# Does your adult dog suckle on objects?



## DixyDoodle (Nov 15, 2005)

My 2 year old black lab sucks on blankies! LOL Seriously. She will pull a wad of blanket into her mouth and suck at it, her eyes sometimes roll back in her head, falling asleep with it in her mouth. I did get her at at age that she should have still been with her mother.....6 weeks. I'm not one to usually buy from pet stores, but she stole my heart. So home she came. I figure this is why she suckles, being taken away from her mother too early.

Strangely, my dearly departed australian shepherd also used to suckle things. Mostly her Care Bear stuffed animals' feet.  And I didn't get her from the breeder until she was weaned at 8 weeks.

What do you think? Is it mostly something to do with needing a longer nursing time, or maybe just insecurity? My Aussie and Lab were both a little sensitive, although not nervous. Maybe they were pampered to the point of thinking they were still 'babies'?  

Anyone else have dogs with this weird habit?

DD


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## belladulcinea (Jun 21, 2006)

Yes, Bella loves towels and coke bottles. She sucks holes in the towels and takes the tops off the bottles and lays with it between her front paws like a baby bottle. Dog has the longest tongue.


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## Sherri C (Jun 21, 2002)

I can do you one better: I have a cat who nurses on herself! She's not producing any milk but most evenings you can find her curled up in a little ball sucking on one of her own teats.  Her mother was a stray that was too young to have kittens and didn't know how to be a good mother so she didn't get to nurse very much as a kitten. When she first started nursing on herself I put soap on her belly to try to get her to stop but it didn't do any good. Now I just ignore it.

I've also had cats that suck on blankets. I'd just make sure that your dog doesn't work any threads loose that could choke her or block her up.


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## DixyDoodle (Nov 15, 2005)

> Yes, Bella loves towels and coke bottles


Coke bottles? LOL Maybe if you put a nipple on it or something? 

Sherri, no, she's pretty good with the blanket. It is getting a little crusty and ruffled looking though.  I toss it in the wash once in a while, and she can't wait to snark it up right away, almost like she's offended that I've washed all the "good stuff" out of it. LOL


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## belladulcinea (Jun 21, 2006)

Yes, Bella's made a trip to the vet for 3 days and 2 nights over "fabric" issues. We thought we had all the towels up and she found one, she was really quiet for about 10 minutes. When I went to look for her, she had chewed a piece about the size of a 50 cent piece off. :nono: Started throwing up the next day so off to the vet's, he gave he some muscle relaxants and she passed everything the next day but stayed extra just so she could be monitered.

She can have all the pop bottles she wants, she has a blast with them but no more towels! The worst part is that I only have a few towels with no holes in them!  The holey towels are now used to wipe her off when she comes in and drying off after her baths.


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## Maura (Jun 6, 2004)

My understanding is that the suckling thing is from being weaned to young. Even 8 weeks can be too young, and now the recommended standard is ten weeks, older for giant breeds.


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## belladulcinea (Jun 21, 2006)

Bella was a foundling that someone picked up on the side of the road covered in ringworm and very sick, she was about 4-5 weeks old. You'd never know it now! She was given to our vet and he healed her!


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## Rouen (Aug 19, 2004)

Dingo will make suckling noises in his sleep, I think it's due to a forced weaning, I got Dingo at 5 weeks, he should have been with his mom for another 2-3 weeks, I brought him home so early cause it really was a bad place for any dog to be.


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