threw up!!! eep!!

[tikeyas_mom]

Tikeya Threw up a bunch of grass, is this normal? I have never seen her throw up grass befor :confused:

thanks .

[primabella]

I'm pretty sure it's normal. Mickey sometimes eats grass and if he eats too much or if he runs after that, he throws it up.

[wolfsoul]

Dogs will eat and throw up grass when they ate something that made them feel bad. :) They know the grass makes them throw up what they ate that was making their tummies hurt. They will also throw up if they've eaten lettuce.

[primabella]

Originally posted by wolfsoul
Dogs will eat and throw up grass when they ate something that made them feel bad. :) They know the grass makes them throw up what they ate that was making their tummies hurt. They will also throw up if they've eaten lettuce.

Mickey always gets some lettuce and he's never thrown it up.

[wolfsoul]

He probably didn't get enough than. Lettuce is okay for a treat, but if too much is ingested, they will throw up. Lettuce is too closely related to grass.

[tikeyas_mom]

ok thanks so much for the replys ;). I am glad she is ok, she is acting all sad and sick now :(:(. poor baby I have to pamper her today ;).

[Kfamr]

Dogs eat grass when their stomach is upset so they can vomit and get rid of whatever may be bothering them.

[Kfamr]

Nala's aten 5 or 6 leaves of lettuce and has never thrown up.

[primabella]

We have our small garden in the back that has lettuce. At the beginning of the summer, Mickey would walk over and help himself. :rolleyes: He soon learned it was off limits. :p

[kingrattus]

If she's still feeling icky, put her outside & let her est as much grass that she wants & make sure u let her upchuck before u let her inside, I've learned that the hard way... hehehe

[binka_nugget]

I think my dog's weird or something lol. Everytime we go out, he munches on anything green. Most of the time, it's grass but he'll pick up a few other greens as well. I give him lettuce all the time...sometimes in his dinner...he's never thrown up after eating it. I think Kai's just a weirdo :rolleyes: Lol

[tomkatzid]

I found this posted on a vet site I go to.

Why do dogs eat grass may be my least favorite, frequently asked, question. No dog has ever confided in me why he or she does this! Several interesting and plausible theories exist to explain this behavior.

Dogs, unlike cats, are not purely carnivorous. Certain members of the dog family are known to eat wild berries and other plant foods. Wild carnivores living a predatory lifestyle will often eat the contents of their victim's gastrointestinal tract before they consume the carcass. This probably fulfills a need to balance the diet with vegetable material and roughage, albeit "predigested". Thus one theory is that a grass-eating dog is seeking the roughage that some modern low residue pet foods may lack.

A theory popular with holistic health advocates is that the dog is merely supplementing his diet. The thinking here is that grass supplies some nutrient that modern foods have lost in processing. They also believe that, in addition to grass, the dog would probably benefit from a diet supplemented with herbs, perhaps thinking that this is closer to what dogs' wild ancestors ate. However, there is no experimental scientific evidence to substantiate this.

Another explanation, suggested by an online purveyor of canine supplements, is that fresh grass contains organic sulfur, a compound thought to be essential for proper digestion. Not surprisingly, the remedy offered to curb a pet from grass eating is a sulfur supplement sold through the same online site.

Some animal behavior experts think that grass makes it possible for the dog to rid his stomach of something that is either indigestible or poisonous. The offending material - often just a thick liquid or mixture of liquid with something undigested - is bound up by the grass and expelled when the grass becomes an irritant and causes the dog to vomit.

Dr. Kathleen Houpt, a veterinary behaviorist at Cornell University's College of Veterinary Medicine theorizes that sometimes when a dog appears to be eating grass, he may actually be running it through his mouth to use his senses to detect what animals have walked on or urinated upon the grass. In such cases, the dog will usually not attempt to swallow the grass.

Another theory advanced by Dr. Houpt is that dogs eat many things - garbage, for example - that humans do not consider palatable, so it may just be that our canine companion is eating grass because he likes the taste of wants the canine equivalent of a salad.

The theory that some dogs simply want variety in their diet has proponents, but, to date, no studies have shown this to be true.

The bottom-line is that grass eating, with and without consequent vomiting, concerns pet owners. If it is not continuous and/or accompanied by loss of appetite, it most likely does not indicate a problem. Vomiting usually occurs shortly after grass ingestion so when you see "Candy" grazing in your yard, it is wise to keep her outside for a short while.

[sabies]

I catch Sadie "grazing" all the time and I never see vomit outside and it's rare inside. I do stop her and discourage her each time but that doesn't help much. I guess I'd have to go with this theory:

"Another theory advanced by Dr. Houpt is that dogs eat many things - garbage, for example - that humans do not consider palatable, so it may just be that our canine companion is eating grass because he likes the taste or wants the canine equivalent of a salad."

Since garbage - the grosser the better - is one of Sadie's favorites. I've seen remnants of her attacks on vulnerable cans and I'm surprised the stuff didn't kill her no less make her sick but she seems to thrive on it :( .

[pitc9]

Both of mine "graze" Sierra eats much more and more often than Buddy and she does not throw up often, Buddy on the other hand.....will puke right after!!!