Foxtails, Cheatgrass, and Grass Awns: The Wasatch Front's Most Underestimated Pet Hazard

A guide from Utah Veterinary Emergency Center (UVEC) for pet owners in Herriman, South Jordan, Riverton, Bluffdale, and across the southwest Salt Lake Valley.

If you have walked your dog along the Bonneville Shoreline Trail, in the foothills above Herriman, through Corner Canyon, or even across a dry-grass backyard between May and September, your pet has almost certainly brushed against one of the most stubborn urgent care problems we see at UVEC: grass awns.

Locals call them foxtails, cheatgrass, spear grass, or speargrass seeds. Veterinarians call them a year-after-year nuisance that sends otherwise healthy dogs into our exam rooms with infected ears, abscessed paws, and — in the worst cases — migrated awns lodged in the chest cavity.

This article covers what these plants are, why geography along the Wasatch Front makes them a seasonal certainty, and the warning signs that mean your pet should be seen sooner rather than later.

What Are Grass Awns?

Grass awn is the umbrella term for the sharp, barbed seed heads of several common grasses. The two that drive the most urgent care visits in Salt Lake County are:

Cheatgrass (Bromus tectorum) — invasive, drought-tolerant, and the dominant ground cover across most of the dry foothills surrounding the Salt Lake Valley. By late May, the seed heads dry out and shatter at the slightest touch.

Foxtail barley (Hordeum jubatum) and wild barley — taller, with the iconic bushy seed head. Common along trail edges, irrigation ditches, and undeveloped lots throughout Herriman, Riverton, Bluffdale, and South Jordan.

Both share the same dangerous design: a hardened seed with backward-facing barbs. Once an awn enters tissue or a body cavity, those barbs only allow forward movement. Awns do not back out. They burrow.

Why the Wasatch Front Is Especially Bad

A few things stack against pet owners in our service area:

• Dry summers and heavy spring runoff create the perfect cycle for cheatgrass to thrive. Wet springs grow tall, dense stands; dry summers cure them into seed-shedding minefields.
• The wildland-urban interface in places like Herriman, Draper, and the south Jordan benches means manicured neighborhoods sit directly against undeveloped foothills full of awn-producing grasses.
• Outdoor culture — most local dogs spend significant time hiking, running off-leash on BLM land, swimming in irrigation ponds, or romping in unmaintained pastures.
• Long exposure window — awns remain a problem from late May until heavy snow, often into October.

We typically see foxtail-related urgent care cases ramp up around Memorial Day weekend and continue steadily through Labor Day.

Where Awns Get Stuck — And What You'll See

Every year we remove awns from places that surprise even seasoned dog owners. The most common entry points and signs:

Ears

The single most frequent foxtail presentation we treat. An awn travels down the ear canal, sometimes reaching the eardrum.

Signs: Sudden, violent head shaking. Tilting the head to one side. Pawing at the ear. Crying when the ear is touched. Dogs often go from totally normal to clearly distressed within minutes of a hike.

Paws (between the toes)

Awns work into the soft webbing between toes, then migrate upward through the skin.

Signs: Limping, persistent licking of one paw, a swollen or weeping lump between the toes, sometimes a visible draining tract. A small puncture that will not heal is classic.

Eyes

An awn under the eyelid is excruciating and can cause corneal ulceration within hours.

Signs: Squinting, holding the eye closed, tearing, pawing at the face. Treat this as same-day care — walk in or call ahead.

Nose

Inhaled while sniffing the ground.

Signs: Sudden, violent, repeated sneezing fits — often dozens of sneezes in a row — sometimes with a small amount of blood. The sneezing may temporarily improve but rarely fully resolves on its own.

Mouth and throat

Picked up while panting or grabbed during play.

Signs: Gagging, pawing at the mouth, drooling, refusal to eat, foul breath.

Skin (anywhere)

Awns embed in the coat and burrow through skin, especially in armpits, groin, and around the genitals.

Signs: A non-healing lump, a draining tract, persistent licking of one spot.

The Rare but Serious Cases

In a small percentage of cases, awns migrate beyond the entry point and travel through tissue. We have seen awns reach the chest cavity, the abdomen, and the spine — leading to pneumonia, pyothorax, or septic peritonitis. These cases often present as a sick dog with no obvious injury, sometimes weeks after the original exposure.

This is why a small puncture that will not heal, a chronic cough that started after a hike, or unexplained lethargy in an outdoor dog is worth a same-day exam.

What to Do If You Suspect a Foxtail

At home, immediately after a hike:

• Run your hands through the entire coat, especially armpits, belly, groin, between toes, and around the ears.
• Check inside the ear flaps and gently lift the lip to look at the gums.
• Brush long-haired breeds thoroughly. Cocker spaniels, golden retrievers, springers, and doodle mixes are especially prone to awns hiding in feathered fur.
• If you see an awn sitting on the surface and your dog is calm, you can pull it out with tweezers.

Come in to UVEC if:

• You can see an awn but it is partially embedded, near the eye, or in the ear canal.
• Your dog is shaking their head, squinting, sneezing repeatedly, or limping after time outdoors.
• There is a swelling, draining tract, or puncture wound that is not visibly improving within 24 hours.
• Your dog has a fever, is lethargic, or is coughing after recent outdoor exposure.

Most awn removals are quick, low-stress visits — but the longer an awn has to migrate, the more involved (and expensive) the treatment becomes. Same-day removal is almost always the right call.

Lowering Your Foxtail Risk

You cannot eliminate the risk of grass awns without giving up the outdoors entirely, but you can reduce it dramatically:

• Avoid dry, seedy grasses from late May through first snow. Stick to maintained trails and mowed areas when you can.
• Keep your own yard mowed short, especially the back fence line and any areas backing up to open space.
• Trim feathered fur between the toes and around the ears during foxtail season.
• Inspect your dog after every outdoor outing — make it a routine, not a once-in-a-while check.
• Consider a mesh head cover (for example an OutFox Field Guard or similar) for dogs that hunt, run trails off-leash, or have a history of nasal foxtails.

When to Come See Us

UVEC's team handles foxtail cases throughout the warm-weather months — they are one of the most common reasons dogs from Herriman, Riverton, Bluffdale, South Jordan, and the broader southwest Salt Lake Valley come through our doors in summer.

If something seems off after time outside, trust the instinct. Awns rarely resolve on their own, and earlier intervention almost always means a faster, simpler visit.

Utah Veterinary Emergency Center in Herriman offers walk-in urgent care (including after your regular vet has closed). No appointment necessary — walk in or call ahead.