Why does my dog eat grass

Many dog owners have looked out of the window at their dog playing in the garden and asked 'Why is my dog eating grass?' 

This is a common dog behaviour which confounds dog owners and dog experts alike. 

There are, however, one or two good theories amongst many silly ones as to why dogs eat grass and that's what we will look at in this article. 

There is also a couple of things to take care about if your dog starts to eat grass.

There are two broad types of grass eating behaviour. 

The first is the do who has always eaten grass and appears to love it. They will frequently lie on a lawn with grass tufts between their paws and happily chew away. 

These dogs do not tend to vomit the grass back so often. The other type of grass eating is displayed by dogs who nibble a small amount of grass infrequently but do not chew it for long. Instead they just swallow it down. They then tend to vomit it back shortly afterwards.

Here are the theories about these slightly different behavior traits.

In the former case, frequently eating grass without vomiting it could be just because they like it. As simple as that. But why do they like it? Well, some experts suggest that the dog is seeking a nutritional element that is missing from his usual diet or that the taste of the grass is reminiscent of the taste the dog gets from raw meat from herbivore animals. 

It may be advisable to include some cooked vegetable matter in the dogs food if there is a possible nutritional imbalance.

The theory about the dogs that infrequently eat grass and swallow rather than chewing it is that they are using the grass to induce vomiting. Perhaps they have an unsettled tummy and feel a natural urge to get rid of the problem.

If your dog suddenly starts to eat grass and vomits afterwards and it is a new behavior trait, then it would be a good idea to get him checked by a vet for possible gastro-intestinal problems.

Another thing to be aware of, for people who have dogs that enjoy eating a lot of grass, is that many manicured lawns are treated with heavy duty chemicals to prevent weeds. Try to discourage your dog from eating from these managed lawns as this could cause a serious poisoning problem, especially in small dogs.

The bottom line is that we do not know the real answer to your question "why is my dog eating grass? ". But as dogs have been doing it for tens of thousands of years, there is not too much to worry about!

>>Check out here for more resources for dog owners including informative articles written by experts, professional courses on dog training. 

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