toy sucking and ear problems

[aprillovesherdogs]

My 10 1/2 year old neutured male Rottweiler Ansel has always sucked on toys. He will only use one favorite toy, that is replaced when it is too foul to have in the house. I give him a selection of new ones and he makes his choice. He does this all day long. My question is two part: What causes a dog to do this? He also has a life long history of ear problems. Could this chronic sucking cause any ear problems from the repeated movement of his jaws? My cousin had a GSD that did the same thing, but he was not selective with what he put in his mouth. He also had no ear problems.

Thank you.

[bliss7373]

When you say "ear problems" what do you mean?

If you mean ear infections or yeasty ears - I doubt it is the toy sucking. I would look first at his diet. Many dogs are allergic to certain ingredients in lower quality commercial dog foods like corn, wheat or other fillers. That allergy often manifests in ear infections, itchy skin, eye discharge, etc. You can get more information on this in the Nutrition and Grooming Forum.

Regarding why he sucks his toys - most dogs love toys and will chew them relentlessly. If he's actually "sucking" on the toys, that may be an ingrained habit from his birth. I've only seen it in a rescue dog that was weaned far too early. If it's not causing problems, I wouldn't worry about it too much. What kind of toys is he sucking on? Rubber? Stuffies?

Hope this helps!

[aprillovesherdogs]

His ears are yeasty. Over his life we have been trying different foods, to no avail. It's just something that we have gotten used to.

You mention an interesting point on the toy sucking. He was only about 5-6 weeks old when I got him because his mother and littermates were found dead in a drug bust (in Delaware, OH-I was a Buckeye for 34 years). I assume that he still tried to suckle her after she had died. COD unknown to me. He only sucks on stuffed toys, with his preference being wooly ones.
thanks.

[brunie's mom]

Originally Posted by aprillovesherdogs

His ears are yeasty. Over his life we have been trying different foods, to no avail. It's just something that we have gotten used to.

You mention an interesting point on the toy sucking. He was only about 5-6 weeks old when I got him because his mother and littermates were found dead in a drug bust (in Delaware, OH-I was a Buckeye for 34 years). I assume that he still tried to suckle her after she had died. COD unknown to me. He only sucks on stuffed toys, with his preference being wooly ones.
thanks.

What other foods have you tried? If any of them contained corn, wheat or soy, the dog would still have yeasty years.
What are you feeding your dog right now? I've had foster dogs come in with terrible ears...and when changed to a super premium food...the ear problems went away.

As far as the sucking...it sounds like a OCD...not a normal behavior for a dog.
Because the dog was so young..it may have been his only way of coping and it continued as he got older.

Gina

[fostermom]

Adding probiotics to their food seems to help with yeast problems...my current foster has clearly had major ear infections..the canals are closed off, his ear is premanently thickened from continual scratching...when I first got him his ears started getting yeasty, I began adding the probiotics (I use Dogzyme) and haven't had a problem in months....I agree that certain ingredients in food tend to exascerbate the problem so try to get a food without corn, etc. Oh, and I also do a "mainentance" ear wash once a week.

[2rotties2luv]

Yeasty ears are usually due to allergies, but this could be an allergy to something in the environment other than his food. After years of trying to treat his yeasty ear infections, my rottie Jazz was tested for allergies (RAST test, a blood test) and was found to be allergic to dust mites. He was given allergy shots for the rest of his life, which cleared up the yeasty ear infections.

[bliss7373]

I fully agree with the posts above.

My deceased girl, Sofia, was a rescue. She came with horrible yeasty ears. I went to a grain-free food (Innova Evo), added a supplement with digestive enzymes/pro and pre biotics, and cleaned her ears with a solution twice a month. Her ears cleared up quickly and she never had another infection.

If he sucks on stuffies, I can understand why you're replacing them. If he was partial to rubber toys, I'd just suggest a good wash and plenty of rinsing once a week.

And Go Bucks!

[Nina&Bill]

Just curious but have you tried a grain free food as many of the PPs have suggested? Amber had only had an ear problem once in 5+ years but I've recently switched her to a grain free food to see if that will help with another issue that she's having. Finding a completely grain free food can be tough.

As for the toy sucking, Amber does this. She's a rescue & we have no idea of her history but I suspect that she was a puppy mill dog & separated from her mother at a young age as she has no clue how to act with other dogs. Amber likes to suck on stuffed toys & also fleece blankets. She doesn't destroy them, just sucks on them. It's no necessarily bad but you can try redirecting the behavior to something else. I usually use Kongs.

Blanket & flank sucking is apparantly common in dobies & border collies, not so much in rotties and I've never come across anyone else here who had a dog that does this. Amber's toys go through the wash a lot ;).

Good luck with your boy's ears!

Nina