Good evening, I'm coming to you with a question. My puppies are 10 days old, they were born on 21/08/2019. There are 4 males and one female — they're all doing well, feeding nicely from their mum and gaining weight. The problem is that I keep finding the female suckling on her brothers' penises, whereas the males don't do it to each other. I wanted to know why she does that? Is it common for baby puppies to do that? And is there any risk of injury to the males' penises — if so, what should I do?
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Hi there, we’ve got the same kind of problem, except our pups – 2 boys and 5 girls – are now 5 weeks old and we’ve also started introducing solid food. It’s quite a sight because as soon as they get the chance, they start suckling on each other. We’re at a bit of a loss as to what to do? They’re Staffies, so it’s not exactly a small breed. Thanks for your replies.
Hello, it’s not a problem at all, don’t worry – in my opinion, this behaviour is totally normal. I remember when we went to see the breeder to look at the puppies (not to pick mine up, just to see them, as I didn't get my pup until he was three and a half months old). They were about six weeks old and were doing the same thing. We asked the breeder and she told us that in most of the litters she’d had, they almost all did it. It’s just natural... and they aren’t small dogs either, they’re Golden Retrievers.
I remember the local caretaker’s dog, a German Shepherd x Malinois, had a litter and I used to bring her some dry food every day so she could eat a bit (the caretaker didn’t have much money and was doing what he could to feed her). Day after day, the puppies were suckling on each other. We called the vet to ask about it and to get a check-up, and she told us it was perfectly normal.
Hi everyone,
We’re having a similar sort of problem, except in our case, our litter (2 boys and 5 girls) are now 5 weeks old. We’ve also started weaning them onto solid food. It’s quite a sight because as soon as they get the chance, they start suckling on each other. We’re at a bit of a loss as to what to do? They’re Staffies, so they aren't exactly a small breed. Thanks for any advice.
Hi,
I’ve never had a puppy myself, but I don’t think this behaviour is abnormal at all. I just think puppies are too small to tell the difference from their mum's teat; they see something little sticking out near the tummy and think it's the teat.
Or perhaps it’s a way to comfort themselves, as for a puppy, suckling is like being back in that safe family bubble—a lovely, reassuring moment.
When I first got my dog as a puppy (she was about 10 weeks old), she used to suck on my finger or even the ears of her puppy mates! 😅
It’s a bit like when cats knead their mum’s belly while nursing and then keep that happy habit as adults when they "make biscuits" while being stroked.
I’m having the same issue… Out of five male puppies, two are suckling on their brothers’ penises. They’re 18 days old. I move them away and put them onto their mum’s teats instead. I’m starting to wonder if she has enough milk to feed the whole lot…
Yes, thanks, but the problem is she's still suckling even after she's had her mum's milk, and her mum doesn't push her away. When she's snuggled up with her brothers, she just gets the urge and there she goes, she'll have a little suckle, and we aren't around all the time to stop her.
Hi there,
It sounds like this is a form of displacement behaviour: the puppy is suckling on something else because she can’t find a teat. Your best bet is to guide her back towards her mum, as I saw suggested earlier in the thread.
You’ll need to keep a close eye on her to see if she’s just struggling to find the teat (at 10 days old, her senses aren’t very developed yet) or if the mother is actually rejecting her. If it’s the latter, you’ll need to look into feeding her with puppy milk formula.
This can definitely irritate the male’s penis, so it’s best to stop this behaviour by finding a solution. You can, of course, have a chat with your vet for more advice.
Hope this helps,
Amélie
Yeah, I agree it’s not ideal to separate her, but I don’t want her hurting her brothers’ willies, especially since the vet told me it’s not good for her to be doing that. She should stop soon though; now that she’s opened her eyes, she’ll start to catch on.
She needs to stay with her mum! The vet is giving some strange advice there; a puppy that young needs to be with its family. It shouldn't be a big deal if she's confusing her mother’s teats with her brothers’ willies. When that happens, just pick her up and pop her back with her mum.
