Why exactly
do dogs eat grass?
or «Why
does my dog eat grass outside?»
Why
does my dog eat grass» is a common question I face in my clinical practice.
All of our dogs love to eat grass, and many of us have asked ourselves more than once, «
does my dog eat grass because he needs to, or like to?»
Why
Does My Dog Eat Grass?
All of our dogs love to eat grass, and many of us have asked ourselves more than once, «
does my dog eat grass because...
Not exact matches
You don't need to stop your
dog from ever
eating grass, but you shouldn't be encouraging him to
eat more!
I've had a lot of
dogs over the years... some who
ate grass, some who didn't.
We've almost all heard the saying that a
dog eats grass when they don't feel good or if they have an upset stomach.
For other
dogs, the
eating of
grass is strictly a behavioral phenomenon,
done simply out of boredom.
While I would agree that
dogs are not going to be smart enough to seek treatment for GI upset on their own the way we seek ant - acids for indigestion, I believe that on some instinctual level born of evolution, some
dogs do indeed engage in the
eating of
grass only when sick.
If in the end, your
dog or cat
eats grass no matter what you
do, it is not likely to cause any harm, in fact, it could even stand to
do them some good.
Question: So one of my uncles cut the
grass and he clean d the backyard and while he was
doing that he put this dust which is to kill the weeds growing and after he let my
dogs out and my
dogs were around the backyard and I'm worried they might have
ate some, since my dad had two
dogs in the past and a company came and
did the same thing and sadly the two
dogs died, since he tried to just wash it off the pavement but he said it only made the dust taste sweet.so I'm not really sure what to do?should I be worried?
Additionally, most
dogs do not appear to routinely vomit after
eating grass.
Dogs who
eat grass don't always vomit, and they don't often appear to be sick before they start to graze.
If your
dog has a habit of
eating grass outside, only to come inside and vomit all over your house, there are some things you can
do to stop the habit.
Dogs vomit after
eating grass only about a quarter of the time, according to a study
done at the University of California in 2008.
Oftentimes
dog owners believe that their pet is
eating grass because he doesn't feel well, but that is just a common misconception.
Do not let your
dog eat plants other than
grass unless you know for sure that the plant is not toxic to
dogs.
Veterinary researchers have asked this question, too, only to find that «
grass eating is a common behavior in normal
dogs unrelated to illness and that
dogs do not regularly vomit afterward.
However,
grass eating does not always result in vomiting; some
dogs may simply relish the flavor or texture.
Some
dogs will
eat grass (especially in the spring), usually as a cleanser and it will make them vomit — don't panic, they wouldn't
do it if they didn't know they needed to.
Dr. Cailin Heinze, a nutritionist at the Cummings Veterinary Medical Center at Tufts University, who was not involved in the study, shakes her head when asked to explain why
dogs eat grass in general, and why some
dogs vomit while others
do not.
Dogs mostly
eat certain types of
grass because they like the taste, just as with the case of garbage, but it
does appear that individuals learn that too much can cause vomiting, so the intentional
eating of
grass to induce vomiting seems to come after experience.
So,
eating grass does not necessarily mean that a
dog has an upset stomach.
On our daily walk this morning, my little
dog Kiko stopped and
did something strange: she started
eating grass.
Well, firstly, it tells us that there is a good possibility that some
dogs do indeed
eat grass to induce vomiting.
Yeah, we just covered why
dogs might be
eating grass or other leafy stuff, but have you
done your homework?
Some
dogs may also
eat grass because they are under - fed, don't have access to adequate food or are just plain bored.
«Why
does my
dog or cat
eat grass?»
Also, don't let your
dog eat things that are bad for him, such as
grass, fabric, and bones from your own table.
This finding raises the question as to whether
dogs that
do eat grass rapidly are
doing so to relieve stomach discomfort after
eating something that
does not agree with them.
One of the more common theories behind
dogs that
eat grass is that they
do it as a means to vomit.
While in these cases
dogs generally
do not experience negative effects from
grass eating, this behavior can prove to be dangerous for pet owners living in areas frequently treated with pesticides.
Many
dogs do eat grass from time to time.
Dogs that show signs of feeling under the weather before
eating grass are more often than not, not
eating grass because they enjoy
doing so — think of this like
eating a chocolate bar when your stomach is aching.
Another theory behind why
dogs eat grass is that they are
doing so out of boredom.
In some cases a
dog will entertain itself by being destructive and chewing through furniture, in other cases a
dog will entertain itself by finding something — anything — to
do and this can include
eating grass.
My
dog does not
eat but one particular
grass and she will seek out that one
grass always.
A 2009
dog study in the Journal of Veterinary Behavior found that puppies were more likely to
eat grass if their mothers
did while nursing.i
As with younger children, attention is attention and it is possible that a
dog that
eats grass is trying to tell its owner that it needs more attention from them much as the naughty toddler who draws on the walls would
do.
There will be a notable difference in a
dog that
eats grass because they enjoy
doing so and a
dog that is
eating grass to induce vomiting.
Additionally, even if the
dog does not
eat grass, they may carry these chemicals on their feet and then lick their paws later.
Dogs that
eat grass but
do not show symptoms that may indicate physical illness can be allowed to perform this behavior with a watchful eye on the
grass being
eaten.
In the case of a
dog that
eats grass because they enjoy it,
grass -
eating will seldom if ever cause vomiting; however, that
does not mean that it can not.
She has access to the outside and knows how to use the
dog door, but she rarely goes out, and when she
does, it is usually only to
eat some
grass which she then promptly throws up once she is back inside on the carpet!
However, at times this won't
do the trick, or your
dog won't even feel like
eating grass.
Some people propose that
dogs might turn to
eating grass when they don't feel well as a way to make themselves vomit, and then feel better.
And
grass -
eating doesn't usually lead to throwing up — less than 25 % of
dogs that
eat grass vomit regularly after grazing.