First, rest assured that you’re not alone in your concern, especially if your dog is eating grass and vomiting. Grass eating among our canine friends has a number of theories as to origin.
Lots of dogs eat grass. Sometimes they eat and swallow it;
sometimes they seem to just grab and spit it out or chew it and spit it
out.
It seems to be a commonly held belief that dogs eat grass when they feel nauseated, though dogs do not have the means to digest grass, as they lack the enzymes
needed to break down the fibres. Thus, there is little nutritional value
in it for them. It is possible that dogs learn this is a temporary solution for stomach irritation.
There was a study that looked into this, and found that only 8% of plant
eating dogs showed signs of illness prior to the grass eating and 22%
vomited after eating grass. The dogs that seemed sick prior to the grass
ingestion were the ones most likely to vomit after. Their study
comprised more than 1500 client owned dogs. So the numbers
do not completely support that your dog eats grass because he feels ill,
but many people would not agree with the findings, and the dogs are not
commenting.
Another common theory is that dogs will eat indigestible substances if they are excessively hungry or, treating intestinal worms or if their nutrition is poor- i.e dietary deficiency(including the need for fiber). PICA is the technical term for the disorder characterized by eating things that aren’t food.
Maybe the most likely reason that dogs eat grass is because it is a rewarding and fun behavior. In a study of giant pandas, (whose peculiar plant appetite has landed them on the endangered species list) scientists examined why they would choose to eat only bamboo. What they found is that eating and appetite are a very complex interaction of internal chemicals, including dopamine, which is thought to be associated with pleasure-reward in many species. Their findings seemed to suggest that the giant panda eats bamboo help stimulate dopamine metabolism. Eating bamboo allows the panda to experience “reward” and so the panda chooses to eat it. Maybe dogs eat grass because it causes a release of dopamine reward for them too.
How Do I Stop My Dog From Eating Grass?
There is a chance that your dog's eating grass is associated with it's PICA behavior which signifies a nutritional deficiency or hunger. So it is advisable you switch diet to a better dog food- especially a high in fiber brand.
Even though most experts agree that grazing isn’t harmful, one thing to keep in mind is that certain herbicides and pesticides used on lawns can be quite toxic, especially if ingested.
One can never rule out that for some, a nice patch of tasty clean crabgrass may simply give the momentary impression of an afternoon snack in the sun.
