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Why does my dog always eat grass on walks, even with a good diet?

Updated On September 23rd, 2025

Pet's info: Dog | Mixed Breed Medium (23 - 60lb) | Female | spayed | 2 years and 9 months old | 18.8 lbs

Why does my dog always eat grass. We go out for walks and she always eats grass everyday. She is on a good food brand called ultimum but yet she prefers grass. Why?

2 Answers

Most Helpful Answer

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Answered By Rodrigo Roca, DVM

Veterinarian

Published on August 20th, 2018

Hello, sorry to hear about Layla. There are some medical causes for pets eating grass. These may include an upset stomach from inflammatory bowel disease, a dietary indiscretion, or parasites. Other less likely causes include mineral deficiencies, which are very rare especially in patients that are being fed a commercial diet. However, most commonly, we may see pets eat grass due to a learned behavior abnormality. Most of the time this behavior does not escalate to other complications, however, Layla could be exposed to parasites and other infectious agents when eating grass. You may try an alternate food for her to see if this changes her eating habits. Alternatively, you can use a basket or grazing muzzle on her when she goes outside. Finally, avoiding areas with tall grasses could decrease the amount of grass she eats. If none of this is working, you should contact your veterinarian to have her evaluated for mineral deficiencies and offer a consultation with a behaviorist. Hope this helps and best of luck.

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Other Answers

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    Answered By Jennifer Summerfield, DVM CPDT-KA

    Veterinarian, Certified Dog Trainer

    Published on

    In most cases, if your dog isn't showing any other signs of a problem, eating grass doesn't mean anything in particular - it's just something dogs like to do :) So if she's acting normal otherwise, this shouldn't be any cause for concern.

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