LuvBella Posted March 18, 2009 Share Posted March 18, 2009 Hi guys, Well I am not too worried at the moment, but thought i might ask for some other peoples thoughts. My 10 week old maltese cross has the run of the house at all times, even while we are a work, with a dog door to outside, that she loves running in and out off. Even when we are home, she loves to spend time sniffing round the garden etc,and we have been told by our neighbours, that she spends alot of the day outside running round and sleeping. They also told us they quite often see her chewing on the grass, and they weren't sure whether that was normal. Now i had noticed her doing it as well, and i'm not sure what the reason for it is. she also loves chewing on the leaves on the ground, as well as her chew toys. She gets feed at 6.30am and 6pm,and any food she hast eaten gets left in her bowl, and she enevitably comes back to it, and finishes it. i thought maybe it was because she was hungry, but she will eat most of her dinner, and then go out and chew on grass. I am not sure what long term problems it coud cause if i dont stop it. thanks for your help Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BC Posted March 18, 2009 Share Posted March 18, 2009 (edited) Very normal Mine eat grass on a daily basis, along with my cats. It helps their digestive system Edited March 18, 2009 by BC Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
puggy_puggy Posted March 18, 2009 Share Posted March 18, 2009 A ten week old puppy should be fed more then 2 times a day. Are you neighbours able to come over and feed her during the day? I can't say that I would consider eating grass normal. I would suspect something wrong with the digestive system making the dog want to eat the grass. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LuvBella Posted March 18, 2009 Author Share Posted March 18, 2009 Well, we she was being feed twice a day when we got her, and we are feeding the samefood, just increasing the amount at each meal very slowly. So, i thought i was doing the right thing.... Our neighbours dog has parvo (sp), so they didnt think it would be a good idea for them to come interact with bella, at least until she had her next vax. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pebbles Posted March 18, 2009 Share Posted March 18, 2009 All my dogs have eaten grass in varying amounts - My old girl would crop grass like a horse, never had any affect on her except sometimes after a good 'crop' you'd see it come through the other end. Youngest here at the moment will ocassionally have a go at the grass and quite often shortly after throw it up in froth. Others will have a few chews without any throw-ups. Not something I'd worry about unless there was other signs of anything wrong. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BC Posted March 18, 2009 Share Posted March 18, 2009 Our neighbours dog has parvo ;) and their dog is not at the vet :rolleyes: Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
puggy_puggy Posted March 18, 2009 Share Posted March 18, 2009 Our neighbours dog has parvo :rolleyes: ;) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mystiqview Posted March 18, 2009 Share Posted March 18, 2009 Did they say the dog had parvo or is it just an occassional cough etc. A dog can have a sniffly nose and cough and still not be parvo.. Or it could be parvo. Regardless I would be wanting to see their dog at a vet. Parvo, I believe is also partly air borne. Check with your vet on the REAL likelihood your dog could get parvo. There are SOOO many theories and half truths out there. It is highly contagious, that I know. Some say it has to be contact, others say it stays in the ground for years.. Others say the spores do not last long outside wet mucus. I never have had it or been in real risk of getting it. The grass is normal. As someone said, some eat more grass than others. Some grass/vegetable matter is also needed in their diet. All mine eat grass and have no issues. Some eat more than others. Likewise, it can also be eaten because they do have a stomach upset.. If it is running amok during the day, I would also be curious as to what ELSE she could be chewing and possibly causing/adding to a stomach upset. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LuvBella Posted March 19, 2009 Author Share Posted March 19, 2009 (edited) Okay, I guess i may have been confused about the Parvo. I know the dog had been at the vets when we moved into our new house a few months ago, and parvo was mentioned when we spoke to them about us getting a puppy, so maybe she is recovering... or maybe i just got the wrong end of the stick, and they just mentioned the parvo due to Bella not having full vaccines yet. Not too sure what else she may be chewing on during the day. I am thinking about maybe setting our video camera outside to see exectly what she gets up too while she is out there. regarding feeding, i feed her Advance rehydratable, 70gm each in morning and night (slowly increasing), with different mixtures of wet food as well. She doesn't always eat it first time, but it is always gone when we get home, and she eats most of her dinner as well, so i imagine she is eating the rest around lunch time. If i was to feed 3 times a day, i would be feeding the total amount i am now, but split into 3, isn't that right? or should she be getting 3 meals of exactly what she is already? Also, she hasn't vomitted at any point other than once on her first day at our house a month ago. if her stomach was upset, would she be vomiting? Edited March 19, 2009 by LuvBella Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
webby Posted March 19, 2009 Share Posted March 19, 2009 I'd always been told that the grass eating was for added fibre. so maybe she's just a bit short of fibre in the food. Our rotti used to skip the grass eating and go straight for the horse poo. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nekhbet Posted March 19, 2009 Share Posted March 19, 2009 A dog can have a sniffly nose and cough and still not be parvo.. Or it could be parvo. do you mean Parvo of Kennel Cough? Parvo can exist in the environment for quite a while so I wouldnt be inviting the neighbours over either :rolleyes: grass eating is normal, all mine do it as well as eating fruit off the trees and ground. Grass cleans them out it seems and my lot have never been constipated with green grass around. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sheridan Posted March 19, 2009 Share Posted March 19, 2009 Mine would eat grass if I had any. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mystiqview Posted March 19, 2009 Share Posted March 19, 2009 A dog can have a sniffly nose and cough and still not be parvo.. Or it could be parvo. do you mean Parvo of Kennel Cough? Parvo can exist in the environment for quite a while so I wouldnt be inviting the neighbours over either grass eating is normal, all mine do it as well as eating fruit off the trees and ground. Grass cleans them out it seems and my lot have never been constipated with green grass around. Hows the best way to put it... Here goes.. Just like us maybe.. We may have a runny nose and an irritating cough for a day or two, but it is not a true cold or flu.. Mild Irritation. Kennel Cough you really know it...Non stop Hacking type cough. Parvo - It would not be hard to miss if they had it Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nekhbet Posted March 19, 2009 Share Posted March 19, 2009 no I just mean Parvo is a gastrointestinal disease so what does it have to do with sneezing and coughing? I would have thought vomiting, gas, blood in stool and diahrreah would be symptoms of parvo not sneezing Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
megan_ Posted March 19, 2009 Share Posted March 19, 2009 Well, we she was being feed twice a day when we got her, and we are feeding the samefood, just increasing the amount at each meal very slowly. So, i thought i was doing the right thing....Our neighbours dog has parvo (sp), so they didnt think it would be a good idea for them to come interact with bella, at least until she had her next vax. Even after the vaccination, you can still get parvo. I'd be very careful about even having them in your house! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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