What would you do? Maddy wants to eat grass ALL the time!

[Kelly Gallagher]

Maddy is 6 1/2 months old and try as we might we just can't engage her enough outside to get her to want to play. All she wants to do is eat the grass and weeds and sticks. We play soccer, frisbee, fetch...to no avail. She might play for a couple minutes but then gets totally preoccupied with snacking. I'm pretty sure this is not driven by hunger either...she eats well. Should I care? I really want her to be outside more often...she really doesn't get a lot of outside time because of this. We do take her for a walk on most days but still I think she needs more outside playtime....I can tell this by the 9:00 pm "zoomies". Any suggestions? Am I being too concerned about her eating the grass and weeds?
Thanks!

[HANNAH 8/2/07 & HONEY 7/2/08]

I wouldnt worry to much about her eating grass as long as she is not throwing up from it, sticks can become lodged in their intestines and cause blockages or splinter and poke through the intestine's, so I would be very carefull with them and not allow her chewing on them. Does Maddy like to play with other dogs, if there are a few friendly dogs or pups in the neighborhood and you can get together a few nights a week...set up play dates, or trips to a friendly doggy park. You can also advertise this at your local store for play dates...but be sure its with only friendly dogs.

[Phoebe's Mom]

Phoebe does the same thing (8.5 months old) and I have the same issues with limiting her outdoor time. The last thing I need is for her to get sick from the grass eating. She will play fetch for about 5-6 times and then she runs around the yard devouring whatever she can. I have her on a 20ft line so that I can reel her in but it can become extremely frustrating (especially when the children want to play with her). I am hoping that she outgrows this or she becomes well-trained enough that she will come more consistently when called so that we can alleviate the lead line. Sorry I could not offer any suggestions, but sometimes misery really does love company.

[Chris & Boys]

I was told to feed my GR green beans when they start eating excessive amounts of grass. I don't know if it was a coincidence, but Boomer usually doesn't eat as much grass when I give him canned green beans occasionally.

[Heidi]

I'm glad to see that other doodles are like my "Bear" when it comes to grass. I thought he was crazy over grass because we have a pool in the backyard with no grass at all. Every time he gets around grass it's like a catnip for dogs to him. I always heard grass settles there tummies but It doesn't seem like he has stomache problems. I'll try the green bean thing and see if he can go in the grass without making him crazy for it.

[Kelly Gallagher]

Thanks for the replies everyone. I was thinking of adding some "green" to her diet...lettuce and cucumbers and maybe now I will try green beans. Today I bought her 2 new outdoor toys and we had fun with them...still wanted some grass and unfortunately some other animals' poop( eeeewwww - I caught her before she ate it - yuck!)...but it was successful outdoor time. I'm not going to get so worried about the grass I guess. I've never really let her eat too much so I'm not sure if it will make her sick or not. Maybe if it does she'll stop? I do like the idea of setting up playdates...we have a dog park nearby but it's just ok. I don't like going there if the dogs and people I know aren't there. I haven't been there in quite a while as Maddy was sick...then we went away...then she was spayed. I'm going to try a few morning this week and hopefully run into the dogs we had become friendly with.
Thanks for the suggestions.

[Karen & Lucy]

Lucy likes to eat grass at times too. I just think she has an upset stomach. I never paid toooo much attention to it, but I didn't know about the green beans. I will try that too. thanks