Suckling Doodle Aged 2 Years

Hi, My Golden Doodle, Bertie, always liked to suckle my hand, my whole hand, as a greeting each morning and occasionally through the day. This started when he had finished teething.

2 years later he is still doing it. It is very cute and endearing but I just wondered whether it is still ok after 2 years or whether it means he is unhappy in some way that he needs to be comforted?

Can anyone throw some light on it, please?

My 1 year old Jack Russel does the same, especially if he is just dropping off to sleep on my lap. I've always thought he may have been taken away from his mum too early and was imitating the feeding action as some kind of comfort?

I'll be interested to see if anyone has any answers about this as I thought he would grow out of it, but hasn't.

A very common behaviour in Golden Retrievers.Personally I would not allow it, I teach all my dogs that teeth and skin do not mix.

Why not stuff a toy in its mouth instead?

Thanks, Michelle, I no longer feel alone! Thanks also, Smoky Bear, although I am interested in finding out its significance. It's not really teeth, it's tongue and gums.

One of my flatcoats did it all his life from being a puppy. In quiet times I took it to be his way of being in close contact with me - When he was dying and in pain he took my arm into his mouth and sucked hard on it. It is one of the things I will always remember him for. I would not have stopped him from doing it - it was his way of communicating.

That's really touching. This is what it feels like to me, a very gentle form of communication. I'm not inclined to stop Bertie either, as it's obviously important to him.

It's a method of self soothing... there's nothing "wrong" with it, just some dogs do it... some for their whole lives.