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Why does my dog eat grass, vomit, and have erratic eating habits?

Updated On September 23rd, 2025

Pet's info: Dog | Cane Corso | Female | spayed | 1 year and 8 months old | 103 lbs

Eating habits all over the place, it's been that way since we adopted her. Won't eat unless she has wet food mixed in, won't eat for a few days but will eat grass and throw up. Then will eat for a few days and seems just fine, cycles happen randomly. No rhyme or reason. No new toys or treats. I'm worried she isn't getting enough to eat or proper nutrition. She starts heartworm treatment shots Aug 2. only medication for anxiety

2 Answers

Most Helpful Answer

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Answered By Anna M., DVM

Veterinarian

Published on July 22nd, 2017

Hello, this could be due to a number of issues, including her known heartworm disease if she is symptomatic and it's making her feel unwell. A few common reasons for a young otherwise healthy dog to have a waxing and waning appetite with no other symptoms would be a low grade chronic pancreatitis, mild IBD (inflammatory bowel disease), or a food sensitivity. If you haven't done a complete bloodwork panel with your vet, I suggest starting there. Your vet can discuss a feeding trial with prescription food - I would recommend trying an easily digestible food that's easy on the stomach such as I/D or EN (there are lots of acceptable brands of prescription food, these are just a few common ones), and if that doesn't help then do a trial of a limited ingredient or hydrolyzed diet for food sensitivity. Hope this helps!

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    Answered By Dr Stafford, BVetMed, MRCVS

    Veterinarian

    Published on

    It could be that she is just a fussy eater. However, I would habe my suspicions that she may be experiencing some sort of gastointestinal issue. She could have issues controlling the balance if microbes in her gut or the acidity of her stomach. It is also possible she could have problems making bile or digestive enzymes. Because she is young she may have been born with a condition. I would suggest going to a vet with an interest in internal medicine, there are various tests that can be done to check the function of the guts. If this is not an option i would try giving her a probiotic and gradually moving her onto a gastrointestinal food which is easy to digest.

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