People often see their dogs eating grass and wonder about this behavior. Why do dogs eat grass? Do they make themselves vomit when their stomach hurts? Are they trying to compensate for some nutritional deficiency? Or do they just do it because they like it? These are the questions we all ask ourselves when we see our dogs eating grass.
Benjamin L. Hart conducted a study called “Why do dogs and cats eat grass?” about the continuous habit of ingesting grass that dogs and cats have. In the early stages of the study, veterinary students and pet owners at the University of California Veterinary Hospital were interviewed. These surveys found that all veterinary students and more than 80% of owners said that their dogs eat grass regularly. However, very few people reported that their dogs eat grass when they feel sick, and also very few people vomit after eating grass.
Do dogs eat grass to vomit?
Thus, the study author rejected the hypothesis that dogs eat grass to vomit or because they feel sick, and conducted another survey of more than 3,000 dog owners on the habit of eating grass.
After discarding responses from owners who spent less than 6 hours a day with their dogs and those who said their dogs chewed grass but did not ingest it, the final selection of 1,571 dogs yielded the following data:
- About 70% of owners say their dogs eat plants every day or every week.
- Only 8% said their dog looked sick before eating the plant.
- 22% said their dog had vomited after eating grass.
- Young dogs eat plants more frequently than older dogs.
It was observed that dogs showing signs of intestinal upset were more likely to vomit after ingesting grass than dogs showing no previous signs of illness. Consequently, intestinal upset may cause some dogs to eat grass to induce vomiting.
With the surveys, we also analyzed the feeding of the dogs and found no difference in grass-eating behavior between dogs fed homemade leftovers and those fed balanced feed. Therefore, it cannot be shown that dogs eat grass because they lack a specific nutrient.
So, the idea that dogs eat grass to induce vomiting when they have indigestion does not seem to have much basis, since most dogs do not.
The author of the study suggests that plant-eating behavior is typical of healthy dogs and is not usually related to disease or malnutrition. He hypothesizes that this appears to be an instinctive behavior inherited from their ancestors, who would do this to eliminate intestinal parasites.
We can conclude that most dogs eat grass or plants, which is a usual and normal behavior that is not usually related to disease or the need to induce vomiting. It seems more like an inherited instinctive behavior. Therefore, there is no problem in allowing your dog to eat grass unless it has been treated with herbicides or other chemicals.
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