty awesome. A dog can get hurt anywhere, anytime. Sometime I mistake my dog for a robot or machine. In my mind they shouldn’t get tired and never thirsty, or never want to stop or get hurt. Just like at my construction company, we don’t work in fear that someone will get hurt, but when we do we just deal with it
 
4shot said:
Mistake!! SD is pretty awesome. A dog can get hurt anywhere, anytime. Sometime I mistake my dog for a robot or machine. In my mind they shouldn’t get tired and never thirsty, or never want to stop or get hurt. Just like at my construction company, we don’t work in fear that someone will get hurt, but when we do we just deal with it
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Exactly. And do what you can to be smart & prevent accidents. That's the whole point of this thread. Not to scare someone away from hunting. But to educate, so we & our dogs can continue to do what we love safely. Mean seeds are all over; not just South Dakota. Learn to identify & avoid them (not difficult) & do tailgate checks. Those things will take you far.
 
Friend had one of his setters inhale an awn. Worked it's way into the dogs lung and eventually killed it. Took the dog to several vets and the Purdue Vet college. Nothing they could do.

I had never heard of it before and have hunted for 5 decades. Thought maybe it was some thing from the prairies here in Indiana/Illinois, but dog got it in my home state of WI.
 
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Grass awns are under the category of Migrating Foreign Bodies. It includes broken quills, stick slivers, bone shards, etc. A5 is proactive with “tailgate checks” several times during the hunt. Pay attention to your dog and try to avoid accidents. Hunting is meant to be fun, but has its dangers. Be safe.
 
It sure was a Canada Wild Rye year here. The stuff seems to be everywhere this year! Be careful out there!
 
remy3424 said:
This hobby is full of hazards to both human and hound.
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My intent here is to educate; not cause people to freak out every time they see one of these grasses. For pheasant hunters, they're almost impossible to avoid completely. But my preference is to avoid fields, which do exist, where these grasses are dominant. Being able to identify them is the only way to do that, unless you quit hunting altogether, which would be dumb.
 
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