There’s nothing like taking your dog to a beautiful beach, hill or lake that is ready for any adventure that day, and they instantly decide to run to the first patch of grass and start filling their mouths.
From the offset, the behavior gives no idea – dogs usually don’t spend their days eating their vegetables and especially shouldn’t enjoy the taste and the heavy cellulose content makes it impossible for the dog to fully digest. So, why do dogs eat grass?
If you’ve ever asked this question, you’ll definitely be greeted with the immortal line “Dogs eat grass when they get sick so they can get sick”.
Pet owners seem to frequently throw their dog after breakfast, although it has never been clear whether eating grass is the result of illness, whether it causes impending vomiting, but science says the answer may not be the same. In a self-reported study examining the dog’s habit of eating plants, researchers found that a whopping 79 percent of dogs had once been sitting on grass in the past. Despite this high number, only 9 percent of these dogs were found to be sick before and 22 percent of them vomited after eating grass.
This makes most dogs look healthy, eat a bunch of grass and then be happy and free from illness. Although there has not been much research on this topic, the large sample size certainly suggests that a person’s best friend is doing this strange habit for another reason.
Sometimes, the simplest answer is the best. Although we may never fully understand this behavior, the current main explanation is that they can probably enjoy the fresh taste of the grass. As spring approaches, owners notice an incentive to eat grass, so the newly grown grass is just a great treat. Many people, like dogs – like cats – have an obligation to eat meat, which means they should eat whole meat.
Studies, however, have shown that dogs and wolves actually (almost) occupy a healthy portion of their daily nutrition from all cells and plants. Multiple studies have found evidence of green and berries in the diet of wild wolves, which seems to be a small but significant part of their diet. In addition, grass fiber is a great source, something that can easily be lacking in a dog’s diet. Snacking on a tough rouge can keep the dog going as well as things as an integral part of a healthy diet.
