If your boxer never gets out of the city, you may not have to worry about foxtails. Throughout most of the continental United States, however, there are types of grass that spread their seeds by throwing a type of head called a foxtail. These seed heads are slightly barbed, allowing them to move easily in one direction and making it difficult to pull them back out again. A nosy, enthusiastic boxer can unwittingly inhale the foxtail way up into the nasal passages, where it gets stuck. Your boxer will sneeze and scrunch up the side of the face that has the foxtail but will be unable to expel the foxtail because of the way it spreads and imbeds itself once exposed to moisture from the boxer's nasal passages. As your boxer is trying to sneeze the foxtail out, the foxtail is planting itself. If the foxtail is not taken out, it can migrate further. Dogs have been known to have them end up in their brain from either ear or nose, and they invariably will cause an infection if left inside any dog too long. This can cause chronic illness from infection or worse. So if you see your boxer scrunching up one side of his face and sneezing that seems very loud and violent, take your boxer to your vet immediately.