I've noticed that on our walks Tucker has taken to eating grass.
Not grabbing a piece or two on the way, but actually stopping and eating it, almost grazing. I remember him doing it last year too, but not this frequently. It's every day now.
Now first off we walk on a very old hiking trail that is not sprayed with pesticides of any kind, it is not touched by the city in any way shape or form so there are no pesticides or contaminants on the grass

He does not vomit after he eats the grass. It's almost like he enjoys the taste. I know dogs will eat grass when they have an upset stomach.

since i thought about it more and think this is something he did last year too i could only think of one thing that changed for him, and that was his food. I switched him from Wellness to Orijen last year. Then when i couldn't stand the amount of gas the Orijen gave him I switched him to the Acanna.

All done gradually and with no problems. I think. Does anyone know if maybe it's possible the amount of protein in the kibble is too much for his stomach?

It really is the only change that I can think of.

Where im living now has no grass in the backyard at all. So i know he's only eating it on the walks.

anyone experience this before?

All three of my dogs LOVE grass, the longer the better. I do my best to minimize them grabbing a snack of grass because it is not all that fun when it comes out the other end

yeah see it's weird, i never see it coming out either end!
To be honest though, it's not like I squish it to see whats in the middle so it might be in there!
he either digests it so well that there's so little trace of it left, of chews it really well.

I would just hate to think his stomach is upset all the time.

and it is only the tall long grass that he goes after. I'll think he's right behind me, then i turn around and he's about 50 feet back standing in the overgrowth grazing!



Edited by Wendy Lefebvre (06/03/2011 10:14 AM)
Edit reason: i thunk a new thought!

I think I might add a bit of leafy green produce to the food and see what happens.

Maybe some dark green outside romaine leaves or some parsley or celery tops blended/processed up in plain yogurt. All are good foods, so no downside.

I don't see it as necessarily symptomatic, but if he wants more produce, then I might want to supply it in his bowl just to see if that ends the grass eating.

I don't know ... just thinking out loud. The only reason I have any small concern, really, is because it's a new behavior.

PS
It's not sweet clover tops/flowers, right? A lot of animals just love them, probably because of their sweeetness, and they aren't there all year. That is, the recent obsession could be based on recent availability. Just a thought. (PPS: Taste one sometime that's safely unsprayed and not along the roadside where exhaust contaminates them. They do taste very good.)


eta
I found the one I mean. That pinky-white flower -- those taste good.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Clover




Edited by Connie Sutherland (06/03/2011 11:00 AM)
Edit reason: eta

hmmm...i'll try adding some greens.
If he was throwing up after it i would be more concerned, but to be honest he just looks like he's enjoying the taste. It's only grass....no flowers or clover.
for all i know it could taste good...maybe i'll grab a leaf next time.
I just thought maybe the high quantity of protein in the kibble was hard for him to digest and was causing some upset.

i've tried clover...but you have to pick the right one to really get a sweet one! My nana used to make tea with them.

"i've tried clover...but you have to pick the right one to really get a sweet one!"


Yes, the right one for me would be that nice round pinkish one. As kids, we were connoisseurs. LOL The little pointy petals had to be plump at the base.

This was the olden days. We spent much time outdoors. LOL

I am really mystified because mine are eating grass like it's going out of style, too. Of course, all my dogs have eaten grass in the past, on occasion, but this spring, they are absolutely obsessive about it. My previous dog would eat grass apparently only when she wanted/needed to throw up. A couple blades was all it took. The two I've got now are not vomiting when they eat it.

I've got one who is eating not only grass but any dirt she can get along with it, too. They especially love those thick wet chunks of grass/dirt mix that comes off the lawn mower. We do run the sweeper over the lawn after mowing to get as much of those up as possible, since they're so thick, I worry about them causing a blockage.

I spent weeks being the grass police, stopping them every time I saw them doing it, but the truth is, I've been having trouble with chronic loose stools, and I've noticed that the more grass they eat, the firmer their stools are.

BTW, they do already get a variety of vegetables in their meals, but I too have wondered if they have some kind of vitamin/mineral imbalance. Or maybe they just like the taste of spring grass!

My airedale would pull the grass out of the ground dirt attached but did not eat it.He did eat blades of grass. I think pulling grass was a form of entertainment.