Why Is My Dog Eating Grass All of A Sudden?
Our canine buddies always have a way of surprising us by the tricks they do, the funny sounds they make, and the random food they gobble up. Dogs at times munch on grass and it really catches our attention. This is probably because it goes against the simple fact that they are known to be meat eaters. So this causes us to wonder why in the world a carnivore would choose to eat grass. While the traditional definition of a carnivore is an animal that has its diet consisting of meat.
So why is my dog eating grass all of a sudden?
Are they evolving? Do they have a medical condition? Or are they just plain down right trying to make a fool of us?
One reason for this has pointed out by veterinary doctors. Dogs have a tendency to eat grass from time to time as a way to rid themselves of gas or some sort of irritation in their stomach such as inflammation. What they do is gulp up the grass into their mouths and sometimes they even swallow it. By doing so,the blades of grass they gulp up will tickle their throats, and on the way down also do the same for their stomach lining. This gives them the sensation to vomit, which happens most of the time. For some dogs,this may bring a solution to the irritation that they have but in some cases, this may be the remedy.
Others may continue having repeated motions of wanting to vomit without any success. This may be a sign of a more serious underlying condition as seen with some dogs. Such conditions could be gastric reflux or inflammatory bowel disease which may prove to be fatal if not taken care of. If the symptoms continue you should see your local vet asap.
Another possible reason to explain this odd habit is that they inherited this trait from their ancestors.
You might wonder how this is possible since their ancestors were even more strict carnivores than the dogs of modern day. So here is why. The dogs of from back then used to fully ingest their prey. They used to eat all of the body parts. THis includes the plant matter that may have been contained in their prey. This in turn influences in part the tendency of dogs to seek such plant matter. Dogs in the past also had to figure out ways to survive.
Such ways included using hunting skills that involved eating grass to conceal their scent from the prey. This trait may also have been passed down from generation to generation. Although dogs don't hunt much for food these days since they have dog owners giving them food. The urge to feed on the good green grass might not have gone away.
Some dogs even choose to eat grass to try to meet some dietary deficiency such as the need of fiber in the diet. In such cases it is important for dog owners to check the nutritional content of the food that they are currently giving their pooch. This helps to avoid unwanted situations where dogs may end up chewing the wrong turf. It could contain toxins from herbicides and other dangerous chemicals that are used for lawncare.
The bottom line is that finding your dog eating grass should not be a major cause of concern to you. It's a common thing for our canine companions to do this from time to time. It never hurts to pay attention to make sure there aren't any underlying illness linked to this behavior. So there shouldn't be much to worry about.
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