The dog may want to retch when eating grass. Thus, it looks for his own solution to deal with stomach pain or digestive problems. A dog’s body does not produce the enzymes that would allow him to digest the grass he has eaten. Therefore, it is not a very good idea for a dog to eat grass.
What will you learn from this article
- dogs lack the digestive enzymes to fully digest the grass they eat
- the reason why the dog is eating grass may be because the dog wants to make gag reflex
- your dog eating grass can be a sign that it is suffering from obsessive-compulsive disorder
The dog eats grass
Do you ever notice your pooch eating grass? I think I know the answer to this question. Most dogs have at least one approach to eating grass. Some pets do it more often, others a little less.
You’re probably wondering why your dog is eating grass at all. After all, this behaviour in a pooch does not result from the fact that your pet is hungry, or that it is because of the nature of a real glutton.
The dog eats grass for specific reasons, which have nothing to do with his desire to satisfy his hunger. It is very important that you be aware of this.
I have heard about cases of dog guardians who wanted to dissuade their pet from the idea of eating grass and tried to bribe him with various delicacies.
The effect of this was definitely opposite to what was expected. The doggy thought he was getting an award for trying to eat grass. I’m sure you don’t want to create such an association with your pet. It would then be very difficult to unteach the pooch to eat grass.
Why does the dog eat grass
As I mentioned before, a dog is eating grass for specific reasons. Your pooch does this for a reason. Do you have any suspicions as to what may be the cause of the pooch’s behavior? I admit that I was trying to deduce why this is happening before I knew the real answer to this question.
Write me in the comment what are your assumptions on this topic so far. I am very curious if your theory is close to the truth.
– vitamin deficiencies in your dog
Your dog’s eating grass may be due to vitamin deficiencies in his body. The doggy instinctively wants to deliver them by consuming green grass.
Your pet wants to replenish the nutrients he does not get with his daily diet. Therefore, if you have doubts as to whether your dog’s menu contains everything he needs, I refer you to the article that you can find on this blog where I explain step by step what a healthy and wholesome diet of your dog should include.
– the dog wants to clear his stomach
Your pooch may choose to eat grass during walks when he is experiencing gastrointestinal problems. You are probably wondering what the healing effect of grass in this situation is. Let me answer that question for you, none.
This behaviour of your pooch is not that he cares about getting grass into his body, as it will have a positive effect on his health. On the contrary. Your dog’s stomach lacks the digestive enzymes to properly digest the grass.
So why is your pet eating grass? Its structure and texture tickle the dog’s palate while eating it, thus irritating his gastrointestinal mucosa. What is the effect of this? This causes the dog to gag.
I’m sure you noticed that shortly after your pooch eats grass, he starts to vomit. This is a deliberate action of the pooch. Your pet, suffering from indigestion or food poisoning, wants to help himself get rid of this unpleasant feeling in the stomach.
The pooch is trying to clear his stomach this way. However, it cannot be denied that this is not a very good way. Therefore, if you notice that your pooch has stomach problems, try to relieve him by giving him the right drugs.
– the opposite effect
Eating grass in such a situation will not always bring the pooch relief, and sometimes even the opposite effect. Not every pooch will automatically gag while eating grass. That is why it is so important not to let your dog try to heal himself with this method.
At the moment when your pooch suffers from stomach problems, and the eaten grass will remain in the pet’s body instead of being returned, it can further worsen the health of the pet.
As mentioned before, your dog does not have the digestive enzymes to fully digest the grass. Therefore, in such a situation, it will be an additional burden on the dog’s body, which is already trying to deal with digestive problems.
What to do to prevent the dog from eating grass
If your pooch suffers from digestive problems, try to take care of him before the pain is so bad that he decides to find his own way to get rid of this feeling.
If you haven’t had any stomach problems with your pooch so far, ask your vet for help. The faster your reaction is, the less likely your pooch will come up with the idea to get rid of indigestion by eating grass.
It is very helpful to teach the pooch leave command. Without training this skill, trying to pull your dog away from the grass can be difficult. You probably know a situation in which your pooch finds something that he wants to eat very much. It’s very hard to get him to spit things out.
In the case of my pet, before he mastered the correct reaction to the command leave, it was not possible at all for him to release the held item from his mouth.
Distract the dog’s attention
If, while walking with your pooch, you notice that he is clearly trying to eat grass, try to distract him. Interest him in something completely different, so that he stops thinking about what he was just about to do.
In the case of my dog, the best thing to do is to attract his attention with a toy. We have a few that are only for us to play outside. Among them, there is a firm rope toy – Bullet – made of a strong rope from Bowl&Bone Republic.
It doesn’t take long to encourage my pooch to play together. For him, this is the most effective way to distract him from eating grass. Consider which toy may be most interesting for your pet at this point. Each pooch has his own preferences for toys.
Dog toy |BULLET red
Ask for help from the dog behaviorist
If your pooch has a tendency to always find something to eat when walking together, then perhaps the help of a dog’s behaviorist may be necessary. It’s possible that your pet eating grass is due to his obsessive-compulsive disorder.
Dogs suffering from this disorder tend to try to eat things that are inedible. This may include grass, among other things. In such cases, the help of a specialist will be required. The problem concerns the pooch’s mental sphere and unfortunately you may not be able to deal with it on your own.
Dog eating grass
The problem of a pooch eating grass is very common. Many dogs decide to eat grass during walks or being in the garden. If this only happens once in a while, you don’t need to panic. However, if your pooch is doing it almost non-stop, it’s a sign that something is wrong.
Does your pooch eat grass? If so, in what situations does this most often occur?
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