Eating Too Much Grass.

[Guest burgerandfrey]

Now that the weather is warming up our greys are spending more time in the yard, where they love to munch on grass like a couple of goats. I have mowed the lawn twice in as many weeks hoping it would be too short, but they still manage. Of course when they eat too much grass they often end up throwing it up later... often in the middle of a walk or in the middle of the night (on the floor). They seem to feel great other than throwing it up, but I would rather break this icky cycle.

 

Does anyone know of an effective way to deter grazing? Our yard is pretty small, so I thought about spraying some of that bitter tasting stuff you spray on furniture to deter chewing onto the grass in their favorite grazing spots.

 

I don't think they are eating grass for therapeutic reasons...I think they are eating it because they like the taste. When they throw it up they don't throw up a lot... usually just a small amount of yellow liquid with lots of blades of grass clumped together. On days when they don't eat grass they don't throw up.

 

Most of the time we are in the yard with them (we don't leave them outside unattended for very long),so we try to distract them when we see them heading for the grass.

[Guest Sunset123]

Now that the weather is warming up our greys are spending more time in the yard, where they love to munch on grass like a couple of goats. I have mowed the lawn twice in as many weeks hoping it would be too short, but they still manage. Of course when they eat too much grass they often end up throwing it up later... often in the middle of a walk or in the middle of the night (on the floor). They seem to feel great other than throwing it up, but I would rather break this icky cycle.

 

Does anyone know of an effective way to deter grazing? Our yard is pretty small, so I thought about spraying some of that bitter tasting stuff you spray on furniture to deter chewing onto the grass in their favorite grazing spots.

 

I don't think they are eating grass for therapeutic reasons...I think they are eating it because they like the taste. When they throw it up they don't throw up a lot... usually just a small amount of yellow liquid with lots of blades of grass clumped together. On days when they don't eat grass they don't throw up.

 

Most of the time we are in the yard with them (we don't leave them outside unattended for very long),so we try to distract them when we see them heading for the grass.

 

I sympathize. I was doing weeding in the backyard yesterday and Arrisa spent 95% of the time grazing like a goat. She was having such a good time and didn't throw up. I gave up trying to get her to stop...

[Guest MyBoys]

All three of mine graze like cows, sometimes they will bring a little back up and sometimes not, I think you might be fighting a losing battle, they all just seem to enjoy it so much.

[cleptogrey]

the worst is when they decide to eat the tall decorative grass.....

 

talk about puking after a bing, one stand of that stuff and oppps.....here it comes! those long strands take forever to come out the other end as well...hysterical watching a dog run around w/ a piece stuck at the other end! it's so much fun removing it!

 

yeah, i have a female here who goes out and grazes every morning and leaves a pile of vomit right on the walkway. a nice morning greeting!

[TheFullHouse]

Muzzle with a stool guard or duct tape.

[Guest zombrie]

Muzzle with a stool guard or duct tape.

The greyhounds don't graze normally, when they do it's not very much. But our golden and GSD do it a lot, so we muzzle them.

[sweetdogs]

I have a grazer here too. He loves the tender young grass so much, I just couldn't muzzle him. He has done the urking on the carpet & the blade protruding from the butt game but last week was the first for this: he pooped a perfectly formed grass turd! It was like he took a bunch of grass blades & folded them into a little turd shape - that was what came out!

[Guest burgerandfrey]

Thanks for the suggestions all. I didn't think I had the only goats around here

 

They continue to eat grass, but not throwing up as much. It seems like when they do throw up, it's longer blades of grass... so maybe my extra lawn mowing is helping after all!

 

Our previous grey loved the first grass of the Spring, but snubbed eating grass later in Spring or Summer. Hopefully these guys will find that it's a seasonal thing as well. Fortunately they don't eat the decorative grasses, but Lola has a thing for nipping off some types of flowers. She doesn't eat them... just destroys them. Fortunately she did not go after the bulbs... just the crocuses and a few other little flowers. The muzzles with tape is a good suggestion if things get too out of hand.

 

- Sean

 

I have a grazer here too. He loves the tender young grass so much, I just couldn't muzzle him. He has done the urking on the carpet & the blade protruding from the butt game but last week was the first for this: he pooped a perfectly formed grass turd! It was like he took a bunch of grass blades & folded them into a little turd shape - that was what came out!

 

Yup... all those icky scenarios sound familiar! Our previous grey pooped a lot of grass in her day.

[Guest Drumhellergrey]

If you want to add more fiber to your dogs diet you can run some Broccoli or green beans through the blender, and add this to his food.

 

Eating a bit of grass isn't harmful, as long as the grass hasn't been treated with chemicals.

[Guest burgerandfrey]

If you want to add more fiber to your dogs diet you can run some Broccoli or green beans through the blender, and add this to his food.

 

Eating a bit of grass isn't harmful, as long as the grass hasn't been treated with chemicals.

 

Good point. The only grass eating goes on in our yard which definitely is not treated with anything. We are careful to avoid letting them eat grass elsewhere. Giardia can be another problem. Our previous grey had a bout with giardia and our vet said that it is not unusual for dogs around here to get it from eating grass. They get it by grazing the same grass that deer graze, and we have plenty of deer in our neighborhood. Fortunately I have never seen a deer jump the fence into our yard (not that they couldn't do this easily... one snuck in and ate the flowers off our hydrangea last year), so the risk factor should be pretty low.

 

I think it's the long grass that irritates them, and unfortunately it is the long grass they love. Hopefully keeping it a bit shorter will help in that area.

[GreytNut]

I suspect you may have to use a muzzle with a poop cup.

 

Mine are incorrigible grass eaters. They eat it, come back in the house and then hoark it up not on the hard floor but on the carpet (naturally). I have noticed that some varieties of grass seem to be more irritating than others. The thick, coarse-bladed grass with lots of little barbs on it is really bad. The small, thin, smooth blades don't cause much trouble.

[GeorgeofNE]

Uhm, can I state the obvious answer...bring them inside???

[Guest RWM]

Funny stuff! Both of mine are grazers. Snowy had a three inch piece of coarse grass hanging out of her butt the other day, with a turd on the end of it. I was watching her for a couple of minutes, whirling around, trying to get rid of it. I finally helped her out! Too funny.

[Guest GreytfulJack]

My Casey was a grass eater, as well as my current terrier. There was/is a certain patch of grass on our walk route that they LOVED....it was long, thick grass that grew on the side of the road. They would chew and chew FOREVER if I let them. I felt ridiculous standing there for so long! It never seemed to bother their stomachs and it was always something they looked forward to. I did post a similar question as yours and after reading the replies, I stopped worrying and let them eat away!

 

I think dogs are just weird sometimes.

[cleptogrey]

why gind the brocolli/string beans? mine take veggies like dog biskets and chomp away! they also adore carrots.

 

as to the giardia comment, it usually is spread as run-off thru water/rains. so if your area/yard is getting run-off that could be the source.

[Guest duckbilled]

I think Ike only eats grass when he is feeling off. He has a particular preference for crab grass and he will seek it out. His taste is very discriminating.