Fun fact: the term “pica” is a disorder characterized by eating things that aren’t food. For dogs, a very common form of pica is grass eating; in fact, in a small study of 49 people, 38 of them said their dog has eaten grass (or other plants) – leaving us to wonder: what’s up?
If your dog sometimes resembles a cow out to pasture, it’s important to know that most veterinarians consider this normal dog behavior (and it rarely causes any serious issues) – but that doesn’t answer the question as to why they’re doing it. The most commonly speculated reason is to soothe their stomach, but studies can’t support that dogs can “decide” to treat an upset stomach by eating grass. Another reason could be boredom, which is a feasible but not necessarily satisfying answer.
Eating grass to improve digestion has also been suggested but not proven. But one study, involving a poodle who ate grass every day for seven years, showed that it was ultimately a lack of fiber that was causing the habit – making the most logical explanation that your pet may be lacking something in their diet. If you have any inkling that this could be what’s going on, try switching to a high fiber diet and see if it stops the behavior.
While eating grass isn’t harmful, sometimes there are herbicides, pesticides, or manures on there that are. If you think your pet is eating grass out of boredom, the best way to deter them is to entertain them! Get some new toys and chews or try tuckering them out with walks a few times a week. And don’t give up on giving them a stern “uh uh!” when you catch them doing it either – a tried-and-true training tactic!
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