If your dogs are like mine, you’ve probably noticed times when they’re munching on different grasses. This happens in your yard, on walks, and in new places. Like me, you may have wondered if someone crossed your dog with a cow!

Let me assure you he’s not! And what he’s doing is far more fascinating than you might think.

Zoopharmacognosy: self-medication in dogs

Zoopharmacognosy is the term for animals eating this grass. Zoo for animals, pharma for medicine and cognosie for knowledge. It’s basically a super fancy word that just means animals heal themselves. A dog, or any other animal, that eats something that is not part of its normal diet is self-medicating.

If you watch your dog closely, you’ll notice that he doesn’t just eat any random grass. He selects grass types carefully. He might do this to clean his digestive system, to clean his teeth, or even to control worms.

Scientists studying this found that whatever food the animal eats will become super tasty. This happens only if the animal’s body needs a healing compound found in that food. Once their body no longer requires it and heals, they lose their taste for the plant and it no longer appeals to them. Fascinating, isn’t it?

Nature is so well done

It’s innate, meaning the animal is born with the ability – it doesn’t have to be learned. Dogs have retained this skill from their wild ancestors. It’s not surprising, because anything that’s very useful for survival isn’t easily lost, and dogs haven’t been domesticated for that long when you think about it in evolutionary terms.