# HELP! My dog has started eating grass like crazy what should I do?



## Carlos8394

I was in my room using my laptop when I heard my dog Dixie do a light cry sound. She seemed so desperate for me to carry her and leave my room. I though she might really need to go very bad to pee so I took her out and the first thing that she did is to start eating grass like crazy. 

She is eating the grass like she is hungry for them and when I stop her from doing so she'll start eating another plant/grass. I tried to discourage her but she won't stop so I took her in (she did not pee). 

Right now she is lying down in my bed trying to fall asleep but I want to know your opinions about this voracious grass eating in my backyard.

I did my usual routine today which is to take her out for a 30 minute morning walk. Then 30 minutes later I fed her. She is a toy poodle, weighs about 8-9 lbs, and is 7 years old. After I fed her I gave her monthly pill which is called Trifexis 10.1-20lbs single dose. This monthly tablet is a heartwarm prevention along w/flea killer. I gave her this pill last month w/no problems. 

I do have some mint plants on my backyard should I let her eat some of those? I've heard that mint is very healthy.


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## Abbylynn

Please call your vet. She could be having a very bad reaction to the medication.

Also ... my dog ate grass like that when he was having a panreatitis attack. Mint leaves won't fix it.


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## Carlos8394

Quick update:

About 5 minutes ago Dixie vomited. Looks like she vomited some of the grass she ate along w/some brown liquid mud which I suppose it's her breakfast that she ate this morning. 

I called my the vet clinic to ask about the Trifexis and to see if I have to readminister the pill since she vomited and she said no. Since it has been more than 2 hours from the time that I gave her the heartworm pill, then the pill should do its job and everything should be fine. 

Right now it's 12:10pm my local time. I gave Dixie her breakfast and heartworm pill like around 8am. 

Nurse/vet said that I should just moniter her and make sure that she doesn't continue to vomit, diearreah, lethargic, she's eating and drinking normal, etc. I will do just that.


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## Abbylynn

My computer keeps crashing! Uuuugh! 

Please keep us updated. Sending good thoughts your way.


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## zhaor

It could be nothing major. My dog would get something that almost looks like hiccups occasionally, usually at night. Maybe it's acid reflex, I'm not sure. I don't think my dog has pancreatitis although I guess he's never been checked for it. He would then insist on going outside and munching down as much grass as he can. Then he'll usually end up puking a ball of grass up on my bed....

He's not on any flea or tick medication and I've only recently started him back up on a monthly heartworm medication although Trifexis is a bit different than those. Definitely monitor her, cause obviously if it happens again or there's any signs of sickness, it's cause for concern.


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## Smitty

My mini dal went through two bouts of pancreatitis and almost died with one of them. He went out once and did as you described, eating grass like crazy. I'm not sure it had anything to do with the condition.


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## Genghis Khan's Paw

Basic info

9 week old puppy
Have had him for a about 10 days
currently crate training - I follow the schedule in this crate training guide http://www.darnfar.com/Dog Training/housebreaking_a_puppy.htm

Father was Staff/Lab and mother Collie cross(unknown)
Currently kept in a cardboard moving box (temp) next to my PC at home
I am the primary caregiver

I'm having a similar problem but it is not a one time thing. He eats grass non-stop the second he gets outside. Leaves, twigs and chews branches as well. I have got lots of chew toys for him such as rawhide sticks, a kong, tennis ball, a few empty plastic bottles, and a cuddly toy. All of which he enjoys but he will drop them in a second for a wood branch or some grass. He will eat his food(science diet for pups) but would ignore it if he could get some grass instead. He LOVES to eat cardboard too. Unfortunately we had a problem with his original crate so I have ordered another one but it wont be here for a few days. I put him in a cardboard box in the meantime as a temp crate but he eats the box if I don't watch him constantly. I keep all his toys in there to try and distract him. The box sits next to me all day and i hear any cardboard rip I go in and take it away from him. The pile of cardboard strips is piling up. At first I put bedding in there but he keeps peeing on it. After 3 different blankets I gave up and just let him be without it after i read that some pups love to pee on absorbent material. 

He gets plenty of exercise and attention as I am not currently employed so I play with him more then the training guide says to. He is a very normal happy little pup. Nothing else seems unusual except for his obsession with eating all these plants and cardboard. I feed him 185g of the puppy food as instructed for his age/weight a day. I split it up into 3 meals. Sometimes he will eat it all but most of the time he leaves behind a small portion, maybe 10%. Sometimes he will only have a few bites and stop. I pretend to eat some and then he will continue. So i feel confident he is getting enough to eat. 

He is so obsessed with grass/wood that he will be too distracted to eliminate. He finds a spot he likes, drops to his belly and eats. He actually seems to prefer the yellow dead grass to the green. I have to pick him up and move him to a new spot until he focus's on the task at hand. If I just let him he will sit there and eat grass for as long as I can stand it which is about 30 mins the last time I tried to see if I could out will him. 

Inside the house he is exceptionally attached to me as I am with him 24h a day. Anytime he is out of the crate he wants to be touching me even if he's chewing a toy he wants to lay on my foot and will scream bloody murder if I leave the room but when we are outside I'm totally invisible to him. His mission is to eat grass. It's frustrating for me because I am getting eaten alive by the insects while he enjoys his grassy meal. I can't just leave him out there by himself because of some fencing issues we are trying to fix right now.

I told the vet about it but he just blew it off with "Dogs are omnivores they eat anything". I tried to explain that this wasn't the typical type of a little grass munching that all dogs do. To save money I picked the cheapest vet in town and he seemed to just wanna rush us out the door. He asked almost no questions, I had to provide all the info. Next trip I'm going somewhere else but that's not until the end of the month.

When we are outside I keep him on a lead so he wont get into anything unsafe or get to some place I can't reach him like inside deep brush(i live in New Zealand) However there is no moving him. He will follow me on the lead until he finds a spot he likes. Once there any sort of urging will be totally ignored even treats that he normally loves. I tried pulling the lead a little bit to urge him along but he turns into a mule if I do and will resist with all his little puppy might. I don't want to hurt him or make him hate the lead so i don't pull him around. 

I train him daily in the house using Victoria Stillwell Videos as a guide. He is very smart and picks up things pretty quick. I taught him to sit and give me a "high 5" in about 15 mins. It took him about 5 mins to learn "Stay". I was amazed cause I thought a puppy would be way too young to learn "stay" easily because they are so easily distracted. I can even get him to sit without saying a word or using hand signals. He just reads my body language and knows what I want. Unfortunately he turns into a totally different puppy when he walks out the door. I want to try to train him to leave all these plants alone but I can't if he wont pay any attention and likes grass/twigs more then treats. 

i thought maybe he's lacking something in his diet so I tried feeding him tiny pieces of carrot. Wouldn't eat it. Little bits of apple he treats like his kibble. He will eat it if its the only option but he might also just ignore it too.

I considered digging out all the grass in an area that would be his toilet spot. Just a dirt area and stand in the middle of it so his only option is the that spot. I would really love to hear any advice on this. I am away it is normal for dogs to eat grass, but this is way overboard i think. I also realize that pups experience the world with their mouths. After 10 days though he has experienced all these things over and over and never gets tired of them. I think he must be missing something in his diet but I can't figure out what.


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## Abbylynn

It sounds to me like he doesn't like his food. 

I have this issue with my new pup Leah Lu when it comes to stuff outside in her mouth! Lol! . But she is just a pup and not doing this to the extreme. I would first think about switching his food to a better quality .... I do not know what is available in your area as I am not familiar with New Zealand. I would try and pick something with real meat as a first ingredient. Dogs need meat.

Here is a site you can look at and see if there is a 4 or 5 star quality dog food in your area he could eat. http://www.dogfoodadvisor.com/

Other than that he sounds like he is a healthy normal pup ... but I am not a vet. Remember that please. If he is not vomiting and having loose stools ... he is probably just being a typical puppy. If it were me though ... and just my opinion on everything I have stated ... I would try and find a better vet and have a second opinion on his behavior. Make sure he doesn't have any other health issues going on. I made the mistake of not getting a second opinion soon enough for my dog Leeo.

In the mean time switch him slowly to a better food.


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## RonE

I've seen two kinds of grass-eating behavior among dogs. 

1) The casual grazing that rarely causes problems unless the grass had been treated with chemicals (and the reason our yard has not seen a drop of weed-killer or chemical fertilizer, and looks it.) Lots of dogs do this because they like it. 

2) The frantic chomping that I like to call John Deer Mode. A dog in John Deer Mode is going to be oblivious to everything else. To me, this means that the dog has an upset stomach. As often as not, the dog will throw up after this, and maybe that's the purpose. 

For the second one, the question is not so much about dealing with the grass-eating as it is about dealing with the upset stomach.


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