Kingdom of Pets

Posted by tazjen
Feb 22, 2009

Hello
I have a 1 and a half year old Weimaraner which I brought home at the age of 8 weeks. Since the firts day I brought him home, he has suckled my thigh. The suckling seems to calm him. This behavior, I am told, is from not being with his mother long enought or not receiving enough attention from her. My dog was the runt but he was also the last puppy to be seperated from his mother.
What can I do to redirect this behavior towards a toy or to stop this behavior entirely.
thanks

Posted by KOPsBecks
Feb 22, 2009

Puppies are normally weaned between 6-8 weeks and the recommended time to take them to their new homes is 8 weeks of age so there definately isn't an issue of not being with the mother long enough. I think that the best solution is not to transfer the behaviour onto another object but to put a halt to the behaviour altogether. Every time he starts to suckle your leg firmly say "NO!". Reward him straight away for stopping the behaviour, this can be with treats or with praise and pats. If he is a very obedient dog this should not take him long to pick up, however if you are having trouble with his training then I would recommend taking him to dog obedience classes, these are a great opportunity for you and your dog to socialise and increase the strength of your bond together. Treat this behaviour like any other unwanted action that your dog does, if trained with patience and persistence then he will soon learn what is and isn't acceptable!

Good luck with everything, let me know how you're going,

Becks

Posted by foxi7778
Feb 25, 2009

Got to agree with the above post...just treat this behaviour as you would any other unwanted behaviour. I don't think it has anything to do with when he was separated either...it's more of a quirk your dog has.
I would hazard a guess and say you probably made the mistake of thinking this was cute when he was a puppy

What do I do re: suckling???