My Border collie is just over a year old now and I am just noticing a new habit of his.

He has started to eat grass and compost! Especially after I have mowed the lawn.

Will it do him any harm? I really hope not. He was recently tested for digestive problems and was given the all clear.

Maybe I am just stressing? Oh and he's just started to roll in poo *sigh*

Cheers for any advice to put my mind at ease :)

CG

It's a normal part of their diet. Wild canine relatives of dogs--wolves and foxes--eat all of an animal when they catch it. They end up, therefore, eating grasses and plants in the intestines of these animals. Domestic dogs, eating prepared dog food, lack this part of their diet and so they eat grass. Another reason- dogs may eat grass when they have an upset stomach in order to cause vomiting. The grass will bind with the offending material. Then the grass acts as an irritant and causes the dog to vomit.

A lot of dogs graze... ours used to lie in the patio and chew one specific shrub so we had one nice bush and a twig beside it. That is the reason most if not all puppy books give a list of poisonous plants... because some dogs eat vegitation. In a nutshell nothing to worry about if do in moderation. A friends dog eats herbs out of their herb garden!

Al

My dog eats mud and grass too. On her usual walks she has several places she knows where the mud must be really tasty and she races over to them in order to have more chewing time! I hope it doesn't do any harm, does sometimes seem to make her constipated.

Hi
Gus who is 5 months does this too .
Although he doesnt actually EAT the grass he tears it up and leaves it at that :)
He also had a nibble of cow poo the other day too - disgusting
Lel

Had to laugh when I read your post lel, as Rufus absolutley
adores horse poo. How foul is that?

He really digs in - then looks at me with his filthy beard (mini s) and
whilst licking his lips looks at me really curiously as if to say "what?"

Louise :-)

Oh yuck :)

Any poo apart from dog is Roscoe's delicacy - improving with knowledge of "leave it". He also eats grass and threw up a neat little pile this morning!

I was always told that eating grass was a sign that the dog was defficient in something lacking from its diet. So I am a bit confused now!

Ali :)

i sympathise - both mine do it, their favourite at the moment is goose poo....
Remembered reading somewhere that it can be down to a vitamin K deficiency, and
found this webite after a google search - you'll have to copy and paste the link - can't seem to figure out how to put a proper link on here:

http://www.findlay.edu/users/brennan/eqst231/fa99/rowley/page5.html

Also found this paragraph on another site:

"..This habit of eating feces (called "Coproghagy") is common with many dogs that eat commercial dog food. Why? To try to stay healthy! Feces are a highly valuable food, consisting of the dead and living bodies of millions of bacteria. They are an excellent source of essential fatty acids, fat soluble vitamins (particularly vitamin K and the whole range of B vitamins), many different minerals because of the soil in it, and a host of other nutritional factors including anti-oxidants, enzymes and fiber..."

Ewwww!!
They've always eaten grass as well, seem to enjoy it so i just let 'em graze!

Annette