Strange Behavor

[PatsyIppolito]

My 1 year old puppy engages in a strange behavior with one specific toy.  It is a small (slightly bigger than a golf ball) soft ball, it is actually a kids toy  - a squishy little ball that you can get wet and throw at others for water fights.  Anyway, every day, at least once a day, she will find it and pick it up in her mouth and then walk around the house whining, whimpering and crying until she finds somewhere to hide it.  Sometimes the whining escalates into a noise that I don't even know how to describe - almost a howling??  Anyone have any insight into what this is about??

 

[Adrienne]

Is your pup spayed? If not, do you know if she has had a recent heat cycle? 

[PatsyIppolito]

She is spayed and has never had a heat cycle.  Was spayed at 6 mos. 

[Adrienne]

Thanks for the info, we can then rule out a false pregnancy, which can cause non-spayed female dogs to sort of "mother" toys as if they were pups. 

There are several possible explanations for the behavior you seeing. 

A perception of the toy as high-value: Some dogs, when given high-value items such as bones or toys they don't see very often, will whine and walk around for some time, almost as if looking for a safe place to bury it. Then they eventually calm down and decide to chew on or play with it. Some dogs if taken out in the yard may bury it. 

An instinct to bury the toy: If your dog does not normally hide stuff, it could be that she instinctively knows that there is something she is supposed to do with her treasured toy, but doesn't know what (especially if she has never seen another dog bury his treasures). 

Excitement: Some dogs, on the other hand, seem to be so excited about having a new toy they do not know how to express themselves, and this generates whining sessions.

As long as your dog does not become protective of the toy, whining is quite an innocent behavior. But it can get annoying, especially if your dog notices it flags your attention. If it's getting too much, you can try to invest in toys that are more interactive such as Kongs, Kong Wobblers, Topple toys, which you can fill with goodies, which encourages your dog to actively seek out its contents. This leads to the dog laying down and working on it, rather than carrying it around aimlessly.

If you need to get a hold of the ball, unless your dog knows how to "drop it", play it safe and swap with something else rather than forcibly remove it. There is really no 100 percent complete safe way to remove a toy, but here is a safer version than the traditional exchange many dog trainers suggest. Simply have the dog enjoy the toy in a room where there is a door nearby. A KONG toy (or other valuable edible that is safe to give)  is then stuffed near the door with smelly, high-value treats inside (make sure your dog sees you putting the treats inside and that you catch her interest). Now toss it out of the door. When the dog drops/leaves the toy and is out of the room to get the KONG, the door is shut closed and the toy is removed safely.

[PatsyIppolito]

The behavior continues, but is not a problem - more a curiosity.  This is not a toy she actually every plays with, but every day, at least once a day, she finds this little soft ball and walks around with it whining and sometimes almost howling while she finds somewhere new to hide it and then all is well.  I've chalked it up to some kind of mothering instinct.  

[JMFS]

What breed is she?  I'll keep my eyes and ears open for similar cases.  Can't say I've heard of this one, but it has me curious!

[PatsyIppolito]

She is a mix - supposedly Yorkie, Maltese, Shitzu, but she also has very long legs??

[JMFS]

You know, I can see all of those in her.  She's 120% adorable for sure.  Her behavior has me intrigued and I very much want to find someone else whose pup exhibits this conduct so I will know what it's about. 

Has there ever been a time she couldn't find it?

[Adrienne]

Since she stops whining once she finds a place to hide it, I feel more inclined to think it's natural, instinctive behavior to hide and cache something perceived as valuable. This behavior can be reminiscent of a dog's ancestors who used to bury surplus food to protect it from spoilage or opportunistic scavengers. If this behavior gets your attention, where you look at her and talk to her,  it could also have some attention-seeking component into it. 

Mothering behavior is mostly hormonally induced, so more likely to occur in intact female dogs or recently spayed dogs, although there may always be exceptions (like dogs whose spay surgery left some residual ovarian/ uterine tissue behind inducing heat cycles and false pregnancies).