Why do Dogs Eat Grass?
Clients often ask me why their pet eats grass. “Eating grass” is the most popular search term on the Vet Blog. Clearly, people want to know the cause of grass eating.
Sadly, nobody knows why dogs eat grass. Plenty of theories are out there, but none of them has been proved conclusively.
Some dogs (a minority) eat grass regularly. These individuals graze frequently when they have the opportunity. They may like the taste of grass, or they may enjoy the act of chewing plant matter. Whatever their motivation, the activity is generally harmless as long as no chemicals have been applied to the lawn.
For most dogs, eating grass is correlated with gastrointestinal upset. Many dogs will eat grass before vomiting or having diarrhea. This has lead some people to conclude that dogs eat grass to make themselves throw up.
I am very skeptical about that. Although throwing up often relieves nausea, the act of vomiting is unpleasant. In my experience, dogs do not purposefully engage in activities that are unpleasant, regardless of whether the activity in question makes them feel better in the long run. Let’s face it: dogs are generally short sighted.
I consider it more likely that dogs eat grass because they feel sick, and then they throw up the grass because they were going to throw up anyway.
But this does nothing to answer the original question. Why do so many dogs crave grass when they are nauseated? I’d be curious to find out what the readers think.
Photo: Sakura chows down. If only she could tell us why.
You have questions. 
My 2 American Pit Bull Terriers love to eat grass.
Just now, there is some new green grass peaking through the remains of last year’s and they are thrilled.
They never vomit afterwards.
I think they just like the taste.
(p.s. they won’t eat any green vegetables I offer them.. just grass)
I’ve read that dogs show signs of pica when they’re nauseous, in the form of eating or licking wood. Perhaps grass is an extension of that? My dog likes to snack on grass (and rabbit poop) in the yard, but it’s never associated with her being sick. She will, however, eat sticks and/or lick the floor when she’s not feeling well.
I had a dog that *loved* to eat grass, whether the normal form or his special favorite was the clumps that fall off the lawnmower. It never once made him sick. He also considered anything else of natural origin that would fit in his mouth (or could be broken into small enough pieces) to be food: cypress needles, rocks, sticks, goose-rabbit-horse poo. The only thing that made him vomit was if he ate a rock or piece of chew bone that was too large to pass out of his stomach.
(Side note:) I fully understood the dangers of his behavior (having observed firsthand post-surgically and on x-ray the things that have to be removed from pets), but teaching a deaf dog to “leave it” is a mountainous task because when they are getting into something, they are not looking at you.
I sort of think they eat grass when nauseated because it’s edible and the food bowl is empty. Some people will try eating something (like a cracker or bit of bread) when they’re nauseated because it can help settle the stomach, but most of us don’t free feed our dogs or allow them to decide when they eat (No Begging!). So lacking actual food, grass it is because something might be better than nothing.
My dog Abby is almost 14 years old. I can tell when her stomach is upset when she needs to be let out about every 2 hours during the night to have liquid stools. Usually she gets last outs and is fine for 8-10 hours. During those times when she needs to be let out frequently she eats alot of grass and then comes into the house and vomits a bit later. (I’ve had alot of green stains to get out of my carpet). Abby only seems to eat grass when her stomach/intestines are upset. I’ve always assumed the grass had some medicinal effect.
The same thing with my dallies. haha
I’m like walking cows instead of dogs.. They always love to chew on grass.
This is a mystery to me too. Our most recent addition to our family is Pepper and she is 9 years old. She came from a collie kennel and spent a good part of the year living in an outdoor run (with access to the heated barn) like many kennel dogs. She came with her own quirks & odditie like each of our adopted dogs.
She eats grass and almost immediately vomits. I have no idea what triggers this sudden desire to consume veggitation but we have learned to keep her outdoors until she has expelled it. Once it’s out she is fine again.
The crazy thing is, she does the same thing in the winter eating snow. I take her and the other two dogs outside and she starts snacking then throws up. We don’t use any melting agents and she isn’t eating enough to lower her body temp or anything.
Murphy, our other collie who is Pepper’s son is constantly eating snow and begs by our ice maker for ice. He loves it! He never gets sick from it.
This is truly a mystery to me.
My Poteau is a 9 year old husky/artic wolf mix and when we go on our walks to the park he will sniff at different kinds of grass and finally find the one he wants ans starts to eat it. He has never been sick afterwards though, but i have noticed he only eats one kind of grass. He will spend his whole walk looking for it and when he does he eats it and then goes on sniffing for more.
Totally random i ended up here. But to answer that question: You all know Dogs eat bones. And when they eat them the bones get crushed into smaller pieces and the dog swallows. Now the small bones can be sharp and hurt the stomach. So i guess it lies in the dogs instinct then to eat grass as a way to “absorb” the sharp bones in the stomach.
Greetings from Denmark, Europe
My pit mix eats grass regularly. I call her my little goat. She loves broccoli, carrots, and any vegetable except for lettuce. I think she just likes the grass. And she is very particular about which pieces of grass she eats. She will sniff out the best ones. And never throws it up. It’s kind of like eating a salad for her.
my puppy buddy eats grass dose not get sick one bit he is one of those dogs that will eat just about anything an will not get sick at all if there is an actual scientific fact on why dogs eat it and how it affects them i think i would have to be kinda like we have gag reflexs to certain foods and other foods we dont maybe a canine is the exact same way and were just looking past the simple things it could be something as simple or ans complex as either they do ro dont like it or different patterns in whitch the climate will affeft the veggitated state of the grass or what ever type of plat they like to consume but i ddont know for sure yall should hit me up at my email if u find out it is chiller38@aol.com type buddy as the title so i know what its about or i will delete thnx and im glad i could put my 2 cents in the mix 612 repin mpls. duces!
My boxer loves grass too. Won’t eat veggies. Never throws up but dives for those green morsels she loves!!!
O_O Sakura’s picture was used for this and I didn’t even know.
In a way, I feel honored. o=
She still eats grass, too. Still haven’t figured out why.