Does your dog eat grass? You perhaps feel like this is an odd way for a carnivore to behave. But it is unexpectedly common. Most dogs take a nibble at least once, when roaming in the garden, on a walk, or hanging around the park, which leads worried dog owners to question about its safety. Does your dog become sick by eating grass?
Common Habit
Remember, you are not alone in your worries, particularly if your dog is eating grass and throwing up.
Dogs are habitually carnivores, but they do eat plants and vegetables. Dogs perhaps end up eating grass when he travels outside. Similar to all living creatures, dogs also need a nutritional value such as fats, carbohydrates, proteins, vitamins, minerals, fiber, and water in a well-balanced diet to fulfill their daily needs. Grass includes valuable nutrients that complement their existing diet.
Raw grass doesn’t remain toxic to dogs unless it includes chemical pesticides and fertilizers. So, don’t fear, if your dog starts eating raw grass. Though the exact reason why dogs eat grass and throw up is still mainly unknown. However, Pica is the technical phrase used to describe the dog’s disorder of eating things that aren’t food. Although it is generally a sign of boredom, Pica sometimes denotes that your dog has a vitamin/nutrition deficiency.
But what’s exactly going on when a dog eats grass?
Is it unsafe, and should you be worried if your dog seems to love eating your lawn? Here are some common reasons:
Dog likes to throw up
It is the well-known invasive myths about dog behaviors. Scientific studies show that grass doesn’t cause most dogs to throw up, so it’s doubtful any dog would use grass to persuade vomiting. But, more often you see your dog eat grass and then quickly throw up, so it seems right. What’s possibly going on is that your dog is utilizing the feel of the grass to soothe the throat lining due to a gassy tummy. It’s not the grass, which causes the dog to throw up, it’s possible the dog likes to throw up anyway.
Missing Nutrients in Diet
Maybe your dog needs some additional nutrients in the diet as the prey their ancestors killed had digested grass in their stomachs. It’s not that they have grass as a fix in their diet, but their digested prey certainly does. Many dog lovers have found out that feeding dogs with a higher fiber count food has reduced or even cut their desire to munch on the lawn. So, if your dog is eating grass regularly, try to switch dog food with more plant-based nutrition and fiber.
Dogs like it
More than expected, dogs usually like eating grass due to the taste or the texture, though it might sound crazy, our strange little four-legged partners don’t have the most complicated palate. Some dogs frolic about crazily whilst they ‘graze’, racing here and there, energetically. Snatching at huge clumps of grass weirdly shows a sense of silliness.
How to Prevent Dogs from Eating Grass?
Since the consumption of grass is safe, there is no reason to take prevention, unless it always causes vomiting. Make sure, never let a dog eat or play on the grass having harmful chemicals to kill pests or weeds. Do the following needful:
- Every time the dog goes to eat the grass, make the “No” command as your instruction.
- Do not run off your dog unsupervised in a grassy part.
- Set up a kennel run and cover the grassy floor with carpet or flooring.
What do you do when your dog goes to eat the grass? Do let us know in the comments section below.
