You must have noticed your dog eating grass and wondering why he does it? To treat dogs occasionally for a bit of grass, we consider it completely normal, although it is not clear exactly why they do it.
There are several theories and explanations Why are dogs eating grass? – the most common is that it is a stomach problem that bothers your dog.
This is somewhat true, but it’s not always true, because there are other reasons, which do not necessarily indicate a health problem.
Dogs will eat grass for several reasons that may be physical defects in the diet or it is a psychological disorder in dogs, and may also be present as a result of some kind of behavior.
Is it normal that a dog eats grass?
Dogs are carnivores, and the optional change in the diet through history (mainly through the consumption of heat-treated human meals, bones, and food residues) have somewhat adapted to life with us.
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It is unrealistic to expect that your dog has become a vegetarian, nor can it be primarily due to its short digestive tract, its composition and its enzymatic presence, and the shape and distribution of teeth.
However, wild dog relatives in nature sometimes eat grass, as well as small herbivores in their stomachs, which are consistently present.
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A small amount of grass can not harm the dog, especially in situations where the dog does not eat often, if it is just chewed and spit, and is not followed by other stomach problems, e.g. chronic vomiting, or diarrhea.
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It should be noted that some dogs have the taste and smell of the grass, they are guided – healthy dogs will sometimes be consumed and that’s fine.
Now that we have concluded that this is a widespread and “normal” phenomenon in a large number of cases. It is necessary to look at the larger picture, observe the dog and its behavior, and in relation to other indicators, symptoms, or reactions to determine if there is a potential health risk. These are the most common reasons why a dog eats grass.
The dog is bored
The lack of physical activity, curiosity, and your long absence due to work gives the dog the ability to play with your indoor or garden plants, which is by no means good because of the great possibility of poisoning them.
We recommend Kong a dog toy that will help your dog fight boredom. This toy is to engage your dog in the physical and mental field. It is recommended by trainers and veterinarians and is manufactured in the USA.
This behavior is most easily corrected by increasing physical activity, good training, giving more attention to your game, as well as buying a toy, ball, or chewing gum that will properly occupy the attention of the dog and stimulate his activity by the time of the day when you can devote more time your dog.
Lack of a particular ingredient in the diet
This can be one of the main reasons why a dog often eats grass. It is especially noticeable in dogs kept indoors and if the dog is fed for a long time with single or inadequate foods.
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In this way during your walk, your pet may try (in urban areas generally unsuccessfully) to compensate for certain minerals, vitamins, and special foods in the diet.
Such a hypothesis can be particularly true if the dog has had constipation for a long time or has dehydrated.
The solution is that, in consultation with a veterinarian, they are brought to better quality foods, combine existing commercial food with a home-made special meal for pets, introduce vitamin and mineral supplements, and strengthen fiber in the diet.
Today, there are more complex foods for fiber-rich dogs that deliver great results. After several days of using fiber-rich foods, the dog stops eating the grass if this was the main reason why the grass was consumed.
Stomach problems
Scientific research has found that stomach problems such as nausea, cramps, stomach, and stool problems appear as the cause of eating grass in a smaller number of dogs than previously thought.
You should think of the stomach symptoms of the skin if you notice that the dog has suddenly started to eat grass, which has not been done before, or if there are other symptoms such as lack of appetite, lethargy, irritation, diarrhea, cramps, bloating, gases and vomiting.
What to do when a dog swallows a foreign object
Often, the dog feels that he ate unsuitable food and asks to go out, and then wildly eats large amounts of grass and plants that he finds out without looking at your commands. In this case, the grass can help the dog to vomit easily.
Also, grass can stimulate bowel movement, cause diarrhea, change the composition and content of the intestinal flora, reduce the number of intestinal parasites, and positively affect whole digestion.
If you notice that your dog’s feces become greenish, it is very likely to eat larger amounts of grass in order to calm down the stomach problems and make up for the lack of some nutrients in the body.
Certainly, if you notice signs of stomach problems, it is necessary to inform the veterinarian in a timely manner in order to diagnose the primary problem of the digestive organs in time – the eating of the grass will cease in itself after removing the cause.
Pica syndrome in dogs (Pica disorder)
The point is, in short, the compulsive need for eating inedible things. It comes from Latin, where “pizza” means shear – a bird known for having a huge appetite and indiscriminately eating.
On the menu of such dogs, sand, clay, chalk, and metal and sharp objects can often be found. This kind of behavior can often be seen by puppies during the game and eventually stops.
But in the case of an adult, a bizarre appetite and earlier cases of non-eatable food can be a sign of a particular breed of dog behavior. This disorder should be further examined by going to the veterinarian to determine the cause, check the general health, correct the diet, and plan the treatment strategy.
In the beginning, it is necessary to remove beyond the reach of any dangerous object, or material in your home and yard, which a pet could eat.
Should a dog be prevented from eating grass?
Generally, an expert’s advice is not to prevent a dog from eating grass. Most veterinarians consider it to be part of the process of game and self-treatment of plants. Still, one should not forget that our pets are not even picky, nor moderate, and they may have health problems.
What you can do is occupy and draw attention to other activities, nutrition correction, and fiber use, regular parasite cleansing, giving supplements, and regular control to a veterinarian.
Also, remove from your home all potentially toxic garden and house plants, avoid grassy areas treated with deep-sea, pesticides, and herbicides.
Follow the behavior of your pet while playing outdoors and learn about the appearance of plants that can be toxic to a dog in nature to react in time if they come into contact with them.
Experiences from the practice of a veterinarian
This can already be associated with a health problem. It may also happen that a piece of grass falls into the nasofarings which will lead to a consequent reaction to the side of the body and a lot of unpleasant problems.
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Many times I’ve seen that the impossible amounts of grass, wrapped around, for example, smaller stones, actually aggravate the process of vomiting.
The stone enters the entire bunch of grass and there is no way that the dog will be able to vomit anymore. In particular, this is happening when it comes to the linear side of the body (thread, pieces of rubber that serve as insulation on the door)
I would advise you not to let the sick dog eat the grass because sometimes it can aggravate the thing, but let it be your veterinarian’s assessment.
The dog can swallow incredible things! Everything is good while swallowing nonsense that is digestible, which does not create major problems.
For example, smaller pieces of wood, softer plastic, aluminum pate (believe it or not!) And similar things will go unnoticed through the digestive tract of a dog.
However, the problem arises when a dog swallows larger pieces of unproblematic material such as stone, chestnut, cymbopic cord, various balls and plastic toys, plastic bottle plugs, and rubber toy pieces (tennis balls).
The second group is the linear side of the body that requires a more complicated surgical procedure for removal. These are things like beach towels, nylon socks, fish together with a hook, needle-pin with a needle, etc.
In these foreign bodies, the blade is lagging behind in the stomach, and the linear part extends through the entire length of the intestine, so the hose needs to be opened in several places to remove everything.
A foreign body can swallow a dog of any age, but most commonly it is about young dogs who swallow everything from the ranks – candidates are those dogs who do damage to their home by cooking your shoes and slippers, and for days on the sponge from the couch and armchair.
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Caution is needed even if your dog is prone to destroying the toy, that is if it is fun to beat the toy to pieces. The foreign body will pass through the stomach and part of the small intestine until it reaches the point where the gut is narrowed. At this point, it stops and there is a partial or total bowel obstruction that will cause a whole range of clinical symptoms.
The first sign is vomiting. Sometimes diarrhea or a softer stool appears. Normally, the body temperature is within the normal range, the dog behaves relatively normally and sometimes has a well-preserved appetite.
We sometimes find a foreign body in older dogs suffering from chronic gastritis, so in addition to the grass, they start eating unusual things that the dog would not eat normally.
If your dog is upset and shows unusual behavior such as the situation when eating grass, then we recommend solutions in this preparation Dog Calming Aid, it will help you calm the dog in a natural way and thus free him from unnecessary stress or fear.
The first step in diagnosis is certainly taking data from the owner of the dog – we will ask all the information about the usual behavior of the dog, and if we suspect a foreign body, we will try to find out if there is an object missing or missing a dog’s toy.
The dog is often swallowed by a stone or chestnut when thrown away by their owners, so they love it on the fly and just slip them into the stomach.
If RTG and palpation of the abdomen cause suspicion of a foreign body in the intestine, an operation should be performed. Some dogs are particularly prone to swallow everything they are hopping on the road, so as to avoid such complications that are dangerous for life. It is recommended that such a dog wears a snaffle to make sure it only eats what you have given it to eat.
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