grass eating - in healthy dog on raw diet

[runlikethewind]

Hi there

I wonder if you have any ideas on this as I was reading a post earlier about a dog who was eating grass and the moderator/trainers suggested it was the dog's diet - excess acid? Anyway, I wonder if I could put a different angle on this because my collie 2.5 years old eats a well-thought-out raw diet comprising chicken backs, raw meaty bones, green tripe, muscle meat from beef, chicken, lamb, a bif of offal once a week, raw egg once a week, sometimes a bit of goat's milk, a herring once a week etc etc with Yumega Plus oil (due to a much improved grass and dust mite allergy) and Dorwest easy green herbs.

After a big run in the forest, he goes in search of a particular grass usually growing by the river banks. I have never been able to name this type of grass (he does not eat other grasses). He really does tend to do it after a big session running around. He really goes for eat - munching loads and loads. He is never sick with it. He also used to eat cleavers (I understand these to be good for the dog and full of vit c).

So.... I'm really interested to see if there are any ideas why he does this, bearing in mind, he has no grain, no bad stuff in his diet and his poops are generally ok (a little loose after running around...)

Thanks

[runlikethewind]

Forgot to add re veggies/fruit - he gets a couple of Nature's Menu veggie/fruit nuggets a day. He had some veg last night (lots) but still ran to eat the same grass today after his mega run about.

His worming regime - no chemical wormers, I give Verm-x 3 consecutive days a month. I alway check poo - never seen worms
His flea/tick regime - no chemical control. I give Billy No Mates every day - a herb collection

[***Melissa***]

Hi, I feed raw too

I give mine some veggie mix too - only a little, but every day. It consits of something like spinach (mostly spinach), celery, carrots, red/yellow/green peppers, lettuce, etc. Basically the more green leafy veggies the better. I also blend it, that way their bodies actually take up the nutrients, etc. A whole carrot will fill their tummy without adding weight (which is good) but they won't necessary obtain all the "goodness" from the carrot. So when you give them veggies - is it blended?

Another thing - mine will STILL eat grass occasionally. They also like to pick out 'certain' grass or 'certain patches' of grass I think eating grass is normal, if you think he eats too much grass up the veggies. If you already give veggies, and he's healthy otherwise, I wouldn't worry about it.

Nettle and Emmabeth may have more to add.

[Nettle]

Eating grass, herbs etc. is perfectly normal and your dog is self-medicating, which does not mean he is ill: it means he is staying well. At different times of year different grasses etc. are very desirable to dogs.

[runlikethewind]

Thank you Nettle.

[emmabeth]

If it is a problem for you, you can try adding some blended vegetables - things like celery and spinach tend to go down quite well with grass eaters. If you want to you could also offer him fresh herbs (grow some in trugs in the garden and let him pick his own!), as the dried or powder stuff may not be quite what he needs.

As Nettle says though... theres nothing wrong, hes just a wise dog getting what he needs.

[runlikethewind]

Hi

Finally worked out with the help of a wildlife enclopedia that it's remote sedge which my dog is eating almost every day which he poops out the following day. I can't find any herbal references to it. Interesting though!