Why is my dog eating grass?

You're feeding your dog delicious food, but they sometimes go out and nibble on the grass. Are they hungry or sick? Don't worry. You can trust that your dog knows what it needs. It's actually quite common behavior and perfectly normal.

Grass helps dogs digest their food

Normally, dogs eat solid food. They might gnaw with their front and side teeth on bones, and use their back teeth to grind solid food like dry dog kibble. Just like humans, the grinding action of the chewing process breaks up their food. However, dogs don't produce their own digestive enzymes.

To break down the food, the dog has to rely on the enzymes produced by bacteria in their mouth. Bacteria requires oxygen, so to make sure the food gets to their stomach in an oxygenated state, dogs smack the food against the roof of their mouth. This chewing motion mixes oxygen with the food and saliva. If a dog is chewing grass, it's because their stomach doesn't have enough enzymes to break down their food.

Other reasons your dog may be eating grass

Your dog may be craving iron, which is more readily absorbed from fresh green grass than from their hard dry food. Remove a bad taste in their mouth. Get extra roughage and fiber when they have soft stool. Rid themselves of fleas or worms.

When to be concerned

Be mindful of herbicides and pesticides used on lawns that can be toxic to your dog. If your dog is constantly eating a lot of grass, vomiting after eating grass, or not producing any feces, take them to a vet.

Keep boredom at bay

If you think your dog is eating grass because they're bored, introduce more exercise, fun activities and games. Invest in a chew toy to keep them occupied. You can deter your dog from eating grass by spraying a citrus or salty water solution onto the grass.

Garden Season has a great (article)[https://gardenseason.com/best-homemade-dog-repellent/] on how to create your own homemade dog repellent for your garden.

Sources

This article was generated by Sudowrite, an AI content generator (with help from a human).

Image credit: Dog eating grass photo by Samuel Toh on Unsplash.