Is It Normal For A Dog To Eat Grass?
If we have a garden or if we take our pet to the park, we’ve certainly seen him eating grass at some point. It is not a delicious delicacy, but a kind of natural medicine for them. But they do it for other reasons too. In the following article, we’ll tell you why your dog eats grass like a sheep.
dogs eat grass
Perhaps you’ve wondered the reason for this somewhat “weird” behavior of our pets. Since a dog is a carnivore… why is he eating grass like a cow? Even if you don’t believe it, your closest ancestor, the wolf, also had this habit and he loved to eat green plants in the forest.
Although some people do not allow their pets to eat grass, the truth is that, in the right measure, eating it is good for their health. If, after that “supper”, your four-legged friend vomits, it doesn’t mean that he got sick because of the consumption of the grass, but that it has fulfilled its objective: cleaning his stomach.
Reasons why dogs eat grass
While we’re not “absolutely sure” why dogs are so fond of eating grass at home, in the park, or in a neighbor’s garden, there are some theories that can help us solve this conundrum. This behavior, which for us human beings, seems strange, has several “logical” explanations.
Do you want to know why your dog eats grass? Perhaps it is due to the following:
1.To clean the bowel
Dogs cannot go to the pharmacy and buy a remedy for indigestion, nor can they go on a diet, leaving aside carbohydrates and fried foods. They also cannot prepare a plum smoothie when they suffer from constipation!
The element that makes you vomit when you feel a stomachache or when you ate something that didn’t feel right, is grass. This means that after eating the grass, it will vomit or defecate. So it’s a home remedy for stomach and intestinal problems, so we should let them eat it.
2. To follow “the tradition”
As we said earlier, wolves often eat grass too. Even if we think this behavior is strange or somewhat neurotic, we must understand that it is actually following behavior inherited from the time when your ancestors were wild. And that’s not the only thing they’ve kept from that time, as both wolves and dogs circle the ground before going to bed, for example.
3.To delight the palate
Who said dogs only love meat? They also like to taste something more natural once in a while. Perhaps your pet is eating grass because you’ve been feeding him a lot of feed or rice lately and then he’s already “sick” of it.
The animals eat vegetables because they like the taste and because, after eating, they feel good. The same thing happens to you when you eat a salad in the summer! You should take into account that dogs do not eat any grass that they cross paths with. But the ones they prefer.
They look for softer shoots of a specific variety of grass. They are very smart when it comes to getting food and may spend several minutes sniffing around until they find the right menu.
4.To satiate your appetite
Grasses have a high fiber content which, in addition to being rich in flavor, also satisfy the animal’s hunger. So, if the dog feels that his stomach is empty, he will look for something to take away that feeling. It doesn’t matter if it’s grass! What interests you is that you feel satisfied and that his belly doesn’t growl.
5.To complement your food
Another theory that tries to explain why dogs eat grass claims that they do so because they know exactly when they need to balance their diet. If we give it too many carbohydrates, eventually the animal will get vitamins and minerals from other food sources. Don’t forget that a poorly diversified diet causes damage to the animal’s intestinal flora, which can reduce its defenses (it will get sick constantly and will have less energy).
So if you watch your dog eating grass, don’t stop him or punish him in the first place. Second, think about what his body might be lacking and change your daily diet a little.
