DreamValley

I thought a blanket sucking was cute and was not concerned about. Unintentionally I re-directed Gino to chewing raw bones. He doesn't care about blankets anymore but bones all over the kitchen (his playground area).

I think it's more a habit disorder... I was biting my nails when I was a kid.
Like mother like furry son

vivienne00

Tyra is supposed to be a big sucky-baby. Emma tends to be a shredder, right? She's the one that does in the beds.

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Cato and Emerald's Black Onyx (r.i.p.)
Owned by Enid, Yoda, Jill (kelpie) and Lana.

ginger

Verify with Cathy but I think it goes

Emma Sucky Babies
Broox Shreds things
Tyra complains often & loudly - her son inherited this trait.
Asia is usually just too full of herself to be classified.
Baby Neela - haven't spent anytime with her yet.

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Gail

Ch Tijac Elite Model MX,MXJ,RA,ROM (Max)
Ch Stardust Xmen's Mirage RN,OA,OAJ,ROM (Mira)
www.Miramaxdobermans.com

robinb

Rex inherited the often and loud complaining too! Rex never sucked either but did shred when younger and still will with things like tugs or stuffies.

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LizM

LOL - looking forward to Cathy weighing on this!

tosca

Okay - first day back online after the knee surgery - going down the line by age:

Tyra does do sucky baby, does not shred, and does complain - loudly and frequently.
Emma does do sucky baby, does not shred, does not complain. Emma does the MOST sucky baby - used to do it all the way home from dog shows in the van.
Broox does some sucky baby, is the worst shredder, and does not complain - ever.
Asia does some sucky baby, some shredding - having learned that from Broox - and does not complain, ever. But, she does spontaneously jump in your lap.
Neela has not yet done sucky baby, does not yet shred, but does complain - usually related to a need or want, so of course, the complaining is well enforced!

One time, we had a 5-way sucky baby going on a big stuffed animal when Emma's babies were all here. Gunther did do sucky baby; Gunther's dady, Taylor did sucky baby, too. They quickly turned to shredding the item, but always started with sucking.

Emma's mother did sucky baby, too, and Broox's sire did sucky baby. X-Tra had a special blanket that went with him to the shows for this purpose. I don't recall that Oozi does sucky baby - he usually is found with a tennis ball in his mouth - a very wet, slimy, dripping tennis ball!

So, sucky baby is in the line; I don't mind it until they turn into shredders. It is a form of relaxation and I wish I'd been paid the funds they spent for the study to determine that it is an OCD behavior and is harmless!

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Cathy C
Home of Emerald Dobermans:
Ch. Tijac Victoria's Secret, NAJ, NAP, NJP, ROM
Ch. Emerald's Babbling Broox ex Tijac, RN
Ch. Emerald's Black Pearl
Wyndem's Neela Kamal of Emerald
Emerald's Brick By Brick

Winston1

Good or bad, this sounds soooo cute.

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robinb

The really neat thing is the complaining can be a learned behavior as Tara was able to pick right up on it and fully participate!

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vivienne00

Thanks for setting me straight Cathy . Yoda does the Oozi thing now and just picks up particular toys and wanders (races?) around with them. I haven't put his big stuffies out for a couple of weeks now and he hasn't done any shredding or heavy sucking either - just the "I've got to hold this in my mouth" thing. Whenever he gets excited, he heads for the toy box and picks out a particular toy - usually one of the Zanes lizards I get from trials or one of the cuz's. BTW, the other cuz that I got at Rose City is holding up way better than the good cuz or the bad cuz - I got a Bad Other Cuz - has solid feet and the rubber is tougher and the squeaker is hanging in there. I also got one of the bigger cuz's but he thinks it is too big.

Here is a photo of the cuz toys from oldest (came with Yoda) to newest - the other cuz's are the 2 on the right. The lime green good cuz's lost their squeakers within 1-2 days. The Octopus squeaker no longer works but it is still there (like the original red bad cuz).

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Cato and Emerald's Black Onyx (r.i.p.)
Owned by Enid, Yoda, Jill (kelpie) and Lana.

RedFawnRising

Gotta love it when the doggers show the junior doggers the ropes!

Viv, love the Cuz lineup. I can just see Yoda on the other side of the mirror, picking out the prime suspect

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StarlaineK9

LOL

They do it at my house too. I don't worry too much about it. They are not obsessive and it seems to cause more stress trying to stop it. In my last litter of 12 they all sucked....many have grown out of it and some still enjoy...like Eden and JJ below.

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Elaine Hopper
Starlaine Dobermans & Whippets
AKC Breeder of Merit

vivienne00

That is too cute. I love seeing these photos - I know I shouldn't, but I just do .

Thanks for sharing.

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Cato and Emerald's Black Onyx (r.i.p.)
Owned by Enid, Yoda, Jill (kelpie) and Lana.

mostlydobie

Wow, I haven't gotten through more than ten topics and am already glad I joined. Lucy (non-purebred rescue) does this when she gets bored or either of us is away for a longer period of time. I guess it beats eating the couch like she used to, but I guess I need to find something more for her to do. Now, to figure out WHAT I could have her do ...

Eva

gracieface

glad you could get some reassurance from this thread, it is so common in dobes. I had people in to see my dogs a few days ago, they love company but strangers can be stressful for them, Rex and Anna demonstrated the fine art of blanket sucking for them.

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Elizabeth
Dobermans aren't my whole life, they just make it whole.

mostlydobie

That sounds awfully cute! Lucy just likes to sit with her back to someone she has decided to accept and give them the "hey, pet me!" eye ...

I think I need to start a thread on Doberman idiosyncracies - like I posted, I was in denial about having a "mostly doberman dog" (in part because our homeowner's insurance doesn't cover Dobies and she has behavior issues), so I'm just finding out that a lot of her "really weird" behavior - as in: not like my Lab mix or other dogs I've seen - is just breed-specific!

Actually, the reason I finally realized this was after a friend pointed me to all the youtube videos of the Doberman and the Chihuahua ... something finally went "click" in my head!

Bear with me, I'm feeling awfully uninformed here!

Zeus-Doberman

Our boy is 11 going on 12 and has been a blanket sucker all his life, certainly has kept him entertained.

Jenny

Vader sucky-babies, shreds, complains, talks to toys, lets everyone know what he thinks. The cries if he leaves toys outside - especially fishy cuz. He greets everyone with a toy in his mouth - has to have a toy or cookie in his mouth too go outside to chase birds. I think he inherited all the traits. . .Lol. He also plays with his milkbones - throws them into the air and chases them. He will even bark at them - he whines if he get them stuck under the couch or coffee table. And will continue to whine until someone gets it out for him. He is very vocal

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Jenny & Vader

vivienne00

Yoda does something similar. He picks up a toy when he gets excited about something inside like food or pills, and then runs around around in circles in a very determined manner. He is just holding the toy and not squeaking it or playing with it. Sometimes he picks up a toy and comes and sits in front of me with toy in mouth and puts both feet on my starts to croon. I have to stop and pat him - no choice in the matter.

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Cato and Emerald's Black Onyx (r.i.p.)
Owned by Enid, Yoda, Jill (kelpie) and Lana.

dlavenhagen

I am so glad I found this thread. Veda (11 weeks old) started doing this about 2 weeks ago, right after her ears were cropped. I was getting a little worried but am feeling better now that I know it is a common behavior in Dobermans.

All of my parents dobes (3 as I was growing up) never did this so I was worried for a second that I was doing something wrong.

Like many people here have expressed, she doesn't obsess about it but most commonly does it when things settle down around the house or we are just relaxing. I'll try to get a picture of her up here.

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David Lavenhagen
dlavenhagen@gmail.com

dobienut

lmao ! never even heard of a sucky doberman before !

luv my loki

pic is too cute!!!!

mrsnitrobob

I've noticed my 12 week old puppy will suck on her blanket when she's tired and going to sleep. After a long stimulating day yesterday, two different outings, meeting new people and things, walking, playing.... When we got home, she went in her crate, sleepy eyes, and sucked on her blanket, and was fast sleep within a few mins. Since she's not chewing,tearing it apart, I let her suck on her blanket since it seems to calm her. So sweet.

mrsnitrobob

Couldn't resist posting picture of my 12 week old sucking on her blanket. I love it. I loved seeing others post pictures of their grown Dobermans doing it too, lol. I kinda hope she never outgrows it.

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MeadowCat

Richter sucks on his pink pig, Priscilla. It's the only thing he sucks on, and only at night when he's going to sleep:

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Hilary

Holy cow, that's cute!!