Tuesdays With Toby: Does Your Dog Graze

Toby has been eating grass a lot lately. On a recent trip to Heurich Dog Park, I caught him in the act.

We've all heard that dogs eat grass when their tummies hurt. The grass supposedly makes them vomit whatever wasn't setting well in their stomach. So, I was worried when Toby began doing it regularly, thinking he might have a serious bellyache.

Instead, I noticed that Toby actually wasn't vomiting after eating the grass. In fact, he seemed to really enjoy eating the tender shoots popping out of the ground in our courtyard. So I did some research and here's what I found out:

According to petlibrary.co.uk, grazing is common among canines. Since dogs are omnivores (they eat both meat and veggies) it's not too weird that they mow down grass like my dad's old lawnmower. In fact, they might actually have a craving for it now and then.

And as long as there aren't any chemicals on it, it's probably OK for Fido to go free-range. Just make sure to wash it down with a cool drink of water.