Grass ?

[sandymere 8,263]

Young grass is especially full of nutrients and at its most digestible so its free food, dogs don’t tend to pass up free food. The digestion gets out what it can and the remainder become stringy fibre.

As others have already suggested older tougher stuff seems to be used when their digestion is feeling a little off as an emetic.

[C Hall 552]

Indigestion?

[Nik_B 3,790]

Young grass is especially full of nutrients and at its most digestible so its free food, dogs don’t tend to pass up free food. The digestion gets out what it can and the remainder become stringy fibre.

As others have already suggested older tougher stuff seems to be used when their digestion is feeling a little off as an emetic.

 

Yeh the fibre must do them a lot of good for digestion. I give my dog a carrot every other day or other root veg.

[salclalin 240]

My bitch is like a cow when it comes to eating Grass. Had her Pup out Yesterday and the little Fecker was eating Dandelions.

[johnrthrfrd 223]

 

 

Why do my dogs eat it tried alsorts to know why changed foods wormed regular feed raw tried loads even rock sulphar in water nothing what could it be a lack of

 

Its a normal way from them to bring up bile from the stomachs, although they do tend to do it far more often in the warmer weather.

It's because there's more about to eat .

 

i've noticed dogs have they favorite patches to eat. which is strange you'd think it would all taste the same to them but they do like fresh sweet grass.

 

anyone else's dogs do the same?

My bitch will go to the same patch of grass every time and have a good chew.

[johnrthrfrd 223]

A lot of dogs do it to bring bile up but the old saying is with lurchers is that youve got a fit and healthy dog when it eats grass. Ive had a few lurchers and not one has brought it back up. But my russle as done it a few times when under the weather bringing it back up in her bile. Has anybody else noticed that with lurchers tho?

My lurcher very rarely brings it back up and she will stand for ages munching on it.

[bird 9,982]

Young grass is especially full of nutrients and at its most digestible so its free food, dogs don’t tend to pass up free food. The digestion gets out what it can and the remainder become stringy fibre.

As others have already suggested older tougher stuff seems to be used when their digestion is feeling a little off as an emetic.

yeh, the new stuff coming through the dogs love it,more so my pup . he like taking young bull in the field lol

[Gaz_1989 9,539]

Both mine do it as soon as I let them out of the run they have a gallop around the garden and then graze like a couple of horses.

 

Rarely vomit though after. They get a good diet so I let them crack on.

[paulus 26]

So why do dogs eat grass, Bile is formed in the liver and is then released into the intestine to help in the absorption of fat molecules into the body. It is possibly because of the high protein low fat diet of the average lurcher, bile is not released at the levels it should be, and an accumulation of bile forms in the liver, when a dog is vigorously exercised, bile and saliva builds up in the lungs and air passages and can reduce the flow of air and oxygen into the respiratory system. Dogs that suffer from this build up will commonly eat grass in a self-induced attempt to clear their system. A lot of greyhound trainers bile a dog out before a race.

[The one 8,511]

Same here when mine get dry grub they seem to graze like cows , they dont eat so much the days they get chicken mince but they seem to prefer sticky willys over grass

[beast 1,884]

So why do dogs eat grass, Bile is formed in the liver and is then released into the intestine to help in the absorption of fat molecules into the body. It is possibly because of the high protein low fat diet of the average lurcher, bile is not released at the levels it should be, and an accumulation of bile forms in the liver, when a dog is vigorously exercised, bile and saliva builds up in the lungs and air passages and can reduce the flow of air and oxygen into the respiratory system. Dogs that suffer from this build up will commonly eat grass in a self-induced attempt to clear their system. A lot of greyhound trainers bile a dog out before a race.

 

i'm not trying to be a tit, but how on earth does bile get into the lungs and air passages? and if it did, there would be serious trouble for the dog! the digestive system and respiratory system are totally separate.

[huntingladjohn 14]

mine eat grass like its going out of fashion they never throw up, if there on tripe or meat the dont tend to bother as much with it..... it dont seem to do em any harm so i just let em crack on

[paulus 26]

 

So why do dogs eat grass, Bile is formed in the liver and is then released into the intestine to help in the absorption of fat molecules into the body. It is possibly because of the high protein low fat diet of the average lurcher, bile is not released at the levels it should be, and an accumulation of bile forms in the liver, when a dog is vigorously exercised, bile and saliva builds up in the lungs and air passages and can reduce the flow of air and oxygen into the respiratory system. Dogs that suffer from this build up will commonly eat grass in a self-induced attempt to clear their system. A lot of greyhound trainers bile a dog out before a race.

 

i'm not trying to be a tit, but how on earth does bile get into the lungs and air passages? and if it did, there would be serious trouble for the dog! the digestive system and respiratory system are totally separate.

 

I didn't word that well enough, but ive just copied this, it explains far better than I can

 

Published: NZ GREYHOUND, November 2003

Contributed by Dr. Gavin Goble, B.V.Sc. MRCVS

 

Biling-out is a controversial procedure that involves making a greyhound repeatedly vomit to remove excess build-up of bile from its digestive system. It has traditionally (and often misguidedly) been used for dogs that have a frothy build-up in the throat, and who foam at the mouth after running. Occasionally these dogs cough and may attempt to vomit, usually by eating grass.

 

They will also usually have a poor appetite (probably due to nausea) and poor racing performance. All these symptoms are attributed to a build-up of bile, which is supposedly removed during biling-out.

However the frothiness in the throat in fact has nothing to do with bile at all, but comes from the lungs. The vomiting during the biling-out does however help to clear the lungs of this mucous.

 

WHAT IS BILE?

Bile is produced in the liver and stored in the gall bladder, which is attached to the liver. Bile is released into the small intestine in response to fat entering the stomach, and is designed to help break down dietary fat. After breaking the fats down, most of the bile is then resorbed back into the circulation and recycled by the liver and gall bladder.

 

In many racing greyhounds on a low fat diet (which is common in greyhounds), there can be an excess build-up of bile in the gall bladder and liver. This bile tends to dehydrate and become very thick, clogging-up the gall bladder and liver.

Some bilirubin from the bile then “leaks” into the blood stream and is excreted into the urine. It is this “clogging-up” of the liver and gall bladder as well as the irritation of the urinary system by high levels of bilirubin that is thought to cause the ill effects.

 

BILING-OUT

This procedure causes the gall bladder to contract, releasing the excess bile into the start of the small intestine, whereby the dog is made to vomit repeatedly, and most of the bile is vomited up.

The procedure usually involves a fatty drink (such as 250-500ml warm homogenised milk with one egg yolk and two teaspoons of butter/margarine) followed exactly five minutes later by an injection of one apomorphine tablet dissolved in two ml of sterile water and injected under the skin of the neck to induce vomiting. No food is given for 4 - 6 hours afterwards, and the dog is rested for 2 - 3 days.

 

Biling-out should not be performed within 48 hours of a run.

 

SUMMARY

I believe that biling-out has its place in some cases, but it is most often performed by trainers unnecessarily. Most greyhounds that are proven to need biling-out (with urine tests) will respond favourably to the procedure, but generally other changes in the management of the dog (especially diet) will also be necessary.

 

My recommendation is therefore only to bile-out dogs that are proven to need it, and this is shown by a dog showing a marked reduction in racing performance as well as excess bilirubin (bile) in the urine( shown on dipstick).

[sandymere 8,263]

Its easy to see how things get misunderstood, this piece try’s to dispel myths but ends up just muddying the waters even more. I believe he’s saying the idea of bileing a dog out is pretty silly but doesn’t really make it clear enough.

 

Basically there are two completely different things being discussed, one is pulmonary oedema 2nd to exercise induced bronchospasm/asthma. Basically this means that pressure irregularities in the lungs allow fluid to leach into the airways resulting in a white, frothy fluid being coughed up;I did a piece on this back along which I will stick on the end as an appendix..

 

 

The second is a build up of chemicals in the blood due to a problem with the liver, bile duct etc. Bile is secreted into the duodenum not the stomach. There can be a problem with reflux of bile into the stomach but causing vomiting in that situation would just spread the problem and likely make things worse not better.

So neither of the problems discussed in the chapter will be helped by making a dog vomit. The bilirubin etc in the blood is in the blood so vomiting won’t help and the fluid in lungs/airways is in the lungs/airways so needs to be coughed up not vomited.

 

Greyhound trainers in some ways are very good but in others are lost in space, I know I was one and vets don’t always make themselves very clear..

Regards Sandy AKA Mr knows shit all.

 

 

Appendix

 

 

Exercise induced bronchial-spasm. (A layman’s perspective)

 

Its not uncommon to come across questions and references to canine athletes presenting with laryngeal /bronchial symptoms post exercise, often presenting as coughing soon after or the day following high intensity exercise. My first experiences of this go back some 20 years to when I trained greyhounds under permit to Henlow Stadium, I noted that dogs had a tendency to cough for a day or two following racing/trailing after having a lay off. I’ve also come across similar in coursing dogs and working lurchers when they have had a particularly hard run and as it seemed to settle once the animal was at full fitness I’d put it down to lack of condition, the diagnosis seemed to fit as the episodes reduced as the animal gained racing condition without the need for further intervention.

 

Later in life I became a ************working in ************** with an interest in respiratory conditions. One lunch break whilst reading posts on a greyhound forum I saw a question referring to a dog coughing the morning after a race. The advice offered was all about kennel cough, with a variety of suggested treatments varying from antibiotics to garlic. Taking into account the time span of evening racing and a symptomatic cough the next morning it would be unusual for a viral or bacterial infection to show so quickly. It brought back memories of my racing days and what I’ d called an unfit cough, now as a ********* I had the facilities and knowledge to allow me to look for a proper cause and diagnosis as an alternative to kennel cough and so this is what I set out to do.

 

I searched veterinary journals and web sites but found little in the way of answer so I began to look at medical and nursing journals for similar symtomology. Exercise Induced Bronchial-spasm, (EIB), this is often termed exercise induced asthma, had obvious correlation and seemed the nearest reasonable diagnosis. EIB is often a diagnosis by exclusion rather than anything else; sufferers often don’t have compromised peak flow in normal circumstance and no underlying diagnosis of asthma. It can be a problem even in Olympic athletes presenting as chest tightness, dizziness and commonly a post exercise cough. The exact causes are not really known but a suggested area is hyperinflation and drying of the lungs causing inflammation and a resultant increased mucosal production and or a VO2 mismatch. The increased mucus/fluid is then coughed up for a period until the lungs recover. The symptoms seem to reduce on increasing fitness so the correlation seemed to make sense. Once the human or dog is fit it will be able to work at a lower level of lung capacity and so have a lower level of the drying stimuli and symptoms will subside.

 

There are treatments used for human athletes that include inhalers and anti mucosal medications but if increased fitness is a viable treatment in dogs I would question the need of pharmaceutical intervention. I’m sure in some human athletes there is an underlying aspect of asthma and then the drugs will have a major effect but feel that this is less likely to be the case in canine athletes. So back to the original question rather than jumping straight into kennel cough treatments for a cough the morning we after a hard run we should consider EIB as an alternative. Perhaps what is required is a look at our pre event preparation and take on the advice given to humans with this type of condition, warm up well, cool down well, maintain condition to a reasonable degree and build up appropriate fitness after a lay off.

[paulus 26]

Its easy to see how things get misunderstood, this piece try’s to dispel myths but ends up just muddying the waters even more. I believe he’s saying the idea of bileing a dog out is pretty silly but doesn’t really make it clear enough.

 

Basically there are two completely different things being discussed, one is pulmonary oedema 2nd to exercise induced bronchospasm/asthma. Basically this means that pressure irregularities in the lungs allow fluid to leach into the airways resulting in a white, frothy fluid being coughed up;I did a piece on this back along which I will stick on the end as an appendix..

 

 

The second is a build up of chemicals in the blood due to a problem with the liver, bile duct etc. Bile is secreted into the duodenum not the stomach. There can be a problem with reflux of bile into the stomach but causing vomiting in that situation would just spread the problem and likely make things worse not better.

So neither of the problems discussed in the chapter will be helped by making a dog vomit. The bilirubin etc in the blood is in the blood so vomiting won’t help and the fluid in lungs/airways is in the lungs/airways so needs to be coughed up not vomited.

 

Greyhound trainers in some ways are very good but in others are lost in space, I know I was one and vets don’t always make themselves very clear..

Regards Sandy AKA Mr knows shit all.

 

 

Appendix

 

 

Exercise induced bronchial-spasm. (A layman’s perspective)

 

Its not uncommon to come across questions and references to canine athletes presenting with laryngeal /bronchial symptoms post exercise, often presenting as coughing soon after or the day following high intensity exercise. My first experiences of this go back some 20 years to when I trained greyhounds under permit to Henlow Stadium, I noted that dogs had a tendency to cough for a day or two following racing/trailing after having a lay off. I’ve also come across similar in coursing dogs and working lurchers when they have had a particularly hard run and as it seemed to settle once the animal was at full fitness I’d put it down to lack of condition, the diagnosis seemed to fit as the episodes reduced as the animal gained racing condition without the need for further intervention.

 

Later in life I became a ************working in ************** with an interest in respiratory conditions. One lunch break whilst reading posts on a greyhound forum I saw a question referring to a dog coughing the morning after a race. The advice offered was all about kennel cough, with a variety of suggested treatments varying from antibiotics to garlic. Taking into account the time span of evening racing and a symptomatic cough the next morning it would be unusual for a viral or bacterial infection to show so quickly. It brought back memories of my racing days and what I’ d called an unfit cough, now as a ********* I had the facilities and knowledge to allow me to look for a proper cause and diagnosis as an alternative to kennel cough and so this is what I set out to do.

 

I searched veterinary journals and web sites but found little in the way of answer so I began to look at medical and nursing journals for similar symtomology. Exercise Induced Bronchial-spasm, (EIB), this is often termed exercise induced asthma, had obvious correlation and seemed the nearest reasonable diagnosis. EIB is often a diagnosis by exclusion rather than anything else; sufferers often don’t have compromised peak flow in normal circumstance and no underlying diagnosis of asthma. It can be a problem even in Olympic athletes presenting as chest tightness, dizziness and commonly a post exercise cough. The exact causes are not really known but a suggested area is hyperinflation and drying of the lungs causing inflammation and a resultant increased mucosal production and or a VO2 mismatch. The increased mucus/fluid is then coughed up for a period until the lungs recover. The symptoms seem to reduce on increasing fitness so the correlation seemed to make sense. Once the human or dog is fit it will be able to work at a lower level of lung capacity and so have a lower level of the drying stimuli and symptoms will subside.

 

There are treatments used for human athletes that include inhalers and anti mucosal medications but if increased fitness is a viable treatment in dogs I would question the need of pharmaceutical intervention. I’m sure in some human athletes there is an underlying aspect of asthma and then the drugs will have a major effect but feel that this is less likely to be the case in canine athletes. So back to the original question rather than jumping straight into kennel cough treatments for a cough the morning we after a hard run we should consider EIB as an alternative. Perhaps what is required is a look at our pre event preparation and take on the advice given to humans with this type of condition, warm up well, cool down well, maintain condition to a reasonable degree and build up appropriate fitness after a lay off.

that was not written by a trainer but by a vet Contributed by Dr. Gavin Goble, B.V.Sc. MRCVS