Mali is 5 and a bit, she was spayed when she was six months old and she's the most sociable of dogs. She's not fussed on having Elsie around but she's grown ro accept her being here.
Mali has never been much interested in toys despite having boxes of them. So her recent behaviour is quite out of character for her and I'm wondering if it's something I should be cautious of.
Mali sleeps in her dog bed in my room. She goes up before me but waits on my bed till I go up and then jumps down to curl up in her own bed. This past week or two though she has changed her behaviour. When I go up, she is laid on the floor with a small soft toy in her mouth or under her paw. She doesn't play with it and if I approach her, she grumbles (I can't saw it's a growl) and moves into her bed with it and hides it from me. She will still allow me to stroke and kiss her head but I don't push it any further, I just want her to understand that I'm not going to try to take it off her. It sounds odd but it looks like she is 'mothering' it. She doesn't bother with it all day, no matter if she's upstairs or down, only at bed time.
Has anyone else experienced this behaviour and if so, how did you handle it. I wonder if I should remove the toy during the day and hide it somewhere but on the other hand, if it gives her some comfort, I don't want to deny her that.
Any suggestions?
