Why Do Dogs Eat Grass?

 

Dogs love to munch away on grass, and some even make it part of their daily routine. Fortunately, most experts believe it isn't something you should worry about. So why exactly do they gobble up that green stuff in your yard?

 

Scavengers 'R Us

Dogs, unlike their catty counterparts, are not carnivores. But they're not like your garden-variety omnivores, either. For tens of thousands of years, these opportunistic scavengers have devoured anything and everything, as long as it fulfilled their basic dietary requirements.

 

The modern dog, partly because of evolution and domestication, is no longer like its ancestors, which frequently ate their prey entirely, including the stomach contents of plant-eating animals. Instead, dogs today seek out plants as an alternative food source. Most commonly the plant is grass -- since that is what is closest at hand -- but wild canines are known to eat fruits, berries, and other vegetable matter, too.

 

Clearly, dogs can find their nutrients in a wide range of plant foods, but that doesn't explain why Fido usually throws up after eating grass.

 

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4 COMMENTS
1
Excessive grass eating
by on 07/11/2011 10:53pm

I Have a Lab/Newfounland mix that regularly grazes on grass. Tonight he has been earing grass for over an hour and vomited once. He has been with me all day and has not been exposed to anything new new no change in diet. Any suggestions?

by on 02/15/2012 08:53am

When dogs eat grass they do it because their stomach is upset and they are trying to cause themselves to throw up. a good thing for whateever is ailing them.

by Cole Willam on 05/01/2012 09:19pm

So you ARE saying they do it to make them throw up because of their stomach?

by Christopher Visavati on 05/22/2012 09:06am

Not always. I have a Rottweiler that eats grass on a regular basis and does not vomit. I asked my vet about this and she said it is perfectly fine for her to do this. Sometimes a dog will eat grass if they have an upset stomach, but not always.


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