Something in my Dog's ear.

Question

My dog had something in her ear from the garden, the Vet found it. It was like a pointed seed from the grass. He called it CHIRATE, but I can't find a translation into English for this word. Any ideas ???

Answer 1

HI Franki, welcome to the forum

Hmmm, this is where? In Spain it makes no sense.

Answer 2

I found it!! (i think)

Typing "chirate plant" into Google, it asked me if I meant "chirata", which is indeed a plant. I'm not sure if it is what got into your dog's ear, but it sounds close enough... Brief info (with picture) can be found here: http://www.motherherbs.com/swertia-chirata.html

Hm.. I can't find a relationship between "chiarata" and the Canary Islands, though... - Gekkosan, MAY 4, 2010

Answer 3

I wouldn't rely too much on Google Translate. There are many Canarian words that it doesn't recognise. It does recognise Guapa though Heidita, but I don't know where they got Tootsy from.

I wonder what you meant, you lost me there.

However, I think I got it, Canarians pronounce words slightly different, so I guessed:

charate, and I think this is it

Answer 4

I can't find it even in Google. Did the vet say this in Spanish? Did he write it down?

Answer 5

Hi Heidita, Thanks for the picture of the GRILLO, but we now know that Charate is a kind of grass which, when dry, has a seed husk with barbs on it that hurts like hell when it sticks in you,

P.S. I think you know I was refering to your profile picture. I hope I didn't upset you

Actually the Grillo looks just like me.

Answer 6

OK, Chirate is a kind of herbal grass that is native to Mediterenean areas.

CHIRATE (Stipa capensis) . Know as Ricegrass in the Americas, but not native to that region.

What got down my dog's ear was the HUSK (outer casing of the seed) of this grass which is very dry and has sharp edges.

Thank you to everybody who helped on this subject.

Oh hey! That was really interesting! Thanks for sharing! - Gekkosan, MAY 4, 2010

Answer 7

I'm going to speak to some of my Canarian friends tomorrow and get to the bottom of this word. It seems that nobody knows what it is in English. Watch this space.

Answer 8

I am in the Canary Islands. My vet is Ilustre Colegio Oficial de Veterenarios deLas Palmas so I think he knows what he is talking about. Maybe it's a Canarian word. Yes he did write it down. CHIRATE. Could it be HUSK as in corn or barley.

I wouldn't rely too much on Google Translate. There are many Canarian words that it doesn't recognise.
It does recognise Guapa though Heidita, but I don't know where they got Tootsy from.

I agree that Google as a translation tool is very limited. But I find it heartening when I can find references to a given word - then I can sometimes deduce what it is all about. In this case, I found nothing. I am curioous now. :-) - Gekkosan, MAY 3, 2010

Answer 9

My first question: Does the vet write like a doctor?

My second question:was this thing an animal, vegetable or mineral?I do not know about the Canary Islands but here in the states there are seeds of various grasses with barbs on them that cause them to be anchored then burrow into the flesh of dogs and other animals.Some have been removed from sinuses. Was it something like that?

Google Hordeum jubatum. this is the plant that I encountered. Pretty to look at but even though it looks soft the hard part that attaches to the stalk does the burrowing.

duh, just read your post again. The plant I have had experience with was a foxtail here in the US - nizhoni1, MAY 3, 2010

I am sure such a clever method of torture would be duplicated in other plant species throughout the world - nizhoni1, MAY 3, 2010

Answer 10

I cannot find anything on this topic- even on Bing or Google!

Maybe you need to ask the vet again....