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!!!!!!!!