Dogs should not eat plants... right?

[Sayonara]

My housemate's dog (Bassett Hound) keeps eating plants in the garden.

 

Plants!

 

I am assuming this is due to some kind of dietary deficiency at the moment... anyone had any experience with this?

[CanadaAotS]

My dog eats grass. Its a bit ironic, since shes rather fat and black and white...

 

but I think they just eat plants, then spit them up. Or it just comes out the same way it came in.

 

I dont think its detrimental as long as the plants aren't poisonous lol

[AzurePhoenix]

as long as it doesn't eat anything toxic to it, it's fine and normal. Wild canids do eat more plant matter than people suspect, for a range of nutrients you just can't get from meat, including eating the stuff in their prey's gut.

 

As for the grass-eating, i tend to lean towards the explanation that it's to settle or purge the stomach for whatever reason.

[CanadaAotS]

Yah thats what I thought since my dog usually pukes after eating grass

[AzurePhoenix]

at least it's intentional (and with a decent reason) and not just like any of a number of my hick relatives binging off a keg till they just can't hold back

[insane_alien]

binging every now and then is good for the soul

[dapdupdap]

The reasons of eating plants by animals are stomachache and digestive problem

[CanadaAotS]

My dog eats all kinds of crap... I would not be surprised if she had a stomach ache

 

we had her in the vet awhile ago because she ate a bunch of margarine that she got out of the trash

 

She's not terribly bright

[AzurePhoenix]

My dog eats all kinds of crap... I would not be surprised if she had a stomach ache

 

we had her in the vet awhile ago because she ate a bunch of margarine that she got out of the trash

 

She's not terribly bright

sometimes I forget how deeply inbred dogs have been since their wolfish origins.

[CanadaAotS]

exactly! shes a pure bred border collie...

 

pure bred = inbred lol

[bascule]

Cellulose = undigestable fiber = helps with digestion/forming stool

[Bettina]

My housemate's dog (Bassett Hound) keeps eating plants in the garden.

 

Plants!

 

I am assuming this is due to some kind of dietary deficiency at the moment... anyone had any experience with this?

 

When my dog has an upset stomach or other digestive problem, her tail will be pulled in close to her body. When I see that, I know she doesn't feel well and when I let her out and she will immediately start chewing grass. She doesn't do that at any other time so I've learned the clues. I also give her a Tums and that helps too.

 

If its a severe stomach problem she will eat enough to throw up and then feels better otherwise she will eat just enough and then feels ok...

 

However, some dogs just like to eat plants and grass so you have to check the dogs habits.

 

If it is indeed her stomach, check her dog food or try another brand. That failing, you can call a vet.

 

Bee

[CanadaAotS]

You give your dogs Tums?

 

Thats kinda cool actually... for instant canine heart burn relief! lol

 

makes you wonder what other medicines for humans work the same way on dogs...

[Dak]

Cellulose = undigestable fiber = helps with digestion/forming stool

 

which, in all likely-hood, the dog will then eat.

[Sisyphus]

My dog will eat all sorts of plants. He used to to eat whole sticks, too, and it never seemed to bother him. Additionally, its been my experience that most dogs LOVE fruit of various kinds, particularly stuff like apples and pears. They're certainly not strict carnivores.

[AzurePhoenix]

Definately not. The meals I have to prepare for foxes where I work are more fruit and veggies than they are mouse and meat. In the wild canids can survive as vegivores if need be and stay in good shape as long as they don't get too overworked for long stretches. You'll see certain brands of dog-food that are strictly vegetarian, or often regular brands that have barely any meat, and the pups do just fine on them.

[CanadaAotS]

I always thought that dogs were omnivores till someone told me that they are only supposed to eat meat

[Royston]

I was told cats, as well as some dogs chew on grass so they cough up fur, from when they've been licking themselves...is this a myth ?

[CanadaAotS]

yah... I've never seen my cat cough up a furball, or have found any evidence that she has been coughing up furballs...

 

but shes never let outside, so she doesnt eat grass

[Royston]

Same, I grew up with cats in the house...just something my housemate said. I'll give him a ball of lint, and send him into the backgarden, just to be sure

[aj47]

I was always told that when cats eat grass, it's to either relieve stomach aches and or make themselves sick if they have eaten anything dodgy. I would imagine it would be the same for dogs.

[Atellus]

I have three dogs, all of whom eat and regurgitate plant material from time to time. They're fed on a mixed diet of one third fruit and vegetables to approximately two thirds meat by mass, plus some essential dietary supplements like iodine salt and bone meal. I often flavour it by adding my own leftovers from the previous evening. I've seen one of them eat everything from home baking to slices of cucumber and banana!

 

This sort of diet can be very flexible and useful as you can finely control a dogs weight. During periods of relative lack of activity I often increase the fruit and vegetable fraction to bulk the meal up, which satisfies them quite well without filling them full of calories they don't need and piling on the fat as a result.

 

I was thinking of logging incidences of "grazing" and whether or not the plant matter was regurgitated, and correlating these with the worming schedule to see if intestinal parasites might be a factor. I thought that this behaviour might be a good indicator for parasites if the two are related.