Obsessed with a toy

[Erin]

Ok, I realize how bizarre this is all going to sound but I'm hoping someone has some advice.

Kemper has always had a 'thing' for the fleece wubba toys ever since he first got one. He sleeps with one in his mouth, sucks on it, walks around carrying it, etc. Someone gave me a new one for him and since he already had one in the house for him, I took the new one outside to play with.

WELL, as you can imagine, a fleece toy is now barely recognizable because it's so disgustingly caked in drool, mud, etc., whatever other outdoor stuff. Whenever we're outside, he has it in his mouth (even when he goes to the bathroom) and we play fetch with it, all the regular dog stuff. ALWAYS in his mouth except for when I'm throwing it. No biggie, right?

WRONG. He is literally obsessed with the toy - I swear. For obvious reasons I make him leave it outside and he'll try and sneak it in the house, etc. When I'm walking him back into the house he longingly looks at the wubba that is wherever I made him leave it. THEN when he gets inside, he cries and barks. So me thinking that might mean he has to go to the bathroom again, outside we go, he takes the toy, he's happy. We come inside. he cries/whines more. AND he has no interest in his other Wubba (the exact same size/color as the one that's outside, btw) or any other toy.

Anyway, he got the new wubba a few days ago and this has been going on since then, so it's not like I'm imagining it!! Right now (just came in from outside) he's pacing near the door and whining and wimpering and I know for a fact there is no way he has to go to the bathroom, recently ate, drank water, had lots of exercise today, etc,. and just wants to go outside to get the toy.

Is this even making any sense? I swear I'm not making it up, LOL. I just don't get it.

ETA: with his other Wubba toys he liked them, but he wasn't like THIS with them.

[Swissy Mom]

I think at this point I would probably make it go away completely while he's sleeping or something. He may look for it a whine for a bit, but then it should be over. It's a lot like what we had to do with my kids and their pacifiers. Good luck!

[ALDOGMOM]

I agree about making it disappear...Or at the very least use it for NILIF...

[Itsapyr]

Good thing about pyrs they never obsess over toys...just barking.
I would make it go away too...but then what does it really hurt if he likes his "binky"?

[sam.i.am]

Oliver had a strange thing (not quite as obsessive as you're describing) but when he was neutered, he took a liking to a fleece toy shaped like a gingerbread man. He liked to sleep near it and he sometimes played with it during the day. He got very nervous if the toy "cried"/squeaked. This went on for a few weeks and then he began whining while carrying it. So, we hid it and brought it back out a while later (like, a month later) and this was enough time to break him of the habit of relying on it. We still have it and he does not show the same focus on it and rarely shows much interest in it at all. I washed it and also got him another 2 identical fleece men, which never captivated his attention in any way like the original "baby" did (even with washing it and the newer fleece men, he knows which one is his 'real' baby). During the time of his focus on it, he carried it around gently by its neck and licked it and laid next to it. He would gravitate back to it if he was stressed by anything, so I know he was comforted by it. We just didn't want him to obsess on it at all. Oliver is very nurturing and is like a nurse-maid type personality, so he was acting on those traits with this toy.

I would also make the toy disappear (at least for a while, if not forever) and encourage him to play with other things and keep him busy busy for a while while he adjusts to life without his fleece toy. Good luck.

[Erin]

Last night after I posted this, I thought "DUH, take the toy away!" so I went outside and hid it.

So this morning when I took him out I felt SO bad. He ran around the back yard FRANTICALLY looking in every single spot that he could for it and then stood in front of me and started crying and pacing! Poor Kemps!! He didn't even go to the bathroom because he was too busy looking for it. So we came back inside (he didn't even want to come inside, despite the rain) and we went back out a little bit later and the same thing - running around like crazy. And when we were inside he just stood by the door moping about and pacing, etc. Sigh. Hope he forgets about it soon because i feel so guilty!

[Moni]

Bosker loves fleecies too. He has his "Lambie" that came with him from the breeder and recently we bought him a "Monkey" that's a little larger, but same basic shape and material. Reason being, so we could occasionally wash "Lambie" who, like Kemps' toy, gets crusty and icky. Bos likes to carry them around and nurse on them.

If Kemps gets too frantic, maybe you might be able to use it as a reward for things, like NILIF like Kim had mentioned?

[Smoochies]

LOL I'll trade you wubbas! send yours to me! Charlie and Tucker both love the wubbas (although not like you are describing). We had a water one for outside (the fleece one got real gross, real quick) and in the last month, they have de-balled both of them...

I think Kemper will get over it, but it will take a few days... it took a little over a week of hell to break my son of his pacifier (and now he sucks his thumb)

[ToBScholarly]

Okay, I am an idiot. Can you explain to me why he can't just have the toy?

[BigRox]

Every time I give Roxy a wubba, she destroys it in seconds. Waste of money here. I WISH she would cuddle with a toy! At the very least enjoy it a bit!

I dunno Erin, I kinda side on just letting him have it if he likes it so much. I like the idea of using it as a reward. What about maybe letting him have it after dinner each night? Like an after dinner treat...

Did you take pictures or a video of this fascination?

[ShilohsGirlJen]

Why not just throw them in the wash machine. I would let him know where you are putting it when you put it up. I might say something like wubba bed time and make it a patter. When he is allowed to have it say wubbas up. I know it sound dumb but it may help him part with it and chill from it. we do this with chewies at my house. They go up at night and only get used when we are there to supervise. Fo awhile they looked at/for them but I would say bed time and they would chill.

[frecks]

dont get me started on that snugga wubba thingy..aoki is obsessed with it too.

[Erin]

Okay, I am an idiot. Can you explain to me why he can't just have the toy?

My backyard is literally a mud pit. Like inches of mud. Mud + toy + dane slobber + indoors!! And trust me, this toy holds a LOT of mud/water/slobber in it. So i did take it away outside just because he was obsessed with going outside for the sole purpose of getting it. I had zero problem with him playing with it outdoors, but when he started with the whining/pacing, to go out JUST to play with it (we're talking like midnight/1am here) thats when it became a bit of an issue.

Every time I give Roxy a wubba, she destroys it in seconds. Waste of money here. I WISH she would cuddle with a toy! At the very least enjoy it a bit!

I dunno Erin, I kinda side on just letting him have it if he likes it so much. I like the idea of using it as a reward. What about maybe letting him have it after dinner each night? Like an after dinner treat...

Did you take pictures or a video of this fascination?

I wish there was video!! I have no video camera at the moment... BOO. And I've been having problems with my Canon... everything coming out blurry. I'm going to have the boyfriend take a look at it to see what's up.

I did wind up buying him a new indoor mud-free Wubba for him to play with until his heart is content and never take outside, but I wound up having to put it away because the moment he got it in his mouth he was being possessive over it when Kash just came near him (barely glanced at him!) so.... well, the last thing I want to do is have to break up a fight. So like right now Chops and Kash are in separate rooms chewing bones and Kemper is playing with the wubba (OVER chewing a BONE, might I add!)

[ToBScholarly]

Erin, why do you think it is that your dogs have so many psychological issues? LOL

[Erin]

Erin, why do you think it is that your dogs have so many psychological issues? LOL

LOL!!! Hrmmmm, what are you implying? ha ha!

[borzoimom]

I have had dogs that act like that. With Hottie, it was his 'woozle'. I would just take it, and wash it letting it dry, then give it back. He had to be the only dog that if his 'woozle' was 'gone', he would alert the dryer buzzer.. LOL

[ToBScholarly]

LOL!!! Hrmmmm, what are you implying? ha ha!

oh nothing dearie... apple and the tree and all that....

[RockyMountainDobies]

they have de-balled both of them...

off subject and total hijack, but can I do this to Chris tonight?

[AkNeoLover]

off subject and total hijack, but can I do this to Chris tonight?

bwahahaha

*did his mood ever improve??

[Erin]

So I was thinking of starting a new thread but am just going to throw this in here...

He DID wind up realizing that the toy is an outdoor toy and after taking it away for a bit he's not whining inside to go out to get it. So I figure no harm in him having it outside.

It's been hot so I've had the kiddie pool filled for them. Despite peeing in it a few times (and me instantly clening and refilling it - HA) he likes to play in it. I'm just wondering if this behavior is weird (NO, not the peeing) but what he does now is grabs the Wubba, drops it in the pool, goes in the pool, grabs it, jumps out, runs to this corner of the fence, touches the fence with the toy, then repeat a zillion times. OKAY, not a zillion, but enough to wear a path in the mud. I started to count last night and he did it 35 times before I had to go inside, and then did it again today but I didn't count. I AM curious how many times he would do it if I didn't make him go inside. I wanted to interrupt his little routine and pulled out treats just to see what he would do (which he saw I had) and then NOPE, just kept going back and forth. Which is weird for Kemper, because he loves food, of course.

Is this bizarre or am I just reading too far into doggie play? (maybe I just need sleep...)