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Crazed grass eater
Hey! I have a client whose dog obsessively eats grass on walks. I’m really for dog driven walks where they do all the sniffing, especially since they live in a city environment with no backyard. However, the dog is getting sick from all the grass he is eating so it’s an issue now. She has tried leave it and treats, but he just goes right back to it when they hit the next yard.
Any ideas outside of structured walks with limited sniffing?
Walking skills aren’t actually why we are doing training sessions right now so it’s a side issue she brought up. I can add it to our plan if we need to though!
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13 Replies
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Hi Kellyn, This is a super interesting topic. Glad you brought it. Can you give us a bit more information about the dog, including all the basics (breed, age, activity level, time in the home, where acquired, etc.) and the daily routines (training, enrichment, exercise, etc.)? It will be easier for folks to jump in with ideas if you do that.
Thank you!
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Totally! Hugo is a 4ish year old Am Staff mix adopted about 2 months ago. Owner is awesome, works from home, and has time and energy to devote to him. She came to me about 2 weeks in because he was barking at shadows, lots of demand barking when she worked on her computer, discomfort with visitors, and general settling into a new home. Unfortunately, we haven’t had many sessions because of illness, holiday, and a covid scare for each of us! We’ve done extra emailing in the meantime though. He has improved a ton in those problem areas with primarily just lifestyle changes and a little training. Fear of the vet and ear care phobia has been discovered since then so we’ve done muzzle training and some handling (she can clean his ears ????) and found him a new vet that is fear free.
She feeds him creatively throughout the day and does 2-3 short training sessions 6-7 days a week. He does daycare with 2-3 other dogs once every two weeks. No backyard so a few short to medium length walks a day and goes to sniff spot a few days a week. She has a friend with a dog and a backyard so they go visit once a week when possible but at least every other week, and she does pack walks with other dogs from the rescue. He isn’t very high energy but needs a good bit of entertainment (primarily enrichment activities like food puzzles and free work) throughout the day to manage his anxiety and shadow barking. I think the need for entertainment will continue to improve on it’s own, especially when he hits the 3 month mark. Thrives with a routine.
We just started some basic, fun scent work at our last session two weeks ago.
I’ve suggested hikes as well and gave her location suggestions. We live in Portland, Oregon so tons of options within 30 minutes, but it’s the rainy season so not everyone is into muddy rain hikes! No update on that yet.
Our next session is this Saturday.
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This is just a thought. I know you said she worked on leave it with treats. Is that leave it cue in general? My dog used to love dead grass, fresh grass from lawn mower. He knows leave it cue. But we literally work with the grass. So I started holding the grass itself and training like I would the leave it cue. I hope that makes sense. I have also done this with my poop eaters. Obviously not holding it, but using it on his training. I know you are talking about grass in general, but maybe he will associate the smell etc of grass.
Looks like you are doing a great job helping with training! I love all your ideas! Keep up the great work!
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Hi Kellyn, @Kellyn you have given such great information! A couple of questions that I thought of are:
1. Was there a sudden onset for this behavior or has he always done it and it has escalated?
2. Does he do this anytime he is outside/in grassy space or only when on walks?
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@Kellyn Can you jump back in with some thoughts? Has Hugo been to the veterinarian to rule out a medical or nutritional reason for this behavior?
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Hi Kellyn, thanks for sharing the details. In cases like this, I find myself asking: What’s the dog’s motivation? There are a lot of dogs who love veggies (My girl Joy is one of them. Yes, an Aussie who eats EVERY VEGGIE on the planet. She also picks her own berries.) Could it be he needs greens in his diet? Has health/nutrition been considered? I feel like @Levi might have some thoughts here, as well.
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My dog eats grass too. And I used to have client dog who eats grass when bored or stressed. For eg, the dog and parents are on walk, and they stop to look at something or talk to someone, the dog starts eating grass. This can be either due to boredom or learned that eating grass gets the parent attention and keep them moving. In some cases, a hyper aroused or stressed dog eats grass in situations where he doesn’t know what to do or unable to control the situation.
I do have a question, in such cases, like above should we consult a veterinarian? Because this feels more like compulsive? Please correct me if wrong.
🙂
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@RADS Radhika, these are good insights. Its so important to recognize that there are various reasons why a dog may be offering a behavior like this and you are right, stress or anxiety is one possibility to consider.
GREAT question about consulting a veterinarian. Ruling out an underlying medical cause is always advisable and a good starting point for discussion of whether supplements or medication should be considered if medical causes are ruled out. Having a team approach is so important.
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Thanks everyone! I took some notes and see her later today. Lots of great ideas. I didn’t have a lot of specifics since it’s just something she brought up unrelated to what we’ve been doing. This has been an unusual case with evolving goals which happens sometimes when people come to me so soon after adoption!
It’s impossible to get into a vet quickly around here since covid. I’m not sure when her appointment is, but I know she made it about two weeks ago so I know it won’t be until February or later. It’s rare to even get into established vets in less than 6 weeks. I’ll definitely tell her to bring it up though!
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@kellyn definitely keep us updated on this case.
Thanks for giving us all the opportunity to learn with you!
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She figured out that it was anxiety about jackets that made it escalate! I just backed her up. It’s now manageable with leave it and rewarding for attention on her.
However, he always eats the grass from the building to the street when they first start their walks with more focus than the rest of the walk so I’m thinking there is still some anxiety involved? Any thoughts on that?
She said when he eats the grass he rips it up so he eats the entire tuft not just grazing like you normally see.
It’s gotten a little warmer so we decided to just stop wearing jackets for now. They have a lot of other things to work on, and I don’t want to overwhelm him. Especially since we are doing muzzle desensitization for the vet.
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@kellyn excellent job helping your client sort out what is going on and when! They’re so lucky to have you on their team!
You could be exactly right about the anxiety and I’m glad they’re pursuing this with their veterinarian. I see a lot of cases where the dog struggles during transitions before walks (shoes on, grab the leash, putting the leash on, opening the door, etc) where there is clear windup and the dog is already at 60 MPH when they hit the steps outside. One suggestion I would have would be to work on calm response during the initial steps of heading outside. Cueing known behaviors like sit to keep the dog focused and calm? Playing a pattern game or find it to keep them engaged?
Excited to hear thoughts from others. Thanks for sharing it with us. It’s a great learning opportunity for all of us.
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I agree with Amy – staying as much as possible in “success mode” as they begin the walk can do a lot to quell anxiety about what’s coming next. Hand Target for the win, I think – super easy to do and will redirect the dog to a known cue, highly rewardable and also serves the purpose of getting him past the grass without noshing. Do keep us posted on this dog’s progress. It’s a fascinating case study. @Kellyn
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