Help with behaviour

He is a beautiful boy that's for sure. Don't know if there is anyway of really proving his mix without actually knowing who the parents are but someone else may know differently. He looks as he may have Dane/Lab in him too me. Whatever he is eating may possibly be making him have bad breath,or could be something else. I am sure you will find and answer hear from someone with much more knowledge than myself. Their's some pretty smart doggie people that hang out here. G'luck with you fur baby and enjoy[]

Thank you for the reply
 
Hope I get an answer about the breath and the behavior.

When was the last time you had a dental done on him. that always helps.  It is national Dog dental month!
 
They also sell commercial breath fresheners at pet stores.
 
What kind of food are you feeding?

Aint no such months in Israel I'm affraid. And we hardly have pet stores the size they have in the USA (Petsmart and etc.).
 
I dont think I can find a dog dental kit here but I'll sure try to check.
 
Usually Yukanuba as the dry food, and sometimes Pedegree as soft food (including sometimes left overs of our meat/chicken meals).
 
And what about the strange blanket sucking behaviour?

You've got to cut out that soft food.  It is a huge contributor to oral hygiene issues. 
 
Lots of dogs use objects to pacify themselves.  It can be caused by stress, boredom, any number of things. I wouldn't worry to much. 

I was thinking the same thing.  Is a dog who sucks a blanket really all that different from a kid who sucks his thumb for a few years?

Many vets do dental work on dogs. That's the first thing I'd check. Second is to get him on better food. I don't know what you have in Israel, though. Are there feed stores with better quality food? That's where I find the good food up here in Alaska.

As for the blanket fixation, I wouldn't worry about it. Maybe you could play with him to distract him from it if it bothers you. But he may just do that to comfort himself and it's probably okay.

Scout sucks on his toys.  It is my understanding that its a comfort thing for them. And that it could mean a variety of things. I've heard stress, but I've also heard that its because they're comfortable with their surroundings.  So who knows. All I know is it calms scout down when he does it and he usually falls asleep.

Jasmine sucks a teddy bear.  She has been doing it ever since she was a pup, and I don't think she'll ever stop.  Seems to be a comforting thing for her.
Sometimes I think she was weaned too early.  Her dam was a show dog, and my guess is the breeder was in a hurry to get her back in the ring.  The breeder said she was weaned at 5 weeks, and we picked her up at 7 weeks.  Knowing what I know now, I would have insisted the pup stay with mom a bit longer.

Welcome!  Your dog is beautiful!!

Thank you all so much for your replies!
 
Leslie, OB (thats his name, pronoucned Ohbee) was taken away from his mother at the age of 5 weeks aswell. Unfortunatly we have no idea who his mother is, they say she was a Dane. I too (and our vet) thought once that his behaviour is a direct outcome of being taken away from his mom so young.
 
I do think it comforts him and I do think it calms him, and reading what you guys wrote I'll just let him have his fun He is VERY hyperactive when he's stimulated.
 
About the food and pets store around here - Nothing too fency. Funny thing is, statistically Israel is amongst the top countries in the world with high pet affection and care. But when I was in New england and I stepped in Petsmart .. I was utterly shocked. We havn't got anything near that here.
 
However we do have most of the known dog food brands around here. I'll see to it that dear OB eats more dry food from now on.
 
By the way, people suggested brushing the dogs teeth. She I use the same whitening colgate paste I have?

[linkhttp://www.petcaretips.net/dog-toothpaste.html]http://www.petcaretips.net/dog-toothpaste.html[/link]

dog.com has some dog tooth paste like this....
[linkhttp://www.dog.com/itemdy00.asp?T1=220416&Cat=]http://www.dog.com/itemdy00.asp?T1=220416&Cat=[/link]

NO!  heh... human toothpaste has flouride in it which can poison if swallowed, that's why humans spit it out.  Dog toothpaste is made special for dogs that they can swallow safely, because they will!    Check a pet store to see if they have some.

I would purchase dog tooth paste if you can.  Human tooth paste is not meant to be swallowed, and it is hard to convince dogs to spit. 
 
 

I don't think you're supposed to use human toothpaste. I think it gets to foamy and if they swallow too much of it it can make them sick.  They have dog toothpaste. You could probably order it online and have it shipped. Or maybe you have family/friends in the states that could send you some stuff.  Check with the vet though. They may carry it.  I don't think weaning at 5 weeks is too young.  Its a gradual process so its not like they just stop all at once.  At least the breeder I got Scout from. And he was with his family until 9 weeks. So I think some dogs are just prone to it. I know many weimaraners who do the same thing. So it could also be a breed trait.
 
A better quality food could definitely help with the bad breath as well.  I did a little research and found some distributors in israel you could call to find foods:
 
eagle pack [linkhttp://www.eaglepack.com]www.eaglepack.com[/link]
Israel
Akita 2000 Ltd.
3 Hamezuda St.
Azur 58001
Tel: 972 / (0)9-7673399
Fax: 972 / (0)9-7658341
e-mail: [email=asi@akita200.co.il]asi@akita200.co.il[/email]
 
Solid Gold [linkhttp://solidgoldhealth.com]http://solidgoldhealth.com[/link]




Solid Gold Europa

Boersdirfer Ring 13-16
Leipzig, Germany 4249
Phone: 011 49 341 9469 117
Fax: 011 49 341 9469 118
solidgoldeuropa@aol.com
Serving Europe

These are are just a few.  I'm sure others might chime in with some more suggestions.
 
Also another good thing to give dogs to keep thier teeth clean are marrow bones.  The dogs action of chewing on these actually helps scrape off tartar buildup(which can cause bad breath).
 
Welcome to IDOG, BTW! He's a beautiful boy!