Why Dogs Eat Grass
Image: Ingorrr
It is a common enough sight that many dog owners do not even pay any attention to it anymore. Some dog owners though are thrown in a panic anytime they see their precious pets indulge in this aberrant behavior.
It is something that can cause glee in small children, consternation in gardeners and landscapers, is the subject of heated online discussions on the Internet yet largely ignored by the genral public.
Is it rabies? Distemper? Canine criminal behavior? Nope. It’s eating grass.
From time immemorial, it seems that dogs have chowed down on a few select bits of grass for no good reason other than for their own enjoyment. It is an activity that is not too lowly for any dog, from the most pampered French poodle to the mangiest mutt around. Yet the reasons for them doing so seem to elude even the most learned experts.
By far the most popular theory is that dogs eat grass in order to ease an abdominal condition or some other malady that afflicts them. It has been linked to ailments such as nausea, gastrointestinal distress and stomach pain. While this theory may have a grain of truth to it, it does not explain why some dogs that do not seem to be distressed in any way have been known to indulge in this behavior.
Another theory put forward is that dogs must simply like the taste of grass. Again this is possibly true, but dogs are primarily carnivorous and plant matter does not make up an essential part of their diet at all.
In any case, no ill effects have been linked to eating grass, and these gastronomically adventurous creatures seem none the worse for wear afterwards. There have been instances however, wherein the act has resulted in the pooch vomiting up a wad of grass.
