I am the third owner of my doxie and Zeus is the first dog I have eve owned so I was wondering if it is normal for a dog to like to suck on things? When we first got him I made a place for him with a couple of blankets and a pillow because the first night we hadn't had a chance to buy him a dog bed. Well the first thing he did was rearrainge the blankets and start sucking on them. Since then we have gone through about 5 blankets in the past year because every night he has to unwind by sucking and chewing on them. Why does he do this? Was he taken from his mom too soon or is it part of his emotional problems. Zeus is an amazingly smart dog ( and that is not just me being a proud momma) but emotionally the little guy is a mess. The story we got when we took him is that his first owner was a flight attendant and she would leave him for days in the back yard with just a big bucket of water and an open bag of food. The second own took him from her and had him about a week before she answered my ad regarding looking for a free puppy for my husbands xmas present. So anyway he must have someone with him 24/7 or he cries and destroys things. Sooooo looog story short is the sucking a blanket a good thing? Sorry I am a rambler.

I wouldn't say it is normal, but not unusual shouldn't be a problem. It may go away in a loving, stable home.

Dogs are creatures of habit and it is very confusing when they are shuffled around. But, since it appears you have had him for a year, he should have calmed down by now and not be as anxious as he seems to be. Do you baby him? A dog needs a good leader to feel secure. Labman has some excellent information regarding providing leadership. When he sees my post, I am sure he will be kind enough to provide it for you.

My giz a rat terrrier/ chi mix abused in his former home. Came to me with a beaver hand puppett that he would suck on. For at least a year he slpet with it and would get very anxious with out it. Almost to the point of hysteria. It got so smelly and torn from so many washings about 3 months ago I hid it & I got him a raccoon puppett and he sucks on it, every once in awhile. Labman is right after learning that everything will be OK and he gets more confident that need should lessen. It has with my giz. We have had him 2 years this month and he is a totally different dog that when he arrived here. He would also tear up things, but he stopped that behavior more quick than the sucking. Just be patient and show him love. Be firm when he can handle it emotionally. Good Luck

Perhaps he needs more self confidence in addition to leadership. Start with obedience training. The key to most behavior problems is approaching things using the dog's natural instincts. Dogs see all the people and dogs in the household as a pack with each having their own rank in the pack and a top dog. Life is much easier if the 2 legged pack members outrank the 4 legged ones. You can learn to play the role of top dog by reading some books or going to a good obedience class. A good obedience class or book is about you being top dog, not about rewarding standard commands with a treat. Start at Raising Your Dog with the Monks of New Skete As you praise the dog for following your commands, it will build its confidence.

Play tug of war with the dog and lose. However at the end of the game, take the rope or toy and put it up, less the dog becomes confused about who is top dog. Ropes from the pets' store quickly turn to hazardous shreds. Ones I made lasted much better. Go to a hardware or home center that sells rope by the foot. Buy 2' of 3/4" poly rope. Melt the ends, and tie knots in it. Get them as tight as possible, put it in a vise and pound it with a hammer. Watch carefully, and be ready to discard when it comes apart.

Finally, make sure it has a den to live in. If you are not using a crate, buy one. The dog may be happier in its den than loose in the house. It relaxes, it feels safe in its den. It rests, the body slows down reducing the need for water and relieving its self. Dogs that have been crated all along do very well. Many of them will rest in their crates even when the door is open. I think the plastic ones give the dog more of a safe, enclosed den feeling. Metal ones can be put in a corner or covered with something the dog can't pull in and chew. Select a crate just big enough for the full grown dog to stretch out in.

A dog that has not been crated since it was little, may take some work.
Start just putting its toys and treats in the crate. Praise it for going
in. Feed it in the crate. This is also an easy way to maintain order at
Feeding time for more than one dog.

I have been doing a little researdh on the subject myself. My 3 1/2 year old st. bernard does this every night before we go to bed. He has been doing this since he was a puppy, he has only had one home and has never been traumatized in any way. Our labrador does not do this. In the information that I found, it says that it is common in working breeds and very sensitive, gentle dogs. No one seems to know why this happens, but they did relate it to young children having a favorite toy or blanket to suck on, the only difference is that dogs seem to never grow out of it. They also said that heitseems to happen whenthe dog is tired and ready to go to sleep, which is what ours does. It sounds like your dog has his own place to sleep and suck, our 160 pound st. bernard sleeps with us in bed and suck on our covers!! He is limited to the bottom of the bed, but with the size of his mouth, he leaves it soaking wet every night!! I hope this makes you feel a little better!!

I've had my dog for 4 years now, and we got her as soon as she was born, so now emotion issues there, yet she sucks her blanket like a toy. She grips it in her mouth and walks round the house with it and then settles down and bunches it up between her 2 front paws and sucks and chews and licks. She has done it all her life so it's not for stress and its not emotionally, since she's never moved around houses or left with no toys. It is a good thing for us sometimes because if we are too busy to play with her properly with all her toys, she busies herself, playing with her blanket. Bless her! So it's not unusual but we have a little Westie so it might be different with different breeds of different dogs in different circumstances. Hope I helped you feel that your dog is not the only one!

I've owned my lab his whole entire life. He is ten now. He is a male and neutered. I noticed him start doing this at about four years after a dental procedure that had his rear molar removed. A large tooth with three roots! So it was easy for me to assume that he did this to ease his gum by applying pressure that he doesn't normally get. He also likes to scrunch up a pillow with his front paws while sucking on it. He never grew out of it and thankfully he sticks to his own appointed pillow I provide for him. Having hard word floors I would think this is a smart move for him anyway. Cool to hear I'm not alone though, Thanks.

My 2 year old male Yellow Lab has been sucking blankets since we got him @ 8 weeks old. He seems to do it more since we had to put down our Choc Lab of 13 yrs this past spring. So he is the only pet in the household now. We let him sleep on our bed, and he has ruined many blankets, I try to stop him when I catch him doing it, only to find him rolling up the blankets between his front paws again and sucking on them. He has been crate trained since we brought him to our home, only locking the crate when we leave the house. We leave the crate open and he sometimes goes inside and lays. Other than him getting excited when we have company, he behaves well.

Msblueinpa, this is a thread from 2007. If you have a question feel free to start a new thread. Thanks :)