Does she think its her puppy?

[IceyBlueSibes]

Okay, we were out Saturday and came across a really interesting dog toy called a "Babble Ball". It talks and howls when you move it or it hears a noise, and we thought it was hillarious. We figured the dogs would probably love it. So we brought it home, and Denali was playing with it at first. Then she started whining and trying to hide it. And we'd say "Where's your baby and she would get to the point where she would howl so loud. She had went through kind of a false pregnancy last year, and did this with one specific toy, so we thought nothing of it. Well, it got progressively worse and she began to whimper and pace for a good 30 minutes of end. Then my mom was comming to pick my boyfriend and I up from the mall and brought Denali with her. Well, she brought the little ball out with her which is HIGHLY unlike Denali. She dropped outside of the car before getting in and didn't realize it, so the whole time she was in the car, she constantly paced and whined and panted. Then we pulled in the drive way and started freaking out and wanted to get out of the car to get it so bad. So later that night, she started to get aggressive towards the other animals and attacked my cat which she rarely ever bothers unless she's being a pest and trying to play. So, I took it away from her, and she would NOT settle down, she went an hour pacing and whining clawing at the door of the room we shut the toy in. So I tried taking her and the ball and locking her in the cage. She finally setteld down, but every time she got up in the middle of the night, she started up again.

When she has the ball, she moves it and watches it until it makes a noise, then once it does, she starts to lick it and then she starts to chew on it. The more noise it makes the harder she chews and the more she whines. If you pick it up and carry it, she's right by your feet and watching your every move with it. She would also "nest" in any blankets to try and burry it, but then when she couldn't find it, she'd freak out and start to whine.

I'm just curious if anyone has ever experienced this, or knows what's going on? We know now not to give her one of those things LOL

Is she just obsessive compulsive over the toy, or is it possible that her hormones are out of balance and she's just confused and thinks its one of her puppies.

I would just like some input... she just acts so strange and acts so worried, like she wants to hide it, but doesn't know where and if it makes to much noise she bites it.

Now she is guardinga different toy, but isn't near as bad as with the ball. She's sleeping with it right now, and was guarding it earlier.

[calgal]

It's difficult to know what goes on inside their heads. I hope she learns how to live without it now.

[Barrett]

Sounds like OCD to me. That is excatly what Bailey used to do if we let her have a ball in the house. She is obsessed with all kinds of balls anyway but if I bought her a new one she would do what you are describing to me. I know Bailey was a lot worse off than Denali. Denali sounds like she is only obsessed with this one toy. It was awful living with Bailey and her ball obession. If I threw the ball outside she would paw at the door and make wierd monkey sounds and freak out until I opened the door. She would nose the ball around the house and get it stuck in a corner and then freak out until I got it for her. She was crazy for them and made me miserable. I had to completely stop playing fetch with her and ignore her when she was pushy and tried to make me. I would not allow any balls in the house. Once she was back to being a normal happy little dog (after months of no balls) I slowly let her have a ball back in the yard to play fetch with but I still ignore her if she gets pushy or freaks out. I still don't allow them in the house.
She was obsessed with this stuffed animal cow for about a year too. She dragged this stupid cow everywhere and I had to take it in the car with us if we went somewhere. Once I forgot to grab it before I put her in the car. She almost hung her self on the seatbelt and was screaming at the top of her lungs on the way down the driveway. I stopped and detangled her from the seatbelt and she ran back to the house and started pawing at the front door like mad. I opened the door and she ran in and got stinky cow and trotted happily back to the car and waited for me. She gave stinky cow to Lucy the Destroyer and now poor stinky cow lives in that great stinky dump in the sky. LOL

[IceyBlueSibes]

I guess she is just Ob.Comp. What a nut... atleast she isn't doing it to any of the other toys, or that would be a real mess. She had one squeaky toy that she did the same thing with, and it had a different squeak than the others. I guess there's a specific sound she likes and just becomes obsessed with it LOL

Well I guess I'm not the only one with an obsessive complulsive dog LOL

[Crossfire Bulldogs]

My daughter's doxi Shea was the same way with tennis balls; it got to the point we couldn't even have a tennis ball in the house or anywhere in her sight range or she'd do the same thing. A few times she actually attempted to go rounds with the bullies because they had gotten too close to her "baby" and although the bullies took it fairly well it would have only taken once for her to have gotten seriously injured.

Our other doxi Taryn is that way with a small stuffed baby chick that my daughter had bought her some years back for Easter. Taryn was notorious for going through false pregnancy and if Taryn didn't have her ducky NO ONE in the house got to sleep until it was found for her.

[IceyBlueSibes]

Originally Posted by Crossfire Bulldogs

Our other doxi Taryn is that way with a small stuffed baby chick that my daughter had bought her some years back for Easter. Taryn was notorious for going through false pregnancy and if Taryn didn't have her ducky NO ONE in the house got to sleep until it was found for her.

LOL Aww... well we know now not to give her those Babble Balls. It had the funniest phrases.

It was funny at first, but then she just went too far.

*sigh* Life with furballs..

[flyndog]

Cozy has a weird thing with a toy she got for Christmas. It's a leopard spotted plush bone-shaped toy that squeeks. For no apparent reason she will periodically run around with Squeeky Bone in her mouth, whining. Sometimes she will come and look up at me and whine with Squeeky Bone in her mouht, then run off with Squeeky Bone again. It's not an everyday thing. I have given up trying to understand the whole Squeeky Bone thing.