04/06/2026
Cats too
Your dog is eating grass again. Not nibbling β choosing long coarse blades, chewing deliberately, swallowing fast.
Ten minutes later, she throws up on the patio.
You've looked it up. The internet says upset stomach, nutrient deficiency, or nobody really knows. The answer is probably simpler and older than any of those.
πΎ Watch what she selects:
She doesn't eat all grass. She wants the long, coarse, wide-blade stuff growing at the fence line or the garden edge β not the short clipped lawn. The coarser the blade, the more it irritates the stomach lining on the way down.
This looks a lot like a deliberate purge. Wild canids do the same thing β eating coarse plant material to trigger a vomiting response that clears the upper digestive tract. The grass isn't food. It's a tool.
Dogs that eat shorter, tender blades without vomiting afterward may be doing something different β grazing for fiber, which is a separate behavior entirely. The purge pattern is specific: long blades, fast chewing, vomiting shortly after.
She's not sick. She's running a protocol her species has carried for thousands of generations. The couch is new. The instinct isn't.
The mess on the patio is the evidence that it worked. Clean it up. She feels better.
πΏ One note β if your dog eats grass obsessively, seems uncomfortable before or after, or vomits frequently without relief, that's worth a vet conversation. Occasional purposeful purging is normal behavior. Chronic grass-eating or distress is a different signal.