# Eating Grass



## airturk

Dear Members;

Our family pet is an almost 2 years (23 months) old female vizsla. 

We adopted her when she was 4 weeks old. And she lives with us ever since. 

Our dog has a habit of eating grass whenever she is out on a field. But she eats very anxiously. 

We tried many things such as only taking her out 1 hour after the meal (thinking that maybe she gets hungry) and giving her supplements for greens (thinking that she needs the nutritions). None of these seems to work. She still still bites off large chunks of grass and eats them. 

Did you experience anything similar? Do you have any recommendations?

Any help is appreciated, 

Regards,


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## mswhipple

Hi, and welcome to the forums!

Most dogs eat grass every now and then. I'm not sure how you would stop it, except by teaching her the command "Leave it". My boy Willie eats grass, but usually only in the spring time, when it is young and tender. He's a regular connoisseur. ;D


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## hotmischief

My 2 yr old Vizsla eats grass like a cow - everyday if it is nice short rich grass. It drives me crazy. He never sicks it up and is in very good health.

I have read a lot about the various reason dogs eat grass and I think I have to go with the one that said "They do it because they like the taste of it"

I do think that when they eat the long grass that makes them vomit it is for medicinal reasons, but if I were you I wouldn't worry about it.


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## mlg1900

hotmischief said:


> I have read a lot about the various reason dogs eat grass and I think I have to go with the one that said "They do it because they like the taste of it"


My dog also eats alot of grass. And I agree with the above statement. She does seem to prefer certain grasses over others. Such as at the park where it is nice and green on the baseball field. Our back yard is mostly weeds but she will chew down on any of the nice looking broad leaf grass. And only on rare occasion does she vomit from this. 

I used to worry about it when she was a puppy because of all the comments I would read or hear about dogs eating grass because they have upset stomachs. But it has never stopped in the last 8 months that we have had her. So, I no longer worry about it.


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## mswhipple

I think the only thing you'd really need to worry about is whether or not the grass has been chemically treated with anything... fertilizers, pesticides, etc.


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## airturk

Thanks for your replies!


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## tknafox2

I've googled this before, and it is completely normal for dogs to graze.
When I had my weimaraner, and V, I would take them every morning to the "Play yard" and they looked like a couple of cows. 
Fergy will grab strands of grass on the run, on our morning walks, or stop and sniff,and graze. Pearl doesn't eat much grass, but sometimes, I watch her out grazing as well.
They rarely throw it up. The just like munching it. 
Fergy will eat my strawberry's, apples (on the ground) Avocados, figs... he even tried the citres, brings in the oranges & lemons, but just tosses them around.. I think the rind discourages him from biting in. Oh and he loved the over ripe tomatoes this past summer... You would thing he was part VEGEN


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## VelcroV

Hope it's normal because our 9 month old V has been chewing on grass/leaves/plants every chance he gets since day one! Must be a V thing.


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## tknafox2

I found this very comprehensive list of toxic plants for dogs. Grass is OK, but beware of some of the greens that grow with grass, like wild oats, and fox tails. It could be bad if they ingest these green grassy weeds. Also be aware of what plants are in your yard, or the area you take your dog, especially when pups, because they are worse than human babies... EVERYTHING goes into the mouth, and if you don't fetch it out in time, they WILL swallow it.


http://www.dog-health-guide.org/dogpoisonousplants.html

But Grass is OK!!


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## redbirddog

I tried to get a picture Sunday up in the hills where we came across six cows munching grass. They were all Vizsla golden red in color. In the fore ground Chloe and Bailey had their heads down munching the same grass.

Missed the shot but had a good laugh.

There is certain grasses the dogs love. If they eat too much they throw it up later that day.

After a short stop to munch, I'll shout out "Leave it, you're not a cow!" And we carry on our hike.

Have fun in the grass.

RBD


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## texasred

Mine love the bright green winter grass, and will snatch a bite anytime they get a chance. You would think by now they would have figured out, if they eat to much its going to to come back up. I just keep them moving, and it slows down the grazing.


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## Jazzdog

Coop normally eats grass when he needs to vomit. Just be careful and watch them closely. This fall, Cooper, in an attempt to vomit, we believe, resorted to eating pine needles (I guess the grass was too low to graze on). A few days in the ER and over a $1000 later, he was able to pass a fist sized wad of pine needles. The needles weren't showing up on the x-rays, so the vets couldn't figure out what was wrong with him. Once he passed them, he went from the brink of death to the happiest dog on the planet, but was pretty scary for awhile.


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## BirdWatcher

My dog eats grass every day and I encourage it. Dogs are very aware of which grasses help them most - for fibre and nutrients. Sometimes she and her dog friends will stand grazing like sheep on a particular area - usually the couch grass. Wild dogs and foxes eat berries, roots, fruits and the contents of herbivores' stomachs; so I reason that grass is an important dietary item. I also add nettles to her raw meat - but that's another story!


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## BirdWatcher

http://theanimalherbalist.com/?page_id=154


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## BirdWatcher

Jazzdog said:


> Coop normally eats grass when he needs to vomit. Just be careful and watch them closely. This fall, Cooper, in an attempt to vomit, we believe, resorted to eating pine needles (I guess the grass was too low to graze on). A few days in the ER and over a $1000 later, he was able to pass a fist sized wad of pine needles. The needles weren't showing up on the x-rays, so the vets couldn't figure out what was wrong with him. Once he passed them, he went from the brink of death to the happiest dog on the planet, but was pretty scary for awhile.


What a relief for you all! I bet Coop wasn't the only one to go from 'the brink' to 'the happiest'! They keep you busy ..


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## MrBrent

My Lab and 13 week old V eat the moss on the ground in my back yard. They take bites of it and gobble it right up, dirt and all. I was telling a friend about this and he said that it is actually good for them. I have some what I call razor grass as well and my Lab eats that stuff up. I don't know how he does it without cutting up his mouth and tongue but he has done this for years now.


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## MCD

Forget eating grass at this time of year...........mine is too busy munching snow! I just caught a glimpse of a little bit of grass on Tuesday. It's gone again though. We will have to wait and see if Dharma eats grass. I can't remember if she does or not.


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## Eddiemoto

Old topic, but this was very helpful for me. My pup LOVES the grass. None of my old dogs ate grass very often.


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## Vizsla Baby

Eddie, my 14 year old dachshund eats dirt, my 5 year old V eats grass and my 3 year old female eats grass just occasionally - only when it's tall & juicy. I think each dog is different.

Just be careful your pup isn't eating grass with chemicals on it.


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## Darcy1311

Darcy eats loads of grass.at times I think she has bovine genes.. ;D..the only problem is that she eats great long strands of the stuff, and unfortunately the great long strands have to come out,embarrassingly these need to be gently pulled out with a gloved hand, and usually in full public view ???..she picks her moments does my little Darcy.. :


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## Eddiemoto

Darcy1311 said:


> ...and unfortunately the great long strands have to come out,embarrassingly these need to be gently pulled out with a gloved hand, and usually in full public view ???..she picks her moments does my little Darcy.. :


Ohhhhhh, there is just no way to pull off looking cool in this situation. Dudley also likes the long grass.


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## MCD

Apparently Dharma does eat grass. And not just the grass off the lawn etc ...... she also eats the horticultural grass from the garden at the front door on her way by!


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