# Dog eating grass and foxtails Help



## ghosthorse (Feb 20, 2009)

If anyone has any in put on this please let me know. My Mastiff ,18 mo. ,has always been crazy over eating grass and other plant materials and now :frown:she even eats dry grasses with foxtails. Sometimes it's so bad I have to pull long pieces of grass out of her but when she poops. sorry When she was 12 wks old she had surgery to remove some plastic she ate, do you think that could cause this? I've told my vet but he just kinda blows it off. Anyone have any comment or suggestion? Thanks


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## EnglishBullTerriers (Sep 10, 2008)

Teach him to take smaller bites so that you don't have to pull it out!  Feed him some grain and put a saddle on him and let kids take pony rides on him! :biggrin: 
I'm just kidding. It is ok if they are eating grass, he might be missing something in his diet. What are you feeding, how much, any supplements??
More info is needed so that we can better assess the situation. It is ok thogh.


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## CorgiPaws (Mar 31, 2009)

Grass eating isn't considered to be abnormal behavior, but behavior like this can lead to blockage that has to be fixed by surgery, and no one wants that! What are you feeding him?
How much unsupervised time does he have outside? Is there a way to monitor him more closely out there?
Foxtails are nasty little suckers. I don't let my dogs roam about foxtail laiden grounds, I've seen one to many incredibly swollen/ infected embedded foxtails to allow it.


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## ghosthorse (Feb 20, 2009)

I feed her Taste of Wild with Chicken broth 2 cups AM and 2 cups TOW with chicken and rice added sometimes some veggies she gets Dog bisquits also. She has done this since I had her no matter what she is fed got some supplement from a holistic vet but it didn't seem to change anything She eats really fast like she is starving that could be because of the surgery she had when she was a pup she went without food for awhile during the process of diagnosis and treatment. I liked the funny answer I've often wondered if I got a PONY INSTEAD OF A DOG. wE HAVE ALOT OF DRY GRASS WHERE I live and when I take my dogs out they get in it and Stella eats it also. I guess I could just walk her on a leash . Just wondering if she's missing something or if she's just a freak.


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## CorgiPaws (Mar 31, 2009)

ghosthorse said:


> I feed her Taste of Wild with Chicken broth


Chicken broth is loaded with salt and could be dehydrating her. 



ghosthorse said:


> TOW with chicken and rice


TOTW is a good grain-free dog food. Out of curiosity, why spend big bucks on a grain-free formula, and then add rice to it? Is there a reason for the rice?



ghosthorse said:


> sometimes some veggies


These can be done away with. Fruits and veggies are great for us, but dogs are designed a little differently, and while veggies have a lot to offer, dogs can't digest them and break them down to use them, making them pointless. 



ghosthorse said:


> She eats really fast like she is starving


When my Beagle was a puppy, a good 13 years ago, he did this and then would vomit every time, no matter what it was he ate, just because hed wolf it down to fast. You can buy bowls that have balls or plastic fingers that are supposed to slow them down, and they work pretty well. We used to dump Max's bowl out into a line on the floor, and that would make him eat slower, too. Of course this is only a reasonable plan if the diet is just dry kibble. 




ghosthorse said:


> wE HAVE ALOT OF DRY GRASS WHERE I live and when I take my dogs out they get in it and Stella eats it also. I guess I could just walk her on a leash . Just wondering if she's missing something or if she's just a freak.


You might want to do the leash for a bit. Grass eating is a "normal" habit in moderation, but like I said if it's excessive it can create a blockage. She's not a freak, just has taken a habit to an extreme. :biggrin:


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## whiteleo (Sep 7, 2008)

I don't know about what makes a dog eat grass like crazy, but I'm trying some different things to see if I can get my male bull terrier who is raw fed to stop acting like a cow! I've added some kelp to his food when he get his trippet, or his organ mix or fish, doesn't have the all out desire like he used to, but if their is a tasty patch of grass he'll start grazing.


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## Unosmom (May 3, 2009)

dogs eat grass, its normal and they do it for various reasons, sometimes it for extra fiber, sometimes its to calm down upset stomach. I grow wheatgrass myself for juicing and Uno enjoys nibbling on it once in a while. 

She could have digestive issues, try giving her plain yogurt at night after dinner, I use about 8 heaping tablespoons almost every night. You can double that since you have a mastiff. 
In addition, you can use slow feed bowl which makes the dog work for their food a bit and slows down the gulping, helping stomach issues. 

I'm with corgipaws as well, dont use chicken broth, if you do, use sodium free one, or I highly reccomend a supplement called Nupro, its made with dehydrated liver with added vitamins/minerals, when you mix it with warm water, it turns into a delicious smelling gravy. I used this shortly with Uno until I discovered he was allergic to yeast. 
But its a highly reccomended supplement for dogs of all ages.


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## claybuster (Dec 18, 2008)

From what I've witnessed, dogs eat grass when they need to get sick (throw-up). Maybe it's the vegetables causing this need to makes himself get sick? What kind of vegetables and are they cooked or raw? Does he seem to like to eat grass after he eats his meals? I don't think you're dog is looking for more fiber, he gets enough in the diet already despite the grain-free. There is the normal and then the not so normal. My dog will run through a field and nip at the tops of tall grasses sometimes in a playful manner, but there is no meal.

When everything it right in the diet, I think it solves a lot of issues including behavioral. Eating the grass seems to become a behavior and you may be able to overcome that with nutrition. I would start by getting rid of all the vegetable in the diet that you provide and try to include more meats and fats in the diet, up to 15% (raw or cooked) of what he eats now with the dry food. I wouldn't mix it though with your kibble selection, I would make it a separate meal. Take note of your times you go outdoors in relationship when the dog had his meals. You may just find that adjusting the diet some will help solve a lot of issues in certain behaviors, including the unexplained by the vet.


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## CorgiPaws (Mar 31, 2009)

claybuster said:


> You may just find that adjusting the diet some will help solve a lot of issues in certain behaviors, including the unexplained by the vet.


"unexplained by the vet"= nearly every issue I've ever had with my dogs. 
Vets really don't have a clue.


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