Top 3 Reasons Why Dogs Chew and Eat Plants

It can be quite painful to see your dog chew and destroy the plants when you let them wander around the garden. Here are the most common reasons for dogs that like to chew and eat plants.

1. Dogs are curious creatures

The reason for their plant-eating behavior might be something innocuous. Dogs are insanely-curious animals. Chewing is one of many ways for dogs to interact and discover their surrounding environment. They might just be chewing and eating the houseplant because they are curious about it. This behavior, however, is not something you want to encourage as many houseplants can be toxic to dogs when ingested.

2. Anxious or bored dogs

A lot of dogs will start to chew in a destructive way if they are bored or anxious. They may start to chew anything that’s in front of them. This includes plants. It’s an obvious problem if you are leaving your dog alone at home for a long period of time.

3. Dog diets with nutritional deficiencies

Dogs may start to chew and eat plants if they aren’t eating a well-balanced diet. Some dogs, for example, are known to eat grass to make up for a lack of fiber in their diet. The same could apply to dogs that chew the leaves of houseplants. Pica behavior is a concern. An ideal diet may consist of a mix of kibbles and wet dog food, although this may differ for every dog and their health condition.

How to stop a dog from chewing plants

If the plant-chewing behavior is due to a harmless reason, the immediate solution to this would be to either place a barrier or to put the plant out of your dog’s reach. For larger plants, you may want to try using deterrents like bitter apple spray to discourage the dog from approaching.

This would also be a good opportunity to teach your dog the recall command if you haven’t already done so. You can teach your dog to come to you whenever he or she makes an attempt to chew a houseplant. Dogs that are eating plants for concerning reasons, such as boredom, should be getting the appropriate amount of play time and exercise to keep them satisfied throughout the day.