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I have always wondered why dogs eat grass and other plants. After all there isn’t much nutritional value in them. An old wives tale or urban legend (more politically correct) suggests that dogs may eat grass because they are either sick or not feeling well. And, because of the grass eating they vomit afterwards to feel better.

It was just the other day that I asked my wife if she knew why dogs eat grass. Much to my surprise, the next day I came across an article in this month’s edition of the Healthy Pet Magazine that describes a study conducted by three veterinarians to find an answer to this vexing question. (Apparently, there isn’t even a consensus among veterinarians regarding the grass eating phenomenon).

The authors of the study conduct three surveys to get to the bottom of this conundrum. First they asked 25 veterinary students who owned dogs about their dogs’ grass eating habits. All reported that their dogs ate grass, didn’t exhibit an overt signs of illness and 8% said their dogs regularly vomited after afterwards

Next, they surveyed 47 dog owners that brought their dogs to veterinary hospital for outpatient care. Among this group, 70% per cent reported that their dogs ate plants mostly grass. Of the 37 owners that answered questions about their dog’s behavior before and after eating plants, 4 dogs showed signs of illness and only 6 vomited.

Finally, they conducted a web survey among dog owners whose dogs regularly eat plants or grass. Based on responses from 1,571 dog owners they found:

• 68% of dogs ingested plants or grass on a daily or weekly basis
• 8% of dogs frequently show signs of illness prior to eating plants or grass
• 22% of dogs regularly vomit after eating plants
• Of the plant eating dogs, younger dogs eat more than older dogs
• There is no relationship between plant or grass eating and dietary habits (table scraps vs dog food) or fiber deficiencies

The bottom line: plant eating is a common behavior in normal dogs unrelated to illness and most dogs do not vomit afterwards. Vomiting seems to be incidental rather caused by plant eating.

This once again begs the question—why do dogs eat grass? The authors of the study posit that plant or grass eating may be a behavioral trait inherited from wolves (the dog’s ancestor) that may have possibly helped to purge the animals of parasites. In other words, nobody really knows the reason why dogs eat plants and grass.

Don’t you just love science? You get some answers to seemingly simple questions which, in turn, spawn new ideas and additional experimentation. I knew there had to be a reason why scientists decided to sequence the dog genome! Anybody up for finding the canine grass-eating gene(s)?

Until next time…

Good Luck and Good Job Hunting!!!!!!!!

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For those of you who want an answer to this age old question, check out this post at the What’s New In Science Research blog.

Personally, I only feel tired after eating turkey on Thanksgiving….maybe my sleepiness has more to do with overeating and excessive drinking rather than anything to do with turkeys?

Happy Thanksgiving!!!!!

 Until next time.....

Good Eating and Good Napping!!!!!!!

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We all know (or should know) that eating dirty or yellow snow is a big “no-no”. Those of us who are parents (and live in regions where there are regular snowfalls) teach our children this lesson as quickly as possible. That said, should parents worry when their children eat new or freshly falling snow because it contains air-borne bacteria? 

Last week, a group of scientists at Louisiana State University reported in Science magazine that there may be a relationship between ice-nucleating, air-borne bacteria and global rainfall patterns. For those of you who don’t know, the formation of ice in clouds is required for snow and most rainfall. Although dust and soot particles serve as ice nucleation particles, bacterial ice nuclei are capable of catalyzing freezing more quickly at much warmer temperatures and their presence in the atmosphere may affect the processes that trigger precipitation. Results from the Science study suggested that bacteria like Pseudomonas syringae, which have long been know to serve as nucleators and induce ice formation, are widely distributed in the atmosphere and likely play critical roles in influencing the amount of rain that falls at various locations in the world–pretty cool new stuff for those of us interested in global warming and climate change in general. Therefore, it surprised me when I saw that lay newspaper reporters chose to “cherry pick” data from the paper to suggest to Americans that even freshly fallen snow contains large numbers of bacteria and that, perhaps, parents should be careful when they allow their children to eat snow!

As a card-carrying microbiologist and seasoned science educator, I want to assure all of you that eating freshly fallen snow will not cause disease in you or your children. The types of bacteria found in the atmosphere, and ultimately in snow, are not human pathogens and don’t cause disease. Thankfully, in a story entitled “Study: Driven snow isn’t all that Pure” that appeared in my local paper (The Trenton Times)– a member of the American Academy of Pediatrics Committee on Environmental Health was quoted as saying ; “We eat stuff that’s covered with bacteria all the time, and for the most part, it is killed in the stomach.” Another pediatrician, who is a member of the academy’s committee on infectious diseases, reinforced the claim that snow munching was not harmful and said “Children practically bathe in bacterial when they go to the playground and they won’t get anything from snow that they would not get from dirt.”  

Although most of the stories about bacteria and snow munching that appeared in the lay media were “fluff pieces”, they did alarm some parents! As one mother said in the Trenton Times article: “When I heard bacteria, at first, I went “eeeewwww”. But as long as the kids eat snow as it’s falling, I think it is okay. I tell them not to eat it if it’s on the ground.” What was particularly troubling about her remark was her initial negative reaction to the mere mention of the word bacteria. Unfortunately, most Americans have little understanding about bacteria and the negative impressions that they have formed are based on the sensationalistic and often scientifically inaccurate pieces about “dangerous” bacteria and fungi (mold) that often appear in print media and on television.

In my opinion, America’s negative attitude and poor understanding of science is a consequence of ongoing, misguided science reporting that has plagued this country for years. Although the American lay news media is mostly responsible for this, scientists are also complicit because of their unwillingness or inability to publicly speak out on important scientific issues and problems.

I believe that scientists are obliged to do everything in their powers to ensure that lay science reporting is fair and balanced and that the correct scientific messages reach the American public. Our failure to act will surely jeopardize the future of American science–something that we Americans can ill afford. Enough said–have a plate of snow on me!

Until next time….

Good Luck and Good Job Hunting!!!!!!!

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