Is your dog eating grass excessively, and you wonder why is he or she doing this?
Well, this article will help you to better understand why do some dogs eat grass, and what you can do to stop them acting like herbivores. Let’s see why do dogs eat grass. Let’s see why do dogs eat grass.
Why Your Dog Is Eating Grass in a Moderate to Excessive Way?
Nowadays, a pretty large number of dogs are eating grass in a moderate way, but among them we can always find a few, that are eating grass in an excessive way.
There are many reasons why dogs eat grass:
1. A Lack of Nutrients or Fiber in their Body
One of the main reasons why dogs may eat grass is the lack of nutrients or fiber in their body, so they want to get those fibers, nutrients and specific enzymes from the grass that they are trying to eat when going outside.
The diet that you are feeding them daily, may be poor in some fibers and nutrients that they actually need, so the only way to get those useful things in their body is to consume grass.
2. Upset Stomach
Some dogs consider grass something like a medicine that could help them vomit, which may solve the problem with their upset and painful stomach (caused by unhealthy food or the presence of parasites in their guts).
Exactly like us, dogs are trying to eat something green and natural when they want to put an end to that unpleasant sensation in their stomach (they consider that they can induce vomiting, which will make them feel better).
3. Your Dog Might Be Bored
A dog that is bored can be highly anxious or extremely active, and all this is happening because your dog is not getting enough mental and physical exercise.
This is a typical situation when the owner is too busy and has not time to spend with the dog.
The dog is fed daily, but is not getting enough attention and maybe even affection from its owner, which makes him feel sad and abandoned.
To get rid of boredom, your dog can start eating grass because this activity could be something entertaining and stimulating for him, and maybe this way he can attract your attention.
4. They Simply Want to Eat Grass Because They Like It
Your dog may start eating grass from an early age just because while being a puppy has seen other dogs doing it, and after trying to eat that green thing, it realized that is pretty tasty.
However, this situation is much less common.
Most often, a dog eats grass because his stomach is upset after eating a certain food (raw or kibble).
You have to pay attention to your dog after feeding him because if he starts eating grass in an excessive way shortly after eating the food, this could mean that something in the food is making him feel sick.
This could happen despite the fact that you’re feeding your dog raw or kibble food.
What You Can Do To Stop Your Dog From Eating Grass?
There are several things you can do to stop this behavior.
1. If Your Dog’s Diet Mainly Consists Of Kibble, Processed Dry Food Or Canned Food
The first thing to do when you want to stop your dog from eating grass is to change its food with fresh raw dog food consisting of uncooked meat (organ & muscle), crushed bones, vegetables and fruits.
Don’t forget that your dog might eat grass because its diet is deficient in specific micronutrients, fiber and of course freshness.
To compensate the lack of micronutrients, minerals and fiber in your dog’s food you can add to its diet: kale, spirulina (high in protein) and raw goat milk (packed with probiotics).
Probiotics are perfect for a healthy gut and if your dog doesn’t have a healthy and happy gut it will definitely start eating grass to solve the issue.
Maybe your dog got tired of kibble, processed dry food or canned food (it’s like eating every day the same food consisting of cereals or fast food and never fresh raw food).
If you feed your dog with processed food, just replace that food with a raw fresh food diet, and you will start seeing a difference right away.
2. If The Reason Is An Upset Stomach
If your dog eats grass just to empty its stomach be sure that the only thing you can do in this case is to change its daily diet.
Something in the current diet is making him feel sick (maybe you feed human food to your dog, or low quality dry processed food, canned food, etc.), and what you can do here is to change its diet with something better (quality food) that is no longer affecting its stomach.
Don’t forget that feeding your dog with low quality food, can even lead to illness.
3. If It’s A Behavioral Issue
Your dog might eat grass just because he got used to it and of course he likes it.
If he doesn’t vomit after that and is not eating grass in an excessive way, you don’t have to worry too much.
However, if you don’t like what your dog does, you can simply stop that habit (you walk your dog outside on leash and gently back inside the house when he’s done going potty), and this is how to break that cycle.
4. If Your Dog Is Bored
A dog that is not getting enough attention from you and is not doing the required daily exercise will become bored, and will start doing things specific to its mental state which could be dominated by anxiety.
Maybe you work all day and you don’t have time for your dog as much as you’d like, and this is the reason why your dog feels lonely and neglected.
If you can’t do anything to spend more time with your dog, try to get a companion for him.
This way, your four-legged friend will no longer feel lonely, and if you have a yard or even in the house, they will play with each other all day long.
Obviously your dog needs more attention and stimulation, and if you can solve this problem, he might stop eating grass (because he will no longer be bored and anxious).
Conclusion
Never punish your dog for eating grass.
You don’t understand why is he doing this, so punishing him or her will only worsen the situation.
If your dog eats grass excessively, you can try the above tips to solve the problem.
However, if all these tips are not changing anything (improving its diet and giving more attention to your pooch), always consult a professional opinion provided by a holistic and integrative veterinarian.