Someone was walking her dog along the walking path by the road when the dog suddenly moved to the narrow grassy patch nearby. It then ate a few young leaves of lalang grass (Imperata cylindrica). This is a common aggressive weed of open ground. The leaf blades are relative hardy, slightly thorny along the edges and grow straight up to about 30cm high. I have previously seen cats eat grass but not dogs before.
The common belief is that they self-medicate when they are not feeling well. Or that they eat grass to sooth an upset stomach, especially when they vomit soon after eating grass. But then few dogs actually vomit after or even show signs of illness before eating grass. It has also been speculated that maybe they lack certain nutrients like vitamins and minerals or even fibres in their normal diet? Or maybe they eat grass to relieve boredom?
A patch of lalang grass.
YC Wee
18th October 2022
