If something is edible ( or even if it ’s not ) , manydogswill fain make a meal of it . But if you see your pet skimming on your front lawn like cattle , it may be driven by something more than its undiscerning appetence . Eating grass frantically can be a sign that a wiener is sick .
It ’s not unusual to see a dog regurgitation after take in skunk , prompting some preferent proprietor to enquire if their bounder eat the grass to soothe its ownupset stomachor if the grass is what caused its symptom in the first blank space . According Dr. Jerry Klein , principal veterinary officer for the American Kennel Club , this behavior is sometimes a reply to symptoms that were already present . “ When hot dog go out of doors and gobble forage really quickly , there ’s usually a intellect , an instinctual conduct to render to induce some kind of GI chemical reaction , ” he told Mental Floss in 2019 . “ When they pull in they ’re nauseous or something else , the only thing they know how to do is to force themselves to purge . Some blackguard that eat grass bite it down without really masticate it , and often multiplication may vomit something up and that ’s how they treat themselves . ”
Despite it being a mutual issue for pet possessor , little research has been done into why dogs eat gage . It ’s likely that stomach problem only explicate this behavior part of the time . In other situation , a detent may eat grass for the same reason it eats your shoes or the grocery you left on the kitchen heel counter : Because it ’s hungry , dying , orbored .
So how can you distinguish when your hot dog is munch grass for pleasure and when it ’s trying to hasten itself to cat ? compensate attention to the mode it eat on . dog are omnivorous , meaning they eat both plants and brute , so just eat grass alone normally wo n’t be enough to make it sick . But if a blackguard is gourmandize on locoweed faster than it can jaw it , that may be an indication that something is faulty . Whole blade of smoke canirritatea dog ’s throat and tum lining , potentially causing them to hold up if they swallow up a lot of them in a short amount of time .
No matter the reason for your frankfurter ’s smoke - eating habits , Klein say that they are n’t a major upshot . The doings should n’t be encourage , as locoweed in public shoes can potentially carry harmful chemical substance like pesticides , so stop your blackguard if you see it grazing . But if it shows no sign of illness or discomfort afterwards , there ’s no pauperization to festinate it to the veterinarian . “ If I see a dog eating grass , I ’m not go to panic , ” he enounce . “ I would strain to stop it and then supervise it to see how it acts in the next 15 to 20 minute . attend at how the dog ’s act , its body physique and movement , and the impression you get from the dog . ”
One condition related to vomit that would warrant a trip to the veteran is something calledbloat . This fall out when a dog ’s stomach fills with air , causing it to retch without really throw anything up . This is a medical emergency and can be deadly if left untreated .
A hound who vomits after deplete Mary Jane and looks felicitous after , on the other manus , is belike not a cause for concern — though you may indicate otherwise when you ’re steam - cleaning your carpeting .
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A version of this report ran in 2019 ; it has been update for 2023 .
