Boxer bitch being possesive

Question
HI Jannie, I have had Boxer dogs for about 30 years or so  and at present we have "Bella" a wonderful well behaved loyal bitch who is about 8. we have had no problems at all with her as such but very recently she has really taken to one of her toys (a squeaky ball) she walks round with it in her mouth for hours and lays with it while still holding it in her mouth. Its not like a dog playing with a squeaky ball biting it to get a good noise, she hardly bites it and only occasionally will it squeek. You can take it off her no problem, but she picks it up again as soon as you drop it. While she has the ball she mostly wanders about the house whining a lot. She is not at all aggressive or anything like that. Its just that she doesnt seem to  want to let go of this ball I have been home this evening for one and a half hours and she hasnt put it down yet. She isnt hurting anything just that it does get a little irritating at times, all the wandering , whining and occasional squeak.  I just wonder why she has suddenly developed this behavior and what , if anything we can or should do about it. Many thanks. Robert

Answer
Ten dollars says she's never had a litter of puppies.

This is her biological clock ticking, knowing she's getting older and hasn't had babies yet. She's no different than a woman and her biological clock ticking and counting the time down to being too old, and too late.

Now if I'm wrong....and she has had a litter...But the fixation isn't hurting anyone, and isn't hurting her.

If she hasn't had a litter of pups, then she is psychologically substituting the ball for a puppy. Bitches will carry their pups from one nesting to a better one as they grow. So Bella is carrying a puppy and holding it close to her, i.e. her mouth.

My girl had a her first (and only) litter 3 weeks ago. I chose to allow her to breed with my daughter's beautiful male to let her be mommy one time because I knew she would be a great mom, and I didn't want to deny her of that. Although I get up with them, and help her every two hours during the night, and help substitute feed them-- I don't regret it at all. But Bella is too old now to breed obviously.
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Try buying Bella a small stuffed puppy toy (or bear, whatever) and see how she behaves with it. She will abandon the ball if it's the "puppy syndrome."

Try giving her a new toy (remember, she is Boxer, and simple, fragile toys won't do as she can destroy one in 5 minutes) ...

... My favorite toy, and my Boxer's favorite toy, is her KONG. They are sold at pet stores and Online also. (Google it) They come in different sizes for different sized breeds. I got my girl a big one.

They are made of the most durable rubber known to mankind, and can not be destroyed. It  comes in different colors depending on the size (I bought the red KONG for my Boxer) and you can stuff treats inside it, like Kibble, or broken or small dog treats, peanut butter (yes, they love it) cheese pieces with other stuff, etc. Of course, KONG does offer their own treat stuffing that you can buy, but it's more expensive than doing it yourself.

So give her new toy options and see if she abandons the ball for a while, and if she selects the stuffed puppy (or stuffed bear, etc. be sure it doesn't have eyes or anything she can chew off and swallow- same as any small child)then you'll know it's the biological clock ticking and the "puppy syndrome" but at least Bella will have other new toys to play with and possibly soon abandon the puppy idea.

(Check the KONG out though.)

If she plays with both, carrying her ball, then grin and bear it and live with it as Bella getting older, and since she isn't hurting herself or anyone else, it shouldn't be any problem. Maybe a new ball WITHOUT a squeaky inside it? I bet she'll play with other things when offered new toys.