Eating grass...

[Reilly]

Little Miss. Reilly has lately been eating a lot of grass when we take her outside and we've been stopping her. To the point, that a few minutes ago she threw up half her breakfest. Were a little worried about this because this is the first time and its only been recently that this has been occuring. Anything we should do?

[Eva (Lilo and Rocky)]

I've never owned a dog that did not eat grass... and they all seem to prefer juicy, fresh long straws.

I asked my vet about this a while ago, and apparently no one knows exactly why dogs like to eat grass. There are several theories: grass may be a natural cure for an upset or overly full stomach because it causes vomiting; or dogs may simply like the taste of grass; or maybe they're seeking out the fiber the grass to supplement their diet. My vet told me that unless the dog eats dirty or polluted grass, there's no need to worry about it. If the grass eating / vomiting behavior gets excessive however, the dog may have some kind of gastro-intestinal problems that your vet should investigate.

[Adina P]

Haha...my doodles LOVE grass. Very normal...I agree with Eva's comments above. See my story from not long ago...click here.

[2hl9mp3c2fuam]

Not sure how old your pup is, but my female who is now 15 mos old used to eat everything...now she doesn't. I have a new pup who is 16 weeks old and is doing it also...grass/leaves/mulch..you name it he wants it in his mouth. I think it will pass for the most part. I just keep saying No - like everything else!!! Good luck.

[Marcia Stevens]

My Doodle "Tannor" grazes like a spring lamb...! He loves the grass...he never vomits after eating it. I would think it would be good for them..!

[Jackie]

Beckett doesn't eat grass as much as leaves when we go out. Sometimes he'll vomit and other times he doesn't. Don't know if it depends on what type of leaf he eats. We had a problem awhile ago, he was eating rhodadendron leaves which I found out were poisonous!! We have one in our side yard. So now I have to make sure he doesn't go over there. When we walk, he loves to chop on leaves. I try to watch him, but he still gets them sometimes. I hope he outgrows it.

[Jacquie Yorke (DRC)]

Blake does this too Ann....He will only eat grass to induce vomitting and grass does the trick everytime...I know if I see him eating it that he has an upset stomach......Plain yogurt is a great suggestion.....FYI to all - La Yogurt makes a probiotic, fat free and UNSWEETENED plain yogurt......Blake loves it...I highly recommend it...

[Stephanie]

Brody loves to chew on grass. Not that he actually *eats* it...but will pull it out by the roots and chew on it...then spits it out and finds another clump he can pull up. Its really wierd.

I would say don't worry about her eating the grass, as most dogs do that. But if she's throwing up a lot I would talk to a vet about that.

[Tegan]

Kali likes to eat grass every so often. She really likes it when the grass is new, green and covered in morning dew. I don't really mind, she doesn't eat a ton and she doesn't throw it up. It's a lot better than some of the other things she likes to eat.