My new puppy is eating grass. Should I let him or is it bad?

Some dogs like to eat grass! As long as they have good appetites (for dog food!) and are not frequent vomiters, there is nothing wrong with eating grass. I do recommend that Chopi is routinely dewormed for common intestinal parasites (often included in monthly heartworm preventatives) and that you do not treat your grass with any chemicals.

This is a common problem with puppies! They eat everything! There's not much you can do to stop the behavior other than stay by her side at all times and try to stop the behavior. You could try bring high value treats out with you and treat her when she is not eating the grass. This process may work but will take a while to train her. Eventually she will learn to pay attention to you. The good news is, she will likely outgrow the behavior. I hope this helps! Please feel free to post any other questions!

Try keeping a toy or something that makes noise with you (you can put some pennies or pebbles into an empty soda or tin can and tape it closed to make a shake can that you can rattle or drop next to her to startle her into stopping) when you go outside with her. When she starts to eat weeds, squeak the toy or clap your hands to make noise to distract her from what she is doing and tell her 'drop it' or 'leave it'. As soon as she stops what she's doing give her a treat or the toy to play with. Over time this should give her the idea that she gets a nice treat when she listens to you when you ask her to stop. If she does not stop you may need to take her outside only on a leash so you can control her trying to eat weeds until you can break her of the habit. Some species of plants can be highly toxic to dogs (lilies, sago palm are two common toxic landscape plants) so teaching her to stop is a good thing.

There could be many things that are causing this in Loki. Less likely a foreign body especially since he bounces back right after vomiting. It can be viral related or just a gastrointestinal upset. We always are concerned about Parvo in an unvaccinated puppy since he is only 9 weeks but this is less likely if he is energetic and has no diarrhea. He can always have intestinal parasites especially in a young puppy. I would recommend a stool check, deworming, a bland diet and an antacid as long as everything else is ok. Thank you for using Petco Pet Education Center, formerly Petcoach.

It's hard to say. Some dogs will eat grass or leaves because their stomach hurts, as it often induces vomiting. Some dogs just like to eat these things and it doesn't cause any harm. I think it is worth discussing with your vet, especially if this is happening more than just occasionally.

It's quite common for dogs to eat grass on walks - of my three dogs, two of them eat grass every time I take them outside. Although it can be a sign of nausea or GI discomfort in some cases, in many dogs it's perfectly normal behavior that doesn't mean anything is wrong at all. As long as Bruno is acting fine otherwise, it doesn't sound like this is any cause for concern :)

A small amount of dirt and leaves probably won't hurt him much although he can pick up parasites, so I would recommend deworming him on a regular basis. It may also cause him to vomit or have diarrhea. I would worry if he eats rocks or sticks as these can cause a blockage in his stomach or intestines that will require surgery. You can monitor him closely when outside and try to deter him from eating these things by giving him an appropriate chew toy.