Why does my dog eat grass?

Why does my dog eat grass?

Dogs need a small amount of vegetable matter in their diets.


By Jackie Drakeford

Monday, 28 September 2009

My dog eats grass constantly when he is out. Why does he do it and how can I stop him?

Gun dog training expert
JACKIE DRAKEFORD KCAI (B) (WLSA)
Dogs that eat grass - and often herbivore dung as well - are self-medicating. Rather than stopping him, you should allow him to graze.

Dogs need a small amount of vegetable matter in their diets, so you may well find that if you supply this in the form of fresh green vegetables, either lightly cooked or liquidised and mixed in with his food, he may not feel the need to graze when he is out.

Fruit and vegetables are good for chewing up while he is in his kennel.

However, beware.

Greedy dogs may get into trouble trying to swallow apples whole, so if yours is like this, cut the apples up and supervise the feeding until you know he is safe.

If you feed stone fruit, always remove the stones first.

Sometimes grass eating means there is some discomfort in the gut, either resulting in the vomiting of bile or the greenery passing through and bringing mucus with it.

Therefore keep your worming regime up to date, and consider feeding twice daily instead of once.



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