Burdock burrs....

Blasted things! Until we became dog owners, we hadn't really had to deal with these irritating things. Goosegrass seeds are annoying, grass seeds positively horrendous if they bury themselves in.  Ruby kept scratting last night and after inspection, we found two pine needles wrapped in her coat plus a couple of other seed things.

This morning, whilst grooming her and dealing with ear wax, we found a matted lump at the base of her ear. How we missed it last night, I don't know. This is how much coat we had to remove to detach it:

Then today, we had to remove a further three small matts, right at the base of her ears. She has her ears brushed every day but now we know where they form, will pay special attention to those areas, poor girl. I'm sure she now feels far more comfortable. How she slept with it on her is a mystery!