Dog habits - any meaning?

ladyt25

ladyt25

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Ok, so some of your know I got myself a rescue dog (Molly) back in December. She has a few 'issues' regarding reactive behaviour to other dogs but other than this she's been pretty good really.

She was 9 mths old when i got her and she is very obsessive about toys. However, it was a couple of weeks after I got her that I realised her love for a nice large cuddly toy after my mum found she had somehow helped herself to a teddy bear and taken it to bed with her!

Anyway, i have been intrigued by her little 'routine' of how she gets herself off to sleep on a night. She has a couple of favourite cuddly toys and she will settle herself lying down, hold said toy in her mouth and hold it between her paws. She will then go in to what i can only describe as some sort of trance like mode where she appears to suck on the toy and knead it with her paws whilst making a whimpering type noise.

Would I be correct in thinking that she is replicating in some way suckling from her mother? She does this every night pretty much without fail. Would it indicate that she could have been taken away from her mother too early or is it just one of those things and a quirk some dogs have?

I guess there's not much point to this post other does than curiosity and wondering whether anyone else's dog has a similar habit?
 
It's quite sweet but just makes me wonder whether there's an underlying reason for it as I don't know a lot about her history.
 
Some people do say that it is due to being taken away from mother to early but I have seen dogs do it that have been taken away fare to late too, so im not so sure. Its is extremely calming for them though, it's obs her way of relaxing and soothing herself.
 
I think that may be it - she only started doing it when I got her a cuddly toy of her own. Never seen a dog so ecstatic! :) I was shocked how she didn't destroy it either (every other toy's destroyed pretty quickly!).
 
I had a terrier who was from a lovely home I got at 16weeks, who had a lifelong obsession with cuddly toys. She did the same as a pup but spent her life with quite strong attachments to certain toys. Typical ratter & would 'kill' lots but a specific no were her chosen cuddling ones that she would carry & arrange in my bed at night where she slept.
With cats the thinking is they do it not for comfort but because they are comfortable. Like a learned behavior that originally stems from the association of suckling & comfort, so more a way to express they are content if that makes sense.
 
Well, it seems then that I don't have to feel she was denied anything as a puppy then! Lol. Maybe she was given a cuddly toy as a comfort thing when she was in her first home so the attachment has stemmed from there. She sounds a bit like your terrier as for a long time every other toy was destroyed other than her favourite leopard cuddly toy and he was the chosen sleeping companion!
 
I can't help you with meaning but our Daisy does this . . . she's a collie cross (with what we don't know) and was abandoned at a pound in Ireland when she was 6 weeks old. We've had her since she was 8 weeks . . . she is the sweetest, most gentle/affectionate dog I've ever met - she loves everyone and everything and takes most things in her stride. I've only heard her growl once in 3 years . . . and that was at a very boisterous, large staffy puppy who had no manners - she also hid behind my legs and shook - totally unlike her.

So . . . I'm not sure whether it's a lack of something when they were small, but I do think it's an expression of contentment :).

P
 
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