2026, animals, Nature, pets, Uncategorized

Stickers And Prickers

21 Comments

On Sunday evening Husband took our terriers for their third walk of the day. They have rather elaborate hair styles, with skirts, beards, long brows, short hair on back and tail, and longer, curly hair on their chests and legs. They have short legs with long bodies that are pretty close to the ground.

Husband is usually careful to only walk them on paved paths and not let them stray into long grass. They both got into some longer grass Sunday night though, as Husband gave some other walkers wide berth as they passed one another. He doesn’t want the dogs to jump on other people. The grass was full of tiny burrs the size of BB’s that stuck to the dogs’ coats in every place imaginable. It was impossible to brush them out as they stuck so securely.

Boommate is a former vet tech and also worked for a groomer for a while. She came to the rescue with a small electric clipper. Husband and I held the dogs securely while she patiently cut the burrs out of their fur. The dogs were very unhappy being manhandled and restrained. She said she had encountered these burrs before, and they can cause severe problems if animals ingest them or get them stuck in their mouth or throat.

After about an hour of clipping and brushing, the dogs were burr free. In the event this happens again I ordered a portable dog grooming table for easier management. The dogs go to their regular groomer next week so they can get their coats all evened out and trimmed.

Who has come to your rescue? Any incidents of burrs or stickers on you or your pets?

21 thoughts on “Stickers And Prickers”

  1. my mom comes to my rescue however she can in whatever way she can think of. she reminds me of shel silverstiens the giving tree. i try to pay her back however i can.
    burrs. part of the deal. nala now moves so slow she would have to take 27 steps and do the twist to get them to stick.

    Liked by 7 people

    Reply

  2. My back yard is very stickery and I just hate it! Kitties are not allowed out there, but keeping up with mats is another story. Strangely, it is the big orange boy that seems more prone to that. Fortunately, they are pretty tolerant of my efforts to keep them neat where it’s tough for them to get to, but it is constant this time of year.

    Liked by 6 people

    Reply

  3. This has made me think about the fact that I have no conscious memories of dog hair issues growing up. All of my life we had long-haired dogs and I don’t ever remember hair collecting up anywhere, I don’t remember being told to brush the dogs, I don’t remember my mother brushing the dogs. I’m guessing that’s what happened though — that my mother did all of the dog care and dog hair care.

    I’ve also made a habit of long-haired dogs, but we rarely go to places where there’s too many burrs or stickersband when we have, I’ve mostly been able to brush those out. There have been a few times with my first Irish setter in particular (Katie Scarlet) when she would get some mats from something I had missed and then there were scissors involved, but that wasn’t too many times thank goodness.

    Liked by 5 people

    Reply

  5. We have a lot of the burdocks around the farm. And those other little green things, that I finally learned are called ‘Beggars Lice’, and we’ve learned what the plants look like so we can pull them before the stickers get going. The burdocks have such a deep taproot, they’re hard to kill.
    When my uncle had his minature horses out here, he tried to avoid the pastures that had burdocks.

    Back in 2nd grade or something, I used that term, Burdock, and the teacher thought I was making it up. She must have been a city girl.

    I got help yesterday from the tree trimmers. And there is a contractor working at the farm.
    And I’ve got help lined up for Friday to pour concrete.
    There’s always helpers. We have to be grateful for them.

    Liked by 5 people

    Reply

    1. I’m glad you came up with the name beggar’s lice – I was trying to think of what that weed was called, because I just had to pick a long line of those burrs off my sleeve last week, and I couldn’t remember what the plant was called.

      Burdock is really awful if you get it in your hair. I’ve learned to put on a hat if I’m going to be in an area with a lot of burdock, because it’s perfectly happy to stick to your hat, but much easier to remove than it is when it’s in your hair. Big clusters the size of plums, all clinging to each other.

      You can pull burdock with a weed wrench when it sends up a central stalk the second year. Easiest to do if the ground is at least a little moist. The tap root that comes up is sometimes two feet long or more.

      Liked by 3 people

      Reply

  6. That sounds excruciating with the tiny burrs. I’ve only had cats, and I don’t remember any major problems with burrs, just occasional ones.

    I do remember pulling the little ones off my own socks and pantlegs after wandering through a field of something!

    I’m sure a lot of people have come to my rescue, and will try to remember something.

    Liked by 4 people

    Reply

  7. I’ve had a lot of experience with burs, beggar’s ticks, and the little green ones you describe. I’ve always called those “come-alongs,” but I don’t know if that’s correct.

    We had a Norwegian elkhound (Gus) and a springer spaniel (Pokey) when I was young. Gus had very thick, medium length fur, which seemed to be a magnet for all kinds of burs. I took care of Gus. Mom took care of Pokey. She had medium length fur too, but she didn’t get as coated with stickers and come-alongs as Gus did. I found it easiest to just pull him into my lap and start stroking him, pulling my fingers through his coat, working out the mats with my fingers, and pulling out the burs, etc, as I worked. I think brushing might increase the tangles and make it harder to remove the stickers.

    I also had two horses, and I took care of two other horses during the fall, winter, and spring. They had 10 acres of pasture to roam, which they shared with 5 young steers in the summer. The horses seemed to avoid the steers. They’d always go as far to the back of the pasture as possible, on the west side of the pond, walk along the fence, and gather burs in their tails. I’d walk out there to get them, ride my Arab gelding back with just a halter on him, and the other horses would follow. The steers often followed too. Once I got them back to the barn, I’d put them in stalls, feed them, and brush them. I had to work through their long tails and manes with my fingers to get all the burs and stickers out. I think it felt good to them.

    My “sister,” Lori came to my rescue, and I came to hers. She helped me with teenage girl stuff which my mom refused to discuss. I helped her with her horse when she wasn’t around to care for her.

    Liked by 5 people

    Reply

  8. I tried to be interim choir director here a few years ago, and luckily the former director took back for a while, till we could find someone else. I just had too much other stuff on my plate at the time… Can’t now recall the timing of all that, but it was such a relief to hand it over!

    Liked by 5 people

    Reply

    1. Some years ago, when the church of which I am a member bid our choir director farewell, in his speech he pointed out that the purpose of the choir was not to do “big performance pieces”, but to help the congregation to worship. Our choir sings short responses to parts of the Liturgy, leads the congregation in singing other short responses, and, to tell you the truth, if they’d just sing something from the Hymnal when they have to fill time (like while the offering is received), I’d understand better what they are singing. They are a good choir, and they lead us well.

      Liked by 5 people

      Reply

Leave a comment