Foxtail Barley, Spear Grass and Your Dog

In what has now become a yearly PSA, here is my fifth installment on Foxtail Barley or Spear Grass (horde um jubatum) that is a threat to your furry friend if you are a dog owner.  Last year's TNT on this prickly subject was on June 8 titled "Spear Grass Stabbing Dogs which you can scroll down in the online archives to read.  While I have done my best to bring this pet threat to both the public and other media attention, there are many people who are blissfully aware of the risk this plant poses.  Unfortunately little is being done to manage its spread and with our warmer drier summers foxtail barley is moving from marginal growth areas right into people's manicured lawns.

Here is what the American kennel Club has to say about foxtail awns and reducing their threat to the health of your dog.   

Preventing Problems From Foxtails and Other Barbed Awns

• Keep your yard clear of foxtails and other tall grasses.

• Trim your dog’s hair during foxtail season.

• Avoid taking your dog to areas or hiking trails where you see foxtails or any overgrown fields of tall grasses.

• If you do walk through any area where foxtails are growing, check your dog for visible seeds, especially between the toes. Run a fine-toothed comb through their coat and look for awns in their fur. Also check their ears, face, and mouth. Remove any barbed awns before they start to burrow with a brush or tweezers.

• If the awn is embedded and surrounded by red and swollen skin, take the dog to your veterinarian.

• If your dog starts to exhibit strange symptoms of illness, especially sneezing or breathing problems, see your veterinarian right away. Mention that you’ve been in a place where foxtails were growing.

• If there’s a strong chance you won’t be able to avoid locations where foxtails grow when you’re out hiking or hunting with your dog, consider covering their paws with dog booties.

Foxtail barley is a native grass present within this off-leash park.  Please note the following:

Foxtail barley has sharply barbed seed heads that can cause sores in the nose and mouths of animals.  The barbs allow seeds to become lodged in animal fur, leading to further spread.  Surrey Parks currently has a remediation program in place to remove the seed heads from the plants that grow inside this off-leash park.  If you see this plant inside the off-leash park, please report it to our service request line.

This brings me to the current situation down at Crescent Beach.  In June the City of Surrey opened a pilot program allowing leashed dogs on weekdays  from dawn to dusk along the Crescent Beach walkway.   In a media release, Mayor Locke was quoted saying "I look forward to exploring a thoughtful, balanced approach that respects our natural environment, ensures public safety, and promotes responsible pet ownership.” The only problem is they did not realize that part of our natural environment is dangerous to pets, no matter how careful pet owners may be.  If you walk throughout Crescent Beach and Blackie Spit, you can find many areas where foxtail barley is growing wild.  This entire walkway plus Blackie Spit should have been checked for this pet hazardous grass before it was opened up to dogs during the summer months.  A sandwich board for this pilot project was even put next to a planter surrounded by foxtail barley (see the top photo and try not to cringe).

To show you how pervasive this problem is, let me tell you about two dogs from last week that had problems with spear grass.  I came home from work mid-week and met our dog Bizley at the top of the stairs.  When I bent down to give him a pet, I immediately was stabbed on the hand from something sharp in his tail.  I checked him over and found five foxtail barley awns stuck in the long hairs of his tail.  These likely came from the top of the Christopherson Steps at Christopherson Park where we take Bizley for a walk down to the beach.  At noon on Friday we pulled over our work truck near an empty lot not far from the PAH.  The next door neighbours were out throwing the ball for their German Shepherd, a dog I had previously met.  When I went over to say hi, I realized it was a dog I had recently seen profiled in the WR/SS Facebook page that had foxtail barley awns surgically removed from its ear.  Fortunately the surgery was a success and their dog is back to complete health thanks to a rather large veterinarian bill.

I was away on holidays last weekend but am planning on taking a walk through Crescent Beach and Blackie Spit on Tuesday evening.  I will be taking along a can of fluorescent red marking paint that we use on our job sites to mark hazards.  My plan is to spray paint any foxtail barley I find along the route to make it more visible for dog owners to avoid and for Surrey crews to find and eradicate.  I'm hoping that the Blackie Spit off-leash park has been cleaned up because there were fields of spear grass growing in it last year when I was there.  For Surrey parks, in particular dog parks and areas where owners walk their dogs, it is important for them to control foxtail barley in high pedestrian traffic areas where residents will be walking their pets.  If you live in White Rock and think this is only a Surrey problem, I have seen foxtail barley growing in alleys, unkempt areas and even in between pavers and cracks in the sidewalk across the City By The Sea.  

Head Coach Kevin Rouet has named Canada’s 32-player squad for Women's Rugby World Cup 2025, which kicks off in Sunderland, England on 22 August.

Canada will compete in Pool B with matches against Fiji at the York Community Stadium on Saturday, 23 August, before further matches against Wales in Salford on 30 August and Scotland in Exeter on 6 September.

On July 22, 2025, Surrey Bylaw Enforcement - Commercial Vehicle Unit hosted a commercial vehicle enforcement check with our partners from Coquitlam Bylaw, Township of Langley Bylaw, New West Police, and the BC RCMP Hwy Patrol. The check was setup on the 7400 block of 128 Street, targeting commercial vehicles.

43 vehicles were inspected with 21 vehicles placed out of service (49%) for various safety, mechanical, and regulatory issues.

Through the duration of the check, a total of 42 tickets were issued with 74 violations identified.

Community Alert: Ricki Randall Taysup

In July 2024, Ricki Randall Taysup, now 37, was arrested in connection with an incident on June 22, 2024, in the 13600-block of 18 Avenue, where he allegedly chased and threatened a woman in the Ocean Park area. He was charged with uttering threats and has since been released on probation with strict conditions.

Taysup is under court-ordered conditions:

● prohibited from being in certain areas of the South Surrey/White Rock peninsula (see map below)

● possessing non-prescribed drugs or alcohol (except personal-use marijuana)

● carrying weapons, including knives, bear spray, or other incapacitating sprays.

Taysup’s July 2024 arrest followed community reports of harassment targeting women and girls in Ocean Park, prompting significant concern. His history allegedly includes a prior conviction for sexual assault, though specific details are not publicly available.

Here is a previous post about him

https://www.facebook.com/share/r/16pHvHHdFd/

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