Dogsitting: STOP EATING THE GRASS!!!

[UberScout]

We're dogsitting our friend's dog, Missy. She's an absolute joy to have around the house, she's hilarious and we love playing with her.

Now, I personally don't have a problem with dogsitting over an extended period of time, and neither do my step-father or my mother. But there's one big problem we're facing with Missy, in the form of a bad habit she has. Whenever we take her outside, we always take her out back in our yard (obviously), and there is a lot of growth like weeds and etc. in our yard. EVERY time she sniffs around for a spot to relieve herself, she always eats some of the grass. And later, when she comes in, she'll end up throwing it back up, leaving a mess to clean up.

No matter what I do, no matter what I try, I can't get her to stop eating the grass. She hasn't really been showing any signs of sickness, she acts very normal for the most part, and as far as I know she doesn't have anything like worms, because there's nothing like that in her stool.

So why does Missy keep eating grass only to throw it back up? I have to constantly stay on top of her and jerk her away from the grass (easily of course) to make sure she doesn't make herself sick, but she just gets the biggest kick out of choking herself on the lawn. Last I checked, dogs aren't herbivores. What do I do?

 

[UberScout]

I should also point out that her owner has fed her human food in place of dog food, heaven only knows why, and as such any time we try to feed her dog food, dry or wet, she refuses to eat it, eating only a little bit at a time, and only eats what we eat. Rarely does she ever finish a whole bowl.

 

[Michael Balog]

Sorry to hear your having this issue. My Bailey just randomly does this same thing too, it's frustrating when he won't just stop. Maybe he is just wanting a salad as my wife would say about ours eating grass. It might be a issue where if the dog is hungry it thinks it's sick and eats grass to remove the offending stomach issues. I'm sorry im not more help with your issue cause I can't solve mine either.

 

[unperson]

Dogs eat grass for digestive ailments, it can make them throw up, it's probably the change in diet is disagreeing with her, but the owner should have supplied her usual for you.

 

[onlything]

My dog used to eat grass as well, more so when he got older. It passed however after we changed his diet for a specifically recommended wet dog food. Curiously, it was always only one exact type of grass, with sharper and wider leaf blades.

I would say that the problem here is the diet consisting of human food as well as a sudden change for dog food. But then, I'm no professional.

 

[Gracey]

I think there are a couple of reasons dogs eat grass.

It's the most readily available form of greenery; raw fed dogs have 'greenery' included in their diet,
wild dogs pick and eat their own.

No, they haven't evolved with the dentition and digestive enzymes to be herbivore but they will pick at some plants, berries etc.

In the same way I enjoy steak with a small amount of salad and vegetables on the plate, mainly for decoration but I do understand the nutritional and digestive benefits and so will eat the greenery.



there are big changes to to dogs routines.

the 'pack' has just disappeared off the face of the planet, could be dead or wounded somewhere. Dogs have no concept of going on holiday.

you're changing the routined diet.

stomach p.h levels may have to adjust to new diet? - if previously fed human meals.

Dog may be hungry? - if only picking at new diet.

May be ingredient (additive, preservative) in new diet dogs stomach isn't used to?

 

[Tom]

Read up on it online. It is very common with dogs. 3 of my 4 do it. Sometimes there is a digestive issue and sometimes they do it for no apparent reason other then they like to. Btw only feeding dogs 'dog food' is no longer considered by many specialists to be the only or even healthiest way. It depends on the dog food. So called 'people food' can actually be good for them as the processed dog foods do not always contain enough vitamins and nutrients or sufficient variety. Again it depends on what you give them. Things like lean meat, rice, (many fruits and veggies especially) are considered good for them. They do have adverse or even dangerous reactions to some however (for instance chocolate) so you have to look up the list of things not to give them. Changes in their diet can cause problems on their own. A mix of good quality dry and wet (canned) is fine. But it should be the same exact as what they had before. You can change but should make the shift gradually. For instance if changing dry food, don't just switch suddenly. Buy the new while you still have some old and at first give them a mix of the two for a while, and then only the new.