There have been so many of us wondering why my dog eats grass at least once in our lives. The assumptions that come along with this are that he does it because it's a way of treating his stomach problems, or that it's a way of eliminating parasites, which might not be accurate. The following are some of the scientific reasons we found why our dogs do what they do…
They need fiber
It is well known that fiber is a type of carbohydrate that the body cannot digest, but it promotes healthy bacteria colonies and has a laxative effect, helping to speed up food "transit time." In addition, there are many subtypes of soluble and insoluble fibers, some of which occur naturally in plant foods like grass. Therefore, it wouldn't be too crazy to believe that dogs have this inner wisdom that drives them to eat this type of fiber in order to cure their stomach and gut problems naturally, would it?
They chew grass because they're bored
The fact that dogs chew is no secret; it's their way of coping with anxiety and boredom, but do they do the same when they eat grass? It could be a good reason to explain this weird behavior, but dogs used to get stressed when they didn't have enough time to play or when they weren't socialized enough, and even though some dogs have this type of behavior for the reasons we've already mentioned, most of them are playful and distressed when outside (where grass is available).
Maybe, Instinct?
We're getting closer to a scientific explanation for why our dogs eat grass… We found an interesting approach using veterinarians, scientific papers, and surveys that stated, “When owners ask about their pets’ ten-dency to consume plants, let them know that their pets are fairly typical—most dogs and cats consume some plant mate-rial. In addition, plant consumption is not usually associated with gastrointestinal illness but instead may be a trait inher-ited from their wild ancestors.”
