Why do dogs eat grass?

Dogs are very cute, and people like to keep a dog to accompany them. However, after raising a dog, the pet owner will find that the dog will eat the flowers and plants outside, which is very surprising. Why do dogs eat grass? Is it because the dog food is not full or sick? In fact, pet owners don’t need to panic, dogs eating grass may be the following 5 reasons.

1. Gastrointestinal indigestion

There may be some owners who think that their dogs look good when they are fat, and usually add a lot of meat to their dogs to make them fatter, which leads to indigestion. So the dog will try to eat grass to relieve the upset stomach. It is recommended the owner feed the dog reasonably at ordinary times and not let the dog eat too much.

2. In order to discharge foreign matter

Dogs usually pick up dirty things on the ground to eat and sometimes eat their own hair by mistake. These things cannot be digested by dogs, and they will accumulate in the dog’s body for a long time. Therefore, dogs can only help them excrete the contents of their stomachs by eating grass. This is also good for the health of dogs and can say to be their own way of protecting themselves.

3. Deficiency of certain trace elements

If the dog food given by the owner is not nutritious, it is easy to cause the dog not to get comprehensive nutrition, the dog will lack certain trace elements, and the dog will suffer from pica or some abnormal behaviors. For example, eating grass, eating their own feces, and other behaviors, so when the owner usually provides food for the dog, it must ensure the comprehensiveness of the food, so that the dog can get comprehensive nutrition, and some appropriate trace elements tablets should give to the dog.

4. Simply a hobby

There may be some dogs that eat grass, but it’s just a hobby, without any particular reason. Just as some of us like meat and others like greens, so do dogs. Some dogs like to eat meat, some dogs like to eat vegetables.

5. It might be curiosity

Dogs are very curious and will bite twice no matter what they see. So when the owner takes the dog out to play. They often see the dog chewing things randomly, sometimes the dog is very curious about the grass and will bite twice. So when you take your dog out to play, you must take good care of the dog and avoid biting things.

Tips

Dogs are omnivores. So, the grass is digestible. At present, there is no research to prove that dogs eating grass is a problem that owners need to worry about. but considering that dogs may eat herbicides, we still do not recommend pet owners take dogs to grass where the safety is uncertain.

But some Grass, especially grass awns, can get stuck in the dog’s throat or between the teeth after the dog accidentally eats them, and it can also get stuck in the dog’s skin. There are very sharp and hard hook-shaped barbs on the grass awn. Once it penetrates into the skin, the dog’s continued exercise will make the grass awn deeper. If you find that the dog keeps touching his mouth with his paws after he comes back from a walk in the pasture. The owner should pay attention to whether the dog has grass awns stuck in his mouth.

If the dog vomits after eating grass. It is recommended to send it to the hospital for examination in time to prevent the dog from eating poisonous or unsafe objects and hurting the dog.

Safe Alternatives to Grass

Feeding dogs fresh carrots, peeled celery, or lettuce can completely replace grass. These vegetables have a similar taste to grass in terms of tissue structure. Sweet potatoes, radishes, cabbage, broccoli, peeled potatoes, and peas can all eat. Fruits can eat some apples, bananas, and so on. But also pay attention to the food that dogs cannot eat.