If my dog eats grass, does that mean we are missing something in their diet?

I get this question a lot. My answer to that question has always been, "No, not necessarily, because you have to think about their diets.” Most of these commercially prepared diets are formulated to contain all the vitamins, minerals, nutrients, and everything else they need. I would be a hard person to convince that they're not getting enough in those diets. And now they've got to start seeking out grass—that doesn’t make sense. What I have seen and anybody that's owned a dog that eats grass will probably see is that they usually throw the grass right back up. It’s hard to find a known cause in literature, but I think that when they feel nauseous, they will seek grass out to empty their stomachs and hopefully make them feel better. This is only my impression and my interpretation, but that is what I have seen. That's what I've seen in my own dogs for the 30, 40 years I've owned them.

Not necessarily. I think that's a myth going around. I've heard that a lot. "They must be sick or they have an upset stomach." I think dogs sometimes just eat grass. They're bored. They like the taste of it. I mean, the point I'll hit later on is just making sure that they get carbs, proteins, and grains in their diet. That's something they've eaten in the wild, whether or not they're eating a wild animal, etc.

Rarely that can be the case, but I would say, on average, there are two reasons for dogs to eat grass. One, they like to eat grass, and they just do it regularly without an issue. I've had several dogs like that. And then some dogs will eat grass only when they're feeling nauseous or have an upset stomach. It doesn't necessarily mean that there's something wrong with the dog. They can have stomach upset for other reasons. But if you're noticing your dog is all of a sudden starting to eat grass, let your vet know so we can look to make sure that there's not an underlying problem.

Boy, isn't this the $10 million question? Over a long period, people have been asking that question, and I always find it interesting. Studies have been done on it, and they have not shown any deficit in a diet based on grass eating.

We suspect that some dogs eat grass when their tummies are upset. It's more of an upset digestive tract symptom rather than a deficiency in the diet. However, most grass-eating dogs just simply like to eat grass, and there is no concern over that. Even if it makes them vomit, there's not a big concern with a dog eating grass unless it's grass that's contaminated with something.

Not necessarily. They're omnivorous, so they eat grass as part of their scavenging behavior. Some of them crave the fiber, but they're not equipped to deal with that grass as it isn't digestible for the dog, so they throw it up. Sometimes, when they're nauseated, they'll exhibit PICA behavior and eat things that they don't usually eat. Grass is a big one for that. If you're feeding good quality food, they're not missing anything.

No, not typically. I've never seen that be the case. When dogs are eating grass, sometimes they're just dogs. I have a dog that will occasionally eat grass and never throw up. She's kind of like a horse in that sense. I think eating grass because of a deficiency is an uncommon scenario. From what I see in practice, dogs eat grass because they haven't eaten their dog food that day, making them a little nauseous. So they eat grass, and then they throw up afterward, or they throw up, and then they go eat grass. There's usually a presence of underlying nausea or GI upset that many things can cause. Grass eating is typically related to GI upset rather than inadequate nutrition. Them trying to find nutrition in grass isn't typically the case.

This one's a little tricky because, let's face it, sometimes dogs are dogs, and they like chewing on things like your shoes, sticks, rocks, and grass. For most dogs, if you see them eat grass, then that's just them being a dog eating grass. However, if you see it excessively and they are starting to eat copious amounts of grass followed by throwing up, it could be a sign that they are lacking fiber content or some sort of bulking agent in their food. So let us know, and we can do other tests to make sure everything else is running well in your dog's diet or your dog's health. Then we can assess doing a diet change as needed. Again, this is a rough one to answer. We need to know a little bit more about your pet, but if you're just seeing it occasionally, it's usually safe to say that your pet will be fine, but keep an eye on it and check out for the frequency.