Top 3 Reasons Why Dogs Chew and Eat Grass
Chewing and eating grass isn’t an immediate red flag. Dogs may engage in this behavior for harmless reasons. There are, however, situations when the act of eating grass may point to an underlying health or mental problem. Here are the most common reasons for dogs that chew and eat grass.
1. Stomach discomfort or other digestion issues
One study found that grass-eating behavior could be linked to gastrointestinal distress. It could be a way for a dog to relieve the pain and discomfort felt from an upset stomach. It may also explain why some dogs may suddenly eat grass and vomit out the content not long after.
2. Dietary and nutritional deficiency
Dogs may also eat non-food objects like grass due to nutritional deficiencies. Fiber is an important resource for a dog’s digestive tract. Grass just so happens to be rich in fiber. A balanced diet plays an important role in preventing unwanted behaviors such as chewing and eating grass.
3. Anxiety and boredom
Nibbling on grass could be one way for a dog to satisfy his boredom or anxiety. Dogs are social animals and they crave interaction. They may start to engage in destructive chewing behavior if their social needs aren’t being met.
How to stop a dog from eating grass
The occasional chewing of grass is harmless unless the grass is toxic to animals or laced with harmful chemicals such as pesticide. The first step to diagnosing grass-eating issues is to make sure your dog is healthy. Make sure your dog is being fed a balanced diet and isn’t suffering from digestion problems.
Next, make sure your dog is getting plenty of attention and playtime. Ideally, you want the dog to feel so satisfied that he wouldn’t even think about engaging in any unwanted behaviors!
Last but not least, accept that there might not be any harmful reason for dogs that eat grass. Some dogs may simply like the taste and texture of grass.
In such cases, you may want to try and offer a safer alternative by growing your own organic cat grass. This usually consists of grass mixtures such as wheat and barley. While it is marketed towards felines, there is no reason to not grow it for dogs as well. Just make the dog is only chewing small amounts of grass.
I have a 6 years old Coonhound. He’s been totally fine. I just got home from work and we went for our daily walk. He kept stopping me during the walk and tried to eat as much grass as possible. We didn’t have this problem before.
The dog has had no recent health issues. Any advice is appreciated, thanks.
Recently, my puppy has been an absolute monster with eating grass. I got my dog in the middle of the summer last year. She ate grass back then as well but nothing like this.
We took the dog to the vet. They think it may have to do with the dog being enticed by the new ‘Spring’ grass. I get worried about the dog eating so much grass. She will eat grass and throw up whenever we go for walks. Anyone else apparently has a cow and not a dog at home? lol
My dog who is usually quite patient and chill has started to behave different lately. He pushes me to be let outside. At first, I thought it was because the dog wanted to take a piss. That wasn’t it. As soon as we let the dog out, he will start to enthusiastically eat the grass in the yard. I haven’t seen him do this before.. Should I be concerned??