Spring is sprung, the grass is riz, and hundreds of canines are spreading across the landscape, chowing down at Mother Nature’s salad bar. For years we’ve asked the question: “Why do dogs eat grass?” I’d like to suggest some answers.

A lot of mythology surrounds how we feed our dogs. For example, many clients proudly tell me in their initial behavioral consultation that their dogs eat NO “people food.” Of course, they’re quite astonished when I tell them “people food” is precisely what their dogs should be eating! Another myth is that the higher the protein, the better the dog food. High protein somehow equates with quality of the product. In my experience, I’ve found high protein to equate with the quality of behavior problems. Dogs turn protein into energy and a variety of molecules that can cause a range of conditions from aggression to anxiety.

If I were the Queen of the World, and could have anything I wanted, every dog would be eating the food its body and brain were designed to eat; the food its ancestors way back when, before man invented fire; before man became agricultural, were eating — meat, bones, a little vegetable matter. Whew! That’s a long sentence, isn’t it? The stuff prayers are made of. I guess a big reason driving this wish of mine is the stream of dogs entering my office who not only behave in some bizarre ways, but also have a physical appearance and health history that bespeaks a diet of doggy junk food.