Why Do Puppies Eat Grass and Dirt? 5 Solutions to Stop it!

Why do puppies eat grass and dirt? You might notice your puppy loves to eat grass. You might panic and imagine your puppy vomiting. I have 5 solutions to try to help stop your puppy from eating grass and dirt.

Most dog owners and veterinarians assume that dogs eat strange things because of dietary deficiencies. Your puppy might be dealing with pica.

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There is a wide range of dietary deficiencies that can cause a loss of vitamins and minerals.

For instance, eating dirt or grass can be your dog’s way of consuming fiber, which helps them pass excessive gas and stool.

But if your dog is not facing any dietary deficiency and their diet is balanced; eating grass will not solve it.

The reason may differ depending on your dog’s digestive system or cravings, as we all are aware that dogs are omnivores, and even they don’t like to rely on plants.

But sometimes, an incomplete diet forces them to eat grass as their snack. Try to provide animal meat to your dog so that they will not crave the grass and plants.

However, dogs may like the taste of grass, especially when it is growing in the spring.

Maybe your dog is eating grass because of separation anxiety.

Is it safe for a puppy to eat grass?

Eating dirt and grass may indicate that your dog is trying to relieve their upset stomach by eating the grass to cause vomiting.

Less than 25 percent of dogs vomit soon after eating grass. While on the other hand, 10 percent of dogs get feverish conditions even before eating the grass. Others don’t eat grass at all because they don’t like it.

Eating grass is not harmful to the health of dogs. Some breeds may get some intestinal or stomach issues due to the grass parasites.

Also, if there is some spray or pesticide over the grass, the dog may get infected. If you are aware of grass eating habits of your dog, try to keep the lawn clean and free from pesticides.

You can add in some training sessions or practices that will help to keep your dog away from eating grass.

Will eating dirt hurt my puppy?

Sometimes yes and mostly no is the answer to this question, will eating dirt hurt my puppy? Yes, eating dirt can be harmful to the pup if the grass is not growing with clean water.

As we all are aware that dirt contains some bacteria as well as parasites, which are again harmful to puppies.

Bacteria and viral infections are caused mainly by dirt and are the reason for roundworms and heartworms.

It is worth mentioning that dirt is not directly harmful to puppies, but the substances in the soil are. No matter what, you must teach your puppy to not to eat dirt or grass.

How do I stop my puppy from tearing up the grass?

You love your lawn, and at the same time, you love your puppy, but its grass-tearing nature is getting out of control. 

Your once gorgeous lawn or fence line is looking like a mini war zone. All of the grass is ruined, and OMG, these random holes, who should you blame for it, obviously your puppy?

Why is your puppy digging up the lawn when it has so many toys? What should dog parents do to stop puppies from tearing up the grass?

Here are some solutions to help:

• Spend more time with your puppy
• You should provide more playtime to your puppy along with some exercise
• Give your puppy a specific area to tear up the grass and dig holes
• Never encourage this behavior
• Use digging-oriented deterrents
• Calm your puppy down, help him to reduce aggression

Digging Deterrents

When your puppy loves to tear up your grass, using deterrents can be a simple solution.

This will be helpful when your puppy is ripping up grass in specific areas. 

Fence all of those parts of your lawn by using a flexible barrier.

In this way, dog parents can bury smelling solid objects and uncomfortable deterrents into certain areas. 

Walk your puppy away from the area

The most simple and straightforward approach is to move your dog away from the grass.

As a dog parent, you should know that some specific dog breeds demand more attention and exercise.

When your dog is tearing up the grass, understand that they are suffering from boredom or stress.

If you noticed that your puppy is continuously ruining the grass, then take them for a walk.

Distract your puppy

Use toys to reduce boredom with your puppy so they will not be attracted to grass.

Keep an eye on your puppy and distract it whenever it starts digging into the lawn. Again, for this distraction, you can use their favorite toys or start playing fetch games with them.

Use pest prevention

Most dogs stop eating hay because they do not like the smell of pest control.

There is a possibility that your dog is not interested in tearing up the grass, but something is bothering them.

Puppies get mad at the presence of squirrels and worms, and as a result, they start tearing up the lawn.

Using pest prevention may help dog parents. In this case, use dog-friendly pest control so it may not harm your puppy.

Give attention to your puppy

When puppies start getting bored, they keep behaving weirdly to seek your attention. Ruining the grass and eating dirt is one of their ways to attract you.

Don’t encourage your puppy.

Use the commands and properly train your puppy.