WHY IS MY DOG EATING GRASS?

WHY IS MY DOG EATING GRASS?

Why does your carnivorous dog sometimes think he is a herbivore? Does he really purge himself by doing this? Can this behavior indicate a health problem in your dog? The answers to your questions are in our article on the subject...

Why does your dog eat grass?

Although the precise origins of this behaviour in dogs are not yet known, several hypotheses are commonly put forward.

For example, a dog might eat grass:

By instinct

As a descendant of the wolf, the dog may instinctively seek to reproduce the diet of its ancestor, which consisted of herbivorous prey whose stomach contents contained berries, plants...and grass. It is in the stomach contents of small prey that wolves find fibers that contribute to their digestive comfort.

Because he likes it

Although dogs do not have the most developed sense of taste, they can still eat grass because they simply enjoy the taste.

Because he has a stomach ache

If your dog is unable to digest his last meal, he may experience stomach discomfort that he will want to get rid of. To do this, he will ingest a large amount of grass fairly quickly. This will irritate his stomach lining and make him vomit.

This behaviour is not a concern when it is occasional, but it should alert your vigilance when it becomes frequent. Indeed, the abdominal pain that causes this behaviour may be a sign of digestive disease or food intolerance that you will need to identify during a veterinary consultation.

Because he has pica

When your dog is constantly eating unusual and inedible materials such as sand, dirt, stones, cloth, poop, plastic or even grass, he may have an eating disorder called pica.

Pica may be the result of a behavioural or medical problem such as chronic digestive or metabolic disorders.

Because he's not satisfied

Finally, it is possible for a dog to eat grass because he's hungry... and grass rich in fiber would help fill him up. In fact, dogs whose diets are high in ferment-able fiber are less likely to eat grass. It is known that the fermentation of these fibers in the intestine during digestion may cause these dogs to feel fuller.

If you think your dog eats grass to satisfy his hunger, you can supplement his diet with rich ferment-able fiber to try to stop his behaviour. Ferment-able fiber is found in :

• Fruits such as apples, pears, plums, or bananas,
• Vegetables such as carrots, broccoli or artichoke stock,
• Legumes such as lentils, peas or kidney beans...
• Wheat bran.

Supervised grass intake

Although a dog's intake of grass is not always a concern, you should still be careful that the grass your dog ingests is not treated with chemicals such as fertilizers or pesticides that could harm his health.

In addition, you must ensure that your dog is dewormed regularly because it is on the grass that various parasites deposit their eggs and the dog can become contaminated.

My dog eats grass: when to consult?

Most of the time, the fact that your dog eats grass is completely harmless and does not present anything to worry about.

Nevertheless, it is necessary to consult a veterinarian when your dog eats grass:

•  Seems excessive and/or systematic, 
• Is associated with symptoms that may remind you of pica or digestive problems. Among these symptoms, frequent vomiting and/or worrisome vomiting should prompt you to consult a veterinarian as soon as possible.

Does grass help the dog purge?

Purging is a practice based on the use of plants to rid the body of harmful elements that make or could make him sick. In dogs, these harmful elements can be intestinal parasites, so purging is often compared to worming.

A common misconception is that dogs may eat grass to purge themselves, in other words, to deworm naturally.

While it is true that eating grass can speed up intestinal transit thanks to the fibers it contains, it has no deworming action. On the contrary, it is often through the consumption of grass that dogs become contaminated with digestive worm eggs that are present.

The best way to deworm your dog is therefore to use veterinary deworming products whose effectiveness has been tested and proven.