dogs eating grass

Penny is a regular grass eater, so we let lots of weedy grass grow in our yard, but in particular we have one long pot of so-called 'cat and dog grass' for her to use.

About a year ago I bought a pot of 'pet grass' and then researched it online, finally coming to the conclusion that I shouldn't have purchased it because it's an allergen for dogs.

By January this year, however,  I concluded that it had been a good purchase, because she's made good use of the grass.

So today I noticed the grass is in bloom.

I've cut off the seedheads. The grass may die, I suppose, now that it has bloomed. But I'll certainly buy another pot of it, if so.

The grass is dactylis glomerata. 

Grasses as allergens for dogs

When I was at the Diggers Botanic and Rare Plant Fair today (in the freezing rain and wind), I bought a gift for Penny.

It was labelled as Pet Grass. I know Penny likes to eat grass, so I thought it was a good purchase. Here's the label:

(If the label's too hard to read in this photo, you can click on the photo and it will open in another window where it's easier to see.) 

The name is: dactylis glomerata.  

Always keen to collect information about plants, I Googled the name. And found, to my surprise, that the grass is an allergen for many dogs (and humans).

Nelco-Vet, in a brochure called Allergens and Your Pets, under the heading Orchard/Cocksfoot Grass, says: 

the flowering heads are clustered in irregular, rounded shapes, coarse in texture, and resemble a thumb sticking out of the side of someone's hand. Widespread throughout the world, Orchard produces pollen that is well known for its hay fever causing properties in Europe and North America. It starts out in early spring and has tenacious re-growth after being grazed upon. 

Well, that was a waste of four dollars. I thought of tossing it in the green bin for garden waste, but on second thoughts, I'll let it grow in a pot and cut the seedheads off. 

on the special diet again, sigh...

Penny had been well for the last couple of weeks, after her hospital visit for gastroenteritis, and I had even reintroduced some aspects of her normal diet.

But... last Friday she was to go to the vet to be sedated so he could look down her throat to check out her strange puffy breathing. He says he can hear 'congestion'.

So, no food after 10 pm. But in the morning she was desperate to go outside to eat grass. I took her on a street walk, but she was searching for grass. What could I do? She obviously felt ill, and there was no point in letting her be sedated if she was unwell. So out to the back yard to act like a sheep and mow the long grass.

My garden always has at least one patch of yummy grass, just in case!

She pooed out the strangest thing. (Apologies if you hate the next two photos, but I always look around on the Net when I'm worried about Penny, so I thought these photos might help someone else to understand their own dog.)

Wow! That sure didn't look good. And then she threw up white froth. (You can see some still hanging from her mouth.)

Off to the vet to explain that we didn't want the sedation and to ask for help. He gave her three injections:
anti-nausea (cerenia);
anti-inflammatory - just a little, I think- (dexadreson);
penicillin (benacillin) -in case there's an infection.

She's been good ever since, except for the worrying coughing/sneezing, which is on the back burner until she recovers from this set-back. But we're back to eating the Royal Canin Gastro Intestinal Low Fat diet. In looking for the link to add here, I notice the advice that this is a diet for management of a condition, not necessarily a long-term feeding product. (I must ask the vet about that.) It says to monitor your dog's weight. Penny has been losing weight over the last six weeks of illness, so I'll keep an eye on that.

But at least, as far as I know, it's a diet that gives her everything she needs in terms of nutrition. We're also finishing off the boiled rice and boiled chicken that I cooked up.

a dog eats grass after vomiting

Penny was in luck today - she had three walks. The last one was an impromptu stroll down the overgrown laneway running between two local streets. I've asked the council if they would refrain from spraying poisons there and, wonderfully, they don't. They mow it four times a year. We wouldn't be happy to walk there in snake season, but this early in a still-cool spring, it feels safe.

I was struck by the beauty of dandelion seedheads and crouched to take some photos while Penny wandered further along the lane. Silly me. Penny never goes far away unless there's food involved. Well, she would call it food. We're more inclined to refer to her favorite snacks as disgusting rubbish.

So, I'm busy enjoying the beauty of nature:

Then I notice Penny, also, is busy enjoying something.

Oh, yes. Some delicious mouldy bread.

I race down, we have a brief tug of war, after which Penny graciously (not!) surrenders the rest of the bread and we move on.

Of course, Penny throws up. Thank goodness for that. The bread was disgusting.

Why do our neighbours think it's a good idea to toss discarded bread into the lane?

And then Penny starts eating grass. Definitely after she'd thrown up.

I've previously seen her eat grass before throwing up, but this is the first time I can definitely say it was post-vomiting and that she didn't subsequently throw up again.

She seems okay now (about five hours later) after a small meal, mainly cooked rice. Here's hoping her own system has dealt with the revolting snack.

dogs eating duck poo

When I heard the doggy door click-clacking yesterday, I rolled over in bed and blearily ascertained that it was indeed the middle of the night - well, 5:30 am is the middle of the night to me. So what was Penny doing going out at that hour, given that she is 'off-duty' at night and doesn't stir?

I threw on a layer of clothing and staggered out with a torch, to find her eating grass. And eating grass. And eating grass. Uh, oh! I remembered the ducks on the banks of the Yarra.



And I recalled how Penny had grazed that area, refusing to come when called - which is unusual. At the time it took me ages to realise she was eating the ducks' poo.

I met a local walking with his dog and he warned me not to let Penny eat duck poo, because it can spread botulism, and he said at all costs to avoid wombat poo because the wombats have a type of blood-borne mange that is incurable. Apart from comcern about Penny getting this mange, I feel sad if he's correct that most of the wombats around the Yarra Ranges have this mange.

I had a look on the net and came across an article that says even in wombats mange can be dealt with. Interestingly, it said that humans too are afflicted by one of the mange mites - but in humans we call it 'scabies'. It's not the same mite that affects dogs.

At any rate, Penny's night-time grass grazing worked its magic, and out came a nice greenish poo. There's no definite information around about why dogs eat grass, but this is one time when I feel sure the grass eating was because of an uncomfortable bowel.

Thank goodness she seemed fine in the morning!