Is this normal for a dog?

[captainPugwashh]

Every morning she takes her toy downstairs (always the same one) then at bed time she carries it upstairs.

Humps it violently and then will knead it whilst sucking on its face and fall asleep sucking it. I know she's sucking it because if you call her name she will pop her head up and her mouth is open.

She kneads it like cats make biscuits. Is this something to discourage? It started when she had a phantom pregnancy and never stopped

Forgot to add she's 6 and a border terrier if that helps

Our rescue lab does this, except for the humping. She holds her toys in her mouth and sucks them when she is relaxed. She was rescued from being a breeding dog on a puppy farm and wasn't in a horrible state, I always wonder if it's just a comfort thing. She's spayed now and still does it.

To add, she holds them in her front paws too and kneads them!

That's exactly what ours does! She's also spayed.

I don't know about normal but it's very common in the dog training group I'm in. Pets at Home sell long caterpillars which are popular. It's self-soothing behaviour when she's tired. As long as it's not obsessive or destructive, I'd let her crack on.

@captainPugwashh
This should read was in a horrible state!!

I think it's harmless and really sweet, we have another lab too who doesn't do this but does do lots of other quirky things! Love how different they all are, dogs are the best! ❤️

Both ours do this (apart from the humping).

She is happily sucking her toy right now. She was the runt of the litter and is still really small for a border terrier. She is the same size as the Labrador toy from ikea

Glad to know that it's not something to worry about! Thanks all 🥰

Oh she is gorgeous ❤️

One of mine has to have a soft toy (always the same one) in his gob. He ‘paddles’ it to sleep like yours, sometimes quite violently. He doesn’t hump it. I’ve never had this with previous dogs, but they’re all different.

Our lab has to carry something in her mouth all the time. She has a favourite at the moment which is a duck. As a pup she would destroy toys but now she’s older she doesn’t. The dug quacks, quietly, rather than squeaks. She obviously likes the noise because she gentle makes it quack, other squeaky toys she has avoided making them squeak. I have removed the squeak in some.
Like your dog it accompanies her to bed and she knows where she has left it.
We didn’t really give her soft toys as a pup due to shredding habit but she now has a decent collection. Her favour soft toys is our DS who she adores and now he’s at uni she doesn’t leave his side when he returns home.
I was getting worried that she is losing weight but realised that we only feed her dog food whereas when DS is home he shares with her. I’d forgotten that I’d adjusted her quantity of dog food to account for this. We have now increased the food we give her until Christ when DS is home.

Our lab always picks something up if she's greeting us. It's so sweet!