LOL So that's what was blocking my plughole!! I wondered where it had come from.

Still it must have come out pretty easily for me not to have to resort to teasing it out, at the time I was more concerned with washing his precious jewels which were encrusted with spiky grassy bits. He doesnt like me touching them at all and he backs himself up to the end of the bath until he's not upright any more due to the slope.


What I hate the most is when he brings me almost an entire bramble length...they hurt your fingers!!

oooo yes I'm with you there! I'm sure it hurts us more to get them out than it does having them in!

And how on earth do they manage to knot them up so tight??!!!

I'm lucky, the last time Marley brought on of them back Fuddles was on hand to help!

Useless bit of info here.....the dreaded burr, teasel, sticky bud, whatever you like to call them was the making of velcro after the bloke that invented it had a good look at what he was having to pull out of his dogs ears, he saw the little hooks on the end of them would make perfect grippers hence VELCRO, so at least some good came out of the blasted things

now it all makes sense.......................................

yesterday Scully was mucking around in the mud and rushes and then came scampering back to me, worrying at the area behind her front leg so i knew my help was needed...an absoulte MASS of these sticky, spiky things, reaching from behind her front right leg right across her tummy. to between her back legs!!..took ages to get out, particularly as she was wet...

Sorry just caught up with this!

I call them burrs. They are bad enough when they get stuck in spaniel ears but the flatcoats always manage to get them in the tail and leg feathering.

Is a sticky bob the same thing as a sticky willie?

Marls gets them in his feathering as well these days. In fact he had one on his neck the other day and I missed it and went out and when I came back he had a cut on his neck where I think he was trying to nibble at it to get it out but couldn't get to it.

of course when he's not bringing them home there's usually some other peice of countryside tangled up in his tail or ears!

Hi all, have you tried horses mane n tail conditioner on a cloth and rubbing it round the ears n other dodgy parts before exercising the dogs? It makes grooming them out a little bit easier (most of the time).
The little sticky balls round leics/northants we call stickywilly. Dunno why. lol.
They dont grow into teasels, just long strands of sticky leaves on sticky stems which we used to throw at each other to see who could be smothered in them first. Kids eh? lol.

They are burdock seed heads I believe - my collie used to come home with them in her tail and round her chest - when you try to pick them out they disintegrate.... having had dogs for quite a few years I have all sorts of things growing in the garden, all have sticky seed heads that travelled home on the dogs coat....isn't nature wonderful.

I am forever finding those spikey things in Moll's ears. Especially when she has been rooting about in a hedge for one of her tennis balls. I usually give up in the end and resort to scissors. Moll's main trick is to bring home half a bramble bush in her feathers. I think sometimes that it's her idea of jewellery (she gets antsi when I try to remove it).