Dog walker’s grass seed warning – and how to avoid problem

A professional dog walker issued a stark warning to fellow pet enthusiasts, urging them to “avoid at all costs” a certain type of grass seed to dodge a costly vet bill.

Gracey Buttery, who operates Gracie’s Dog Walking Service in Norwich, took to TikTok with an informative video titled ‘Make sure you know what you’re looking for when walking your dogs! Could save you a very expensive vet trip’.

In the footage, she educates viewers on how to handle encounters with these seeds while out with their dogs.

She begins: “I wanted to do a video on grass seeds because I feel like there’s not enough education on grass seeds really.”

Then she proceeds to display various types of grass seeds.

Gracie then highlights a particular “spiky” seed that becomes “a real problem” for dogs once it dries out. “Avoid these at all costs. If you go to a field and that’s all they have – leave,” she advises.

With around 9,000 followers hanging on her every word, Gracie continues: “Because they are so tricky to get out once they are embedded and obviously you’ll have to go to the vet.”

She also recommends those who find such grass seeds near their homes to “chop them because these ones are really nasty”.

The clip garnered over a thousand likes and attracted dozens of comments from dog lovers sharing their own grass seed horror stories. One comment read: “My pup got one in his paw last year and had to be sedated to get it out, poor guy.

“They gave me the seed after and it cost me that much it lives on the fridge and is now considered a family heirloom.”

Another chipped in: “My dog has had these stuck in her ears twice over the last two years. First time I had no clue what it was. Both times cost £380 for a single grass seed to be removed. Thankful for insurance.”

One owner revealed the staggering £3,000 vet fee they faced for the removal of a single grass seed from their spaniel’s stomach, prompting widespread concern as another user expressed their anxiety: “Omg these are everywhere, they give me so much anxiety.”

Meanwhile, countless users expressed gratitude for the enlightening post, with comments such as: “Thank you for this video. I’m a first time dog owner and had no knowledge of this,” and praise for the valuable advice given: “Thank you so much for this! I never know which ones are ‘the’ ones so avoid anything pointy.”