Why Do Dog Eat Grass

There's an age old question every dog parent has wondered; "Why does my dog eat grass?" 

The truth is there are a number of reasons why your pup could be heading outdoors to snack on your freshly mowed lawn, but rarely are the reason serious. 

First, lets talk about the misconception that dogs who eat grass always throw up shortly afterwards. Vomiting after grazing is rare and only happens in less than 25% of dogs. If your dog does throw up after munching on some green roughage it's likely because they gulped rather than chewed. If the grass is gulped it can tickle the throat and or stomach during digestion and can therefore result in vomiting.

When dogs have an upset or gassy stomach they often look for the easiest and most readily available treatment, even for just temporary relief, and grass often times is the key to a less gassy or acidic tum tum. Just think of grass as your dogs version of saltine crackers...or tums! 

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In the wild, the stomach and stomach contents are often the first part of a kill to be digested by wolves and or foxes. When consuming the stomach of an animal, wolves, foxes and therefore dogs (because they are direct descendants of wolves and foxes) are digesting the berries, plants and other roughage consumed by their prey, and it's for this reason that many feel the need for dogs to digest grass has developed over years of evolution.  

Having said that, many commercially produced dog foods can lack certain ingredients and therefore your dog is supplementing by grazing. There's really no need to be concerned unless your dog is consuming copious amounts, and throwing up more than once a week. If this is the case, it's time to seek a professionals opinion, and get your dogs overall health assessed. You want to be sure there isn't an underlining medical issue like constant nausea or anxiety related issues that are causing your dog to ravenously eat grass. 

​It's also imperative to be conscious of what grass your dog is eating. Has it been sprayed with pesticides? If so, it generally takes a large amount to cause lasting problems, but you may want to step in and prevent consumption of this grass. 

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Long story short, the reason why dogs eat grass is widely misunderstood and the exact reason is unknown, but the behavior is widely practiced and rarely serious!