Is eating grass normal or abnormal for your pet ??

According to what I have read, some animals just like the taste of grass and like to eat it, especially when it is sweet, fresh, and bright green. I have bird feeders out in the back yard, and where the seeds fall on the ground, the grass seems to be softer and brighter green that the grass in the rest of the yard.
This is the grass that Chipper prefers to eat, and I am sure that it is a lot more tender than the regular grass is. I think it is a different type of grass than is used for lawns.
Some dogs and cats only eat grass when they have an upset stomach, or something else is bothering their stomach. If your pet does not usually eat grass, and then suddenly starts eating it, that might be a sign that he is sick, and needs to go to the vet; but if he just likes to snack on it, then it is apparently nothing to worry about.

http://www.lifewithdogs.tv/2014/05/eatin...-abnormal/

I thought that when an animal would eat grass, it meant that they were lacking something in their daily nutrition. But I didn't know that grass meant that they are having an upset stomach. That's news to me. I know that when my dog was alive, he would randomly eat grass. At that time, we would feed him something filling and filled with different nutrients such as wet dog food and he'd be fine afterwards. I wonder what makes animals go to grass in the first place? It seems so normal to be eating a plant, you know? It would make us much more aware if they were eating something a bit more unnatural to the eyes such as dirt.

We have had many dogs over the years and the only time I remember them eating grass was when they had an upset stomach. It usually starts with them throwing up in the house and then me rushing them outside. When their out there, they immediately start to eat grass. I have heard it soothes an upset stomach in dogs.

They are usually better when they come inside. Honestly though, I have no clue why grass would be something that could settle an upset stomach... hmmmm

Danyel

Yes. It is very normal for them. In fact, my cats really love the plants that we have in our garden. But, before you panic if the plants are toxic, let me tell you that I already researched about them. Also, I plant the vegetables in the garden, while my mom handles the flowers. We always make sure that the plants that we are going to have are safe not only to humans but to our pets as well.

Our pets really love munching on plants for some reason. They especially love the bamboo.

Our cats crave grass sometimes, so we'll bring some in for them and wash it. Sometimes after they eat it, they will vomit it back up.My vet said this is normal and nothing to be concerned about.

first, rest assured that you're not alone in your concern if you dog is eating grass and vomiting.
My dog is also doing this weird thing, so I did some research. I found out that PICA is the technical term for the disorder that characterized by eating things that aren't food. I have read that dogs eating grass, indicates that your dog has some type of nutritional deficiency, though, it is often simply a sign of boredom, especially when practice by puppies or younger dogs.
Other suggested reason why your dog might be eating grass include improving digestion and treating intestinal worms.
Dogs eating grass is quiet common, infact most veterinarians consider it a normal dog behavior. I think that it is their way of treating themselves.

Well I think eating grass is normal for pets but it obvious that if pets always eats grass and not eating some healthy food they get weaker day by day at least my thinking is that.

I think it is perfectly normal for an animal to eat grass, when a dog eats grass it means that they are missing something in their body or their stomach hurts. It is normal and it is an animal instinct for them to eat grass. Sometimes they might vomit afterwards it just depends how much they eat. When I walk my dog, I will let him eat a little and then say "Okay that's enough, lets go" and keep walking.

Chipper seems to have days when he craves grass, just like sometimes he will scrape the dirt and lick some of it. He gets plenty of vitamins and vegetables in his diet; so I really don't know what it is that motivates him to eat the dirt, and it does not seem to be that he is not feeling good either.
As far as eating the grass, sometimes, he will wander around the yard , snacking a little here and there on grass and green leafy plants.
What he really likes is the fresh greens that sprout up under the bird feeder, and only when they first come up and are tender.
Many of the plants in our yards, such as dandelions and violets, are very healthy foods for people and animals; so if Chipper wants to eat those, I think it is very healthy for him.

It's normal for my pet. My grandma said that means there is going to rain when they eat grass. And they will spit out the grass finally.

Chipper aso likes to dig in the dirt and lick it sometimes. He does not do this a lot; and I don't have any idea why he does it when he does dig up the dirt. He does not do this very often, and maybe it is some kind of a mineral that his body needs more of at those times. Since he doesn't do it a lot; I don't think it is just that he likes the taste of the dirt; but that at times, his body craves something that is in the dirt.
Animals seem to just chew on strange things sometimes. Horses will chew on a tree, or even the wood in their stall. Sometimes, they do this because of a lack of nutrients; but sometimes, they just chew out of boredome when they are locked in their stall for long hours and not outside eating grass.
Horses are natural browsers; so they are designed to be doing a lot of chewing.
I don't think that it is anything to worry about if a dog occasionally chews grass, or other vegetation, as long as they don't seem sick afterwards.

Many veterinarians consider grass eating as normal dog behaviour. Evidence suggests that Dog eats grass when they feel unwell. While dogs do not gain anything nutritional value from grass, but it may not hurt them. (source:http://www.petsworld.in/blog/why-do-dogs-eat-grass.html)

(02-22-2015, 10:25 AM)thegrey Wrote: Our cats crave grass sometimes, so we'll bring some in for them and wash it. Sometimes after they eat it, they will vomit it back up.My vet said this is normal and nothing to be concerned about.

Eating grass can help cats to get rid of fur balls Sometimes, fur balls that don't get vomited up end up passing through the digestive system instead, and the extra fibre from the grass can help to aid this process.

My cats usually eat a bit of grass and then throw up huge fur balls, and they don't touch grass otherwise, so I trust that they know what they are doing!! I might be a little concerned if they were eating it all the time and going off their dry/wet food, but as your vet said: cats eating grass occasionally is normal.

I have had people tell me that when they eat grass it can be a sign of worms, parvo or some other intestinal or digestive problem. However, my vet laughed that off sort of and said that it's actually very common for them to graze or snack on it occaisionally and as long as there are no present symptoms of another issue or they seem fine, it's not anything to worry about.

The dog I currently dog sit for eats more grass than a cow some days. It is actually that bad that people comment on it. He does sometimes just almost lick the grass as though there is something on the grass he is trying to consume, so the grass will go into his mouth and out again... it's rather weird to be honest. We do actually comment on it and when he is going through a worse than normal phase, we will say that we are taking the cow for a walk again!

He has been known to eat it to the point that he does throw up. On those occasions you can hear his stomach before hand and afterwards it is much quieter and he is much happier. But we know he has a delicate stomach and you have to be really careful with what he is fed. What we haven't told his owners is that he is much better when he stays with us, but I think it is a neighbour that is feeding him or leaving something out for 'something' to eat and he is getting access to it. Anyhow when he is with us he is kept under much stricter control. He is still never on the lead (his owners have 7-8 acres of land along with cows and horses and we live next door) but he is not allowed out of my sight and I am very strict about it. His other favourite food is horse manure...

Grass, not so much for either of my pets. But my dog is absolutely fascinated by leaves.

If there's any on the ground when we're out walking, he just wants to eat them. We didn't really think anything of it for a while - but interestingly enough he had a bad stomach upset one day, so we took him to the vet. The vet asked if he had eaten anything out of the ordinary, and we said nothing weird apart from his fascination with leaves.

The vet mentioned that some leaves can actually cause stomach upsets in dogs so we are really wary of that fact when we are out walking now and will stop him and grab a leaf from his mouth if he goes to chew one up.

I was always told that dogs eat grass when they feel sick, because it helps them to throw up and feel better. I suppose it's also possible that they eat grass because it soothes their stomach. I just know that whenever I see my dog eating a lot of grass, it most likely means that he is going to throw up soon so I try to keep him outside. I definitely don't think it's something to worry about though. Every dog I've ever owned has eaten grass at least occasionally and it hasn't seemed to affect their health.

From time to time, my dog eats some grass and yes, it has to do with some kind of stomach problem, maybe he has eaten too much and is in some pain. It's just like when we drink tea, it will make us feel better. When they throw up, it means that they are somehow cleaning their body from whatever makes them sick.

Dоgs, unlikе thеir саtty соuntеrpаrts, аrе nоt саrnivоrеs. But thеy'rе nоt likе yоur gаrdеn-vаriеty оmnivоrеs, еithеr. Fоr tеns оf thоusаnds оf yеаrs, thеsе оppоrtunistiс sсаvеngеrs hаvе dеvоurеd аnything аnd еvеrything, аs lоng аs it fulfillеd thеir bаsiс diеtаry rеquirеmеnts.
Thе mоdеrn dоg, pаrtly bесаusе оf еvоlutiоn аnd dоmеstiсаtiоn, is nо lоngеr likе its аnсеstоrs, whiсh frеquеntly аtе thеir prеy еntirеly, inсluding thе stоmасh соntеnts оf plаnt-еаting аnimаls. Instеаd, dоgs tоdаy sееk оut plаnts аs аn аltеrnаtivе fооd sоurсе. Mоst соmmоnly thе plаnt is grаss -- sinсе thаt is whаt is сlоsеst аt hаnd -- but wild саninеs аrе knоwn tо еаt fruits, bеrriеs, аnd оthеr vеgеtаblе mаttеr, tоо.

Since we live in the country side I think my dog kind of got used to eat grass constantly and that's the reason she keeps eating it, haha! The only problem is that even when she likes to eat it, grass makes her sick apparently. She always throws up when she has been picking some roots up from the ground, so I always have to run after her so she wouldn't be throwing up constantly. It's kind of sad tho be honest, it seems like she really enjoys it and I wouldn't say that grass is that bad for animals. Her stomach can't take hay either - we have plenty of that around us constantly, so she has been trying to taste it too. That's the only thing I consider not being good for her since it can sometimes be too bad for horses too, if consumed large amounts per day.

As far as I am concerned, herbivorous pets are the ones that are supposed to eat grass though due to human interaction, some pets have become omnivores for example, dogs. I have seen some instances in which dogs ate grass. This happens periodically. I have also observed that this activity precedes vomiting and this is am indication of illhealth probably indigestion or worm infestation.

Thanks for sharing this amazing information as I had seen this thing but never thought about this in this way. I have a cat and when she eats something bad she just goes to my kitchen garden, have some grasses and vomit it. It makes her active after some time. I don't know why she doe's so. Can anybody tell me???

I have observed this phenomenon on numerous occasions and I am surprised that it could be universal as far as dogs are concerned. It seems that this is the dog's way of ameliorating bowel discomfort or indigestion. Dogs should be trained on where to go to properly dispose with the vomit since my pet dog almost vomited in the kitchen and I had to chase him away.

I agree with some comments in this thread that when a dog eats grass it is a sign of unwell. My grandmother said that in the province where dogs are on the loose in the yard, they normally see them eating grass. And that's only when the dog has a tummy ache. The grass will activate the acid in their stomach that in a short while would cause the dog to vomit. And after releasing the acid, the dog is back to normal, no more tummy ache.

I don't know about dogs but cats love to chew on grass. That's the first thing they go to when I let them out during the day, the next stop being rolling in the gravel. This is why many pet owners, particularly those who don't live in a place where they can let their cats outdoors, grow or provide grass for their cats. I do that for them sometimes during the winter. There are cat grasses that you can grow for your cat which are more attractive to the cat, and more digestible.

Cats also eat grass (and sometimes other plants) in order to make themselves vomit, since they don't have fingers that they can put down their throats. Actually, this might be a means of purging themselves of hairballs, which is where we get the idea that it's not good for them.

Grass also satisfy the cat's need for fiber and roughage, as well as some different vitamins and minerals than they are getting through their regular diet, so there are a few reasons why cats might like to graze on the greenery. Cats usually know what's good for them and what isn't but a cat that is indoors all the time might not be able to make that distinction instinctively, so it's a good idea to keep any houseplants that might be bad for your cat out of its reach, since some of them can be toxic. Special grasses, such as those available in pet stores or online, might be a good idea for indoor cats.

Oat, wheat, and rye are good grasses for cats, and dogs like them too. These cereal grasses supply chlorophyll, amino acids, and minerals like potassium, calcium and magnesium, as well as vitamins, enzymes and protein, and can serve for detoxification, to correct nutritional deficiencies which you cat may instinctively be aware of, and to help with pancreatitis, digestive problems, skin and coat conditions, anemia, and respiratory problems. Cereal grasses can also improve the animal's breath and body odor. Barley grass is high in Vitamin B. Grass that has been cut up or minced is less likely to cause vomiting. Of course, that would reduce its efficacy in hairball removal.