Odd routine

[Osoquik]

Each nite our standard poodle has a stuffed pillow she takes in her mouth and circles the family room 3 times whining and than puts it in a bed as long as we are not watching.  Cares for it then leaves it.
I'm trying to figure out if this is a harmful behavior for her, she seems so sad during this time.
Any suggestions?
She is a very happy and confident companion at all other times.

[tonyb286]

Hi. Rescue dogs typically come with emotional baggage, so if it is a rescue, I am not in the slightest bit surprised by this behavior. It is hard to analyze this without seeing the dog perform this action. It is possible this is phantom pregnancy behavior, which may subside for a while, and then return again at a later date. Equally, it could be pure anxiety (not untypical in poodles). The root of the anxiety may have been caused prior to you having her - or it could linked to the bedtime regime. She may look forward to bedtime so much, it causes her to become anxious - or indeed it could be the reverse, that something about bedtime is making her feel afraid and anxious.

I have had rescues all my life, and some do preset some odd lifelong behavior that is often difficult to change. One of my current dogs, Giro, for example, is very affectionate and very submissive to our other dog. He even gets a little afraid to bark, he's that submissive (even though our other dog does not present any aggressive behavior towards Giro). But to prevent himself from barking, when someone comes to the door he picks up a soft cuddly toy and holds it in his mouth before running around like a crazy thing.

I'm convinced he does this just to stop himself from barking, and therefore drawing attention from our other more dominant dog.

The way I look at it, dogs come in all shapes and sizes and with vastly different personalities. Providing the behavior doesn't appear to cause too much of a problem - and assuming it doesn't get progressively worse - I wouldn't worry too much about it. If your dog is a rescue, you may never find out what triggered this behavior. However, if you have had her from a puppy and can pin-point when the behavior began, there may be a chance of working out what the trigger was and do something to curtail it.

It may also be worth trying a plug-in Adaptil Difuser, which has been proven to work quite well in these circumstances with some dogs.

Tony

[Misfits4Me]

Welcome..Is this a rescue dog or purchased from a breeder? How old was she when you got her???? Just curious.....Thanks, Karla