My dog crops grass like a cow. He eats it with gusto whenever he encounters it, to the extent that my friends have begun to confer with him, jokingly, as ‘The Ruminant’.
This habit of his doesn’t hassle me at all, since it seems to own no ill-effects on him whatsoever – though after I’m standing outside in the cold awaiting him to alleviate himself during one of his infrequent little-hours toilet calls (normally his timing is a lot of additional considerate), it’s exhausting to not hop impatiently from foot to foot while he enthusiastically tears out the obligatory 5 to seven mouthfuls of grass, chews thoroughly, and swallows, rather than simply obtaining on with the task at hand.
Unless your dog’s digestion is suffering unwanted upheavals from his grass-eating habit, it’s not very a problem. Dogs have been eating grass since the dawn of time (or at least, of the species) with few sick-effects, other than the odd bout of vomiting – and really, this is one of these things that look to bother house owners a lot more than their dogs; most dogs, can merely re-ingest the vomitus and go regarding their day unfazed.
Honestly, nobody extremely is aware of why dogs eat grass. There are a variety of theories on why animals that are widely thought to be carnivores would willingly consume moderate quantities of vegetation. One of the said theories pertains to the actual fact that dogs don’t seem to be, truly, carnivores.
They’re omnivores, that literally means that “eat anything”. This theory postulates that the fashionable-day dog eats grass during a deliberate try to supplement his diet with nutrients that are missing from his daily meals. The most crux, thrust, and gist of this argument centers around the idea that dogs, as omnivorous animals, are eating an excessive amount of meat and want to balance this out with some greenery on the aspect, abundant as you or I would possibly crave a pleasant tart salad to go with our steak. If you raise me, this is often nonsense.
Initial of all, most of us feed our dogs primarily on kibble, which contains the complete spectrum of fully-absorbable nutrients that dogs need (or a minimum of, prime quality kibble does; I can’t vouch for the standard of supermarket-complete dog food).
If you’re feeding your dog on meat alone, whether canned or fresh, there may be some substance to the present theory – dogs need a wide range of vitamins and minerals for optimum health, most of that doesn’t seem to be contained within fresh meat. It’s true that canned meat has some added nutrients; the most downside with canned food is that it’s too soft and jelly-like to take care of healthy teeth and bowels.
Dogs fed totally on canned food are so much more at risk of developing the dental disease at a comparatively early age (not to mention an increased incidence of constipation and flatulence, from the dearth of fiber and roughage). As far as dog food goes, unless your dog’s on a specific, prescribed diet, kibble should represent the main part of his diet – you’ll add some spoonfuls of canned meat for selection and temptation if you like.
Another fashionable theory is that dogs use grass as a type of natural emetic: that, since a nauseous dog lacks the phalangeal structure necessary for the great recent ‘finger down the throat’ move, he’ll resort to nature’s bounty as an alternative.
It’s true that grass does generally make dogs vomit – those tickly stems will irritate the stomach lining, and there are some occasions when I’ve seen dogs vomit up a bit of one thing that’s proved to be indigestible, and along with the offending article, there’s conjointly been a clump of grass in the vomit too.
However – and I’m sorry to pour cold water over this one too – I have to mention that this is often pure conjecture and somewhat nonsensical conjecture at that. Dogs are perfectly capable of vomiting all by themselves, while not the help of grass; I’ve seen too many dogs enjoying a post-prandial mouthful of mixed lawn greens, while not any regurgitation side effects, to lend the theory any credence. If you’re worried that eating grass goes to harm your dog, you can lay that concern to rest right now.
The one attainable drawback is that he’ll irritate his throat or stomach lining, however, this issue can solely cause him strife for a second or two at most: he’ll either cough the problem away or will toss his cookies while not more ado (which rarely bothers most dogs).
Very, grass-eating is nothing to fret about – it’s a life-long habit with several dogs, and if yours does decide that it’s not in his best interests, he’ll simply stop eating it all by himself.
You will need to keep an eye on him around recently treated lawns, or anywhere where nasties like pesticides, snail bait, and rat poison could be around since most garden chemicals are highly toxic to dogs.
Ideally, you’d be keeping an eye on him anyway if he’s around those substances, however grass-eaters are at higher risk than most since they’re a lot of doubtless to ingest plant matter that herbicides and other toxic chemicals are sprayed onto.
Additionally to the present, it’s also best if he’s evaded those clumps of dried-out grass that lie around on the lawn after it’s been freshly mowed. It shouldn’t be a problem if the grass is mowed by a push-mower; however, if it’s been through a gas-operated machine, the grass can be tainted with petrol fumes and grease, which at best can style horrible and at worst can create him pretty sick