Ginny, I can tell with the number of leaves, that it is not a "modern" shrub rose, thus frequently, they are thorny, but an "older" perhaps "climber" by the height of the canes. Anyway, they are dead, (the brown ones) so prune them out when you get a chance, carefully unless you want to retire from your profession, earlier than you had planned! LOL. What color are the blooms? Cheers!