Why do dogs eat grass?
When raising pets, you must often have time to play with them, especially dogs. They often need to walk their dogs when they have anything to do. Sometimes the more careful and considerate owners will notice that during the walk, the dogs will eat grass on the roadside or in the wild, and they will relish and sometimes even voraciously. I believe most people will be surprised. Isn’t dogs a carnivore? Why do they still eat grass? Why do dogs do this?
Many dogs like to eat grass, and some even regard eating grass as their living habits, just like being led by their owners every day to walk the street. Fortunately, many experts believe that pet owners don’t need to worry about their dog eating grass. So what exactly causes your dog to eat grass in the yard of your home?
Dogs are different from cats. They are not specialized predators. They are omnivorous, but they are also different from ordinary omnivorous animals. For tens of thousands of years, dogs have been speculators who rely on scavenging and eating rotten food. To meet their basic dietary needs every day, they can eat almost anything.
The ancestors of modern dogs often swallowed entire prey and sometimes the entire stomach of herbivorous animals. Modern dogs are no longer like their ancestors because of human domestication and their own evolution, and instead seek plants as their alternative food sources. The most common one is grass, because it is "at your fingers" and modern wild dogs can not only eat grass but also fruits, berries and other vegetables.
It is obvious that dogs can get the nutrients they need from a very rich treasure house of plants, but this still doesn't explain why dogs spit out after eating grass.
For stomach discomfort such as stomach bloating and stomach pain, the most natural solution will be to eat grass. When a dog eats grass voraciously, the rough leaves and stems of the grass will rub against the throat and stomach to make them itch. This itchy feeling will in turn cause the dog to vomit, especially when the dog eats grass voraciously without chewing it, the feeling will be stronger.
Although dogs do not eat a lot of grass at once like ruminants such as cows, they will bite it down bit by bit, then chew it slowly for a while, and will not spit it out (only dogs who feel uncomfortable will eat grass in big mouthfuls and spit out all out). Dogs do this because they find that grass is actually delicious, or maybe they just need to add a little roughage to their stomach.
In fact, grass contains a lot of the nutrition that dogs must have, especially for dogs with a single diet. If you see your dog chewing grass on the grass or plants at home in big mouths, you should add some herbs and vegetables to his food. Although dogs are not as particular as cats, they don’t like raw vegetables either. They are a bit like older kids.
So you should understand that eating grass is not a bad thing. But be aware that your dog suddenly eats a lot of grass. This may be a potential signal that your dog may have some disease and he is trying to treat himself, so you need to take him to the veterinarian.
You can also buy a small plate for your dog to fill with grass, or plant a small garden at home. This can provide your dog with an outdoor meadow and garden replacement so that your dog won't accidentally eat outdoor insecticides, herbicides and some pesticides.
