I just caught our lit' terrier munching on the grass on our backyard lawn. He puked afterwards. I am concerned he might swallowed some nasty bugs or their eggs and get sick. Should we feed him more than a cupful of dry dog food once a day? Is this a normal behavior in dogs? TiA

Kap

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SoCal for now.

Some believe dogs will eat grass when they have an upset tummy - others because they like it

Nor really defined but do a google search for lots of opinions

[www.google.com]


As long as grass isn't treated he should be OK -

It's common behavior - report back if he starts mooing

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Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 02/09/2006 09:19AM by lafinfil.

lafinfil Wrote:
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> dogs will eat grass when they have an upset tummy
> - common behavior
>
Should we give him something for his upset tummy then?

> report back if he starts mooing
>
LOL ...

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SoCal for now.

Sorry - did a little edit

Like I said - not even vets know for sure

Every dog I have ever been around has eaten grass at one time or another
I wouldn't worry unless he keeps vomiting - then call your vet

If the grass is treated with lawn chemicals then I would worry

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My vet told me NOT to let Louie eat grass. She said she once had to do emergency surgery on a dog who had been eating grass, then threw up, and a blade of grass was propelled back up, and it lodged in his nasal passage. (Think choking on Coke and having it come out your nose.) Of course, the only way I've found to keep Louie from eating grass is the stern "No!" and making him come back inside.

Is the dog vomiting up bile or food? I have to make sure Louie eats every 12 hours. If he gets too hungry, he does throw up, and it's nothing but bile. If your dog is vomiting on an empty stomach, maybe you should split his servings of food up into two or three feeding times a day. If he's vomiting up his food, pay close attention to him, and take him to the vet if it happens regularly.

have had dogs for 20+ years and all of them at one point or another have eaten grass without ill effect.

That blade of grass lodging thing is probably one in a million... but your vet might have other reasons for why your dog Louie shouldn't eat grass.

Have had cats for as long too - and they eat grass as well, but usually are more picky about type.

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OWC Larry
Other World Computing
[www.macsales.com]

If he starts hanging out with cats with grass - then you got a problem

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Dogs eat grass because they need to purge. They know instinctively that the grass, at that moment, is exactly what they need. Grass is extremely high in chlorophyll, one of the stronger blood purifiers in nature.

Given that most dogs are fed an extremely processed diet, very similar to crackers and spam, they need every access to raw food that they can get ahold of, even if it's just grass.

I would highly suggest looking around for a veterinarian who has a more holistic viewpoint and approach to good animal care. Because of the results they are getting, more and morre vets are learning the dietary skills that work for keeping animals healthy. Check 'em out.

And trust your dog's instincts. He's doing what he's doing for a reason.

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M1 2020 Mac mini (16G 2T) • Sonoma 14.x • Dual 27" Dell S2722QC monitors • M2 2022 13" MBAir (512G 16G) •

I second the idea of splitting his meal up into 2 or 3 meals. 24 hours is a long time to go without eating.

And yes, dogs eat grass and it makes them vomit. This is pretty normal. If you aren't comfortable letting him do it, then don't. But don't worry about "nasty bugs or their eggs". Dogs can eat an amazing amount of things that we would consider gross with no ill effects.

Kap, you might want to think about buying a good book or two about caring for dogs. You seem to be a nervous dog daddy, and perhaps having some books around to consult would help you with that.

AlphaDog,
He puked biles with grass pieces intact. I did give him a stern "No!". I gave him a 1/3 of cup of his food. He gulped down in no time.

I will start giving him food twice a day now ... once in the morning and once in the afternoon.

====

lafinfil,
with that type of grass, he'd be more calm ;)

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It's not so much grass he ate that was a concern. I was thinking he might be swallowing tick or flee's eggs. Then, it would be the vet I'd be running to.

Kap

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SoCal for now.

for the excess bile, I don't know about dogs, but my current situation includes a Zantac everyday (OTC) for the orange kitty.

The hyperthyroid has kicked in the appetitie and the acid as well.

Our experience is the same as tuqqer's. Thankfully, it's a rare occurence, but we always know when the pooch isn't feeling well. She'll chomp on some grass and soon thereafter, the offending item is set free. Or maybe it just settles her stomach. It's one or the other.

I guess it's the canine version of ipecac.

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Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 02/09/2006 11:33AM by wurm.

Yeh, if it was nothing but bile, then his little tummy gets too empty. Feeding twice a day seems to be working OK for Louie most of the time, although if I think I won't get home until past his usual dinner time, I leave a few chunks of Science Diet dog food out for him to snack on. It's not his usual food, so he thinks it's a treat and will sometimes eat it.

$tevie Wrote:
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> Kap, you might want to think about buying a good
> book or two about caring for dogs. You seem to be
> a nervous dog daddy, and perhaps having some books
> around to consult would help you with that.

The first month we've got him, we went shopping for his bed, food, clothings, toys, and a book on dogs. We got most the stuff at either Target or PetCo. But couldn't find any book on his breed. Heck, he's a mutt. Everyone gives a different type of terrier breed, i.e. Yorkshire, Norfolk, Schnauzer, or similar.

Kap

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SoCal for now.



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 02/09/2006 11:08AM by kap.

Love the kitty animation, Laf!

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And we should consider every day lost on which we have not danced at least once.
—Friedrich Nietzsche
Western Massachusetts

stolen .... oh course mr. b


Kap I agree - try smaller feedings a couple times a day

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I hope i didn't misunderstand you when you said you told him NO! after he puked. This is one of the worst things you could possibly do.

If your dog HAS TO PUKE, it could potentially KILL him if he thinks he should not and forces himself to "hold it." What if he ingested something, like a toy or something toxic or food that simply went down the wrong pipe? Telling him NO is an invitation to needless suffering and possibly death.

If my dogs or cats start to puke, I move them to a more suitable spot, like tile or hardwoods where it's easy to clean up and leaves no stain. As a result, when they puke (which is maybe 3 or 4 times a year for a couple of them; and yes, I let them eat UNTREATED grass), they have learned to do it in a "safe" spot. I comfort them afterward and talk soothingly to them as it's no fun to throw up and don't you feel good when someone comforts you after you puke?

Just treat them like you'd treat your child. You wouldn't tell your kid to stop puking would you, or yell at them if they puke? Of course not.

Ditto Larry and tuqqer's advice, it is extremely good.

If you have pets who go outside, you should not put fertilizer or weed killer on your lawn unless it says, "Non-toxic for pets." Good luck, and kudos to you, kap, for seeking out advice from other pet owners.

SteveO
4 dogs, 2 cats and a lot of hair!

SteveO Wrote:
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> I hope i didn't misunderstand you when you said
> you told him NO! after he puked. This is one of
> the worst things you could possibly do.
>
> If your dog HAS TO PUKE, it could potentially KILL
> him if he thinks he should not and forces himself
> to "hold it." What if he ingested something, like
> a toy or something toxic or food that simply went
> down the wrong pipe? Telling him NO is an
> invitation to needless suffering and possibly
> death.
>
> If my dogs or cats start to puke, I move them to a
> more suitable spot, like tile or hardwoods where
> it's easy to clean up and leaves no stain. As a
> result, when they puke (which is maybe 3 or 4
> times a year for a couple of them; and yes, I let
> them eat UNTREATED grass), they have learned to do
> it in a "safe" spot. I comfort them afterward and
> talk soothingly to them as it's no fun to throw up
> and don't you feel good when someone comforts you
> after you puke?
>
> Just treat them like you'd treat your child. You
> wouldn't tell your kid to stop puking would you,
> or yell at them if they puke? Of course not.
>
Oh, no. I gave him a "No!" when I caught him chewing on the grass; not when he heaved. I brought him into the house and gave him a little bit of food and plenty of water. The grass has not been treated with any chemical since we've become the owners of the house; not sure about the previous owners tho'. Except for the front lawn, we don't even water it often enough :I

> Ditto Larry and tuqqer's advice, it is extremely
> good.
>
> If you have pets who go outside, you should not
> put fertilizer or weed killer on your lawn unless
> it says, "Non-toxic for pets." Good luck, and
> kudos to you, kap, for seeking out advice from
> other pet owners.
>
> SteveO
> 4 dogs, 2 cats and a lot of hair!

Hey, he's our FIRST 'baby'

Kap

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SoCal for now.

I have 2 dogs and they both eat grass. The one who eats it less tends to barf it up more, the other almost never barfs it up.

I take my dog running with me most days, and we usually stop at a meadow a couple of miles from home. He almost always grazes there and sometimes throws up a small amount. It's never seemed to bother him. I would worry more about nasty stuff in the dog food than bugs and bug eggs...they are probably good for him.

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"Man is a little germ that lives on an unimportant rock ball that revolves about a small star at the outskirts of an ordinary galaxy. ... I am absolutely amazed to discover myself on this rock ball rotating around a spherical fire. It's a very odd situation. And the more I look at things I cannot get rid of the feeling that existence is quite weird. -- Alan Watts

Your baby will be fine. Dogs do that, I think, when they feel the need to throw up. Mine do it occasionally and it's never been a problem. I always try to move them to an appropriate spot, too, and they don't mind. And, yes, give them some love and attention afterwards because they're feeling a little shaky.

Try to find a general book on health care for dogs. Terriers are just dogs and while they may have some differences in behavior, a book like that will take care of problems like this and give you good advice.

I've had terriers (wire fox) for years and I can tell you that they are extremely stubborn and highly manipulative - also, utterly fascinating and completely adorable. Training them can be an exercise in frustration if you do not have excellent control. Make sure your terrier knows who the alpha dog is and make sure that it is NOT him.

Dave,
I have some questions about taking my dog on a daily distant run with me. I will PM you later on.

davester Wrote:
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> I take my dog running with me most days, and we
> usually stop at a meadow a couple of miles from
> home. He almost always grazes there and sometimes
> throws up a small amount. It's never seemed to
> bother him. I would worry more about nasty stuff
> in the dog food than bugs and bug eggs...they are
> probably good for him.

===

Linda2,

Ok, we will look into buying a book on small (12 lbs) terrier just learn some general dog care. Any more questions we have you gals and guys

Oh, our doggie gets LOTs of love and attention. Everyone else seems to think he's spoiled.

As aforementioned, our doggie is a mutt, but he surely is stubborn and manipulative alright. He KNOWS I am the master. However, the master of our domain is ... ahem, my S/O.

Much thanks to everyone for the helpful suggestions.

Kap

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SoCal for now.



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 02/09/2006 03:42PM by kap.

Whew, thanks for the clarification. There are a lot of good dog books out there; I'd recommend "Dog Training My Way" or "Good Owners, Great Dogs"...sorry don't have the authors handy.

What a cute puppy! Lucky you! ;)

If I was eating grass out back... I'd puke.

Lafinfil "eats" grass..... he heads out to buy donuts!



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 02/09/2006 04:49PM by Jimmypoo.

I've had really good luck with clicker training and positive reinforcement and there are several good books out there on this method. Terriers can be difficult to train, though, so don't be discouraged. Best of luck and May God Have Mercy Upon Your Soul............ ;)