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I'd considered the dog eating grass thing as more of a now-disputed myth, but maybe someone has evidence. Either way my own dog loves munching on the taller/thi
by hnick 2y ago
I'd considered the dog eating grass thing as more of a now-disputed myth, but maybe someone has evidence. Either way my own dog loves munching on the taller/thicker grass every time we walk, like he's a sheep. His favourite foods also include broccoli and bok choy so that could be why. I think a lot of people downplay the role plants play in a dog's diet (not required but helpful especially with processed diets that can lack organ meat etc), and they don't always get fed them at home.
- datavirtue 2y agoMy dog loves Bell peppers. She will eat any piece that hits the ground, quite greedily.
- chrisweekly 2y agomy dogs are the same -- but substitute "anything even conceivably food-related" for "Bell peppers"
- hnick 2y agoWe minded a labrador once (notorious appetites), he'd eat capsicums, and on the neighbourhood walks would even go for raw green olives that fell from trees onto the paths. I'm pretty sure they are very bitter which sensible animals interpret as poison but not he. So we had to steer away from those during that season.
- Intralexical 2y agoYou should get a sheepdog dog to herd your sheep-dog.
- hnick 2y agoHah we actually did... the younger border collie also does it, but less. Maybe he's copying his brother from another mother.
- _yb2s 2y agoI've had half a dozen dogs, and every single one of them ate grass every chance they could get- in large quantities. I also don't think it has anything to do with having an upset stomach. Dogs seem to really enjoy grass, and make it a regular part of their diet... I know they likely can't extract any calories from it, but it may have other benefits.
- retrac 2y agoThere is nutrition in grass which is available to mammals like dogs (and humans). They are mostly cellulose, but plants use carbohydrates and proteins for their own structure and metabolism, and these are present in all plants in at least small amounts. Roots, shoots and fleshy stalks, are better than the leaves. Like an unpleasant, less nutritious lettuce or celery with too much fibre. Those are also hard to get meaningful calories from at like 50 - 100 calories per pound, but there's some calories, and there's other nutrients in them too.
- _yb2s 2y agoMy dog strongly disagrees with you that grass is more unpleasant than lettuce.
- hnick 2y agoThe cellulose aka fibre is useful for them too, for the same reason as us, even if there are not many calories or other nutrients available. Dry food, bones, high protein diets can all benefit from a bit of bulk. I've been told that wild dogs and wolves eat the digestive contents of herbivores which is semi-digested (free range haggis!), which definitely seems true to me given how much both of mine go for rabbit/sheep droppings. This supposedly supplies some more available vegetative nutrients to them. But this came from a pet nutritionist, I'm not sure how strict or scientific their training is.
- shiroiushi 2y agoPet dogs that live with cats are well-known to eat cat turds out of the litterbox.
- scruple 2y agoI have a dog that literally only eats grass when he needs to retch something up. He'll go to the back door and whine and gag, whine and gag. If we're upstairs, he'll come fetch me. I don't stop him, either. I've learned that lesson. He's a mutt breed, we think half Yorkshire Terrier and half Miniature Schnauzer, for whatever that's worth. Our full-breed Rat Terrier did no such thing in 17 years of life but the mutt has been doing it since we got him nearly 15 years ago!