unusual behavior

Question
QUESTION: My 4 year old beagle/dachsund mix has always taken whatever material she can ( blanket, towel, bedding ) and bunches it up  between her two front paws and then sucks on it until we see her doing it and make her stop. This has been a persistent behavior since we got her. She appears to understand we don't want her to do it and stops when she is told to but will go back to doing it whenever she can. We rescued her from a puppy mill and she was very small and young. We were told six weeks old but I would not be surprized if she was a couple weeks younger. She was 2 lbs and the smallest in the litter. I am thinking it may have to do with being weaned too young but my vet said she has never seen a dog do this.

ANSWER: This is a form of obsessive-compulsive behavior, and seems to occur more commonly in dogs who left their litter too early or who have had multiple homes. This is similar to flank-sucking in Dobermans, which appears to have a hereditary disposition, and it is often accompanied by pica (eating non-edible materials).
http://www.dogbehaviour.com/articles/dogs/objectsucking.htm

For your veterinarian:
http://avmajournals.avma.org/doi/abs/10.2460/javma.231.6.907

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QUESTION: Thank you for your answer. What is this type of behavior called other than obsessive compulsive in nature? What can we do to try to get her to stop? She also has health problems, a grade 4 heart murmur due to a hole in her heart and she has recently been diagnosed with thyroid disease for which she is now taking medication.

Answer
If you look at the links I gave you previously, it is called "object sucking", and it is a form of obsessive compulsive behavior that is related to flank-sucking in the Doberman Pinscher. The AVMA Journal abstract mentioned that there was medication that could be used for this, although which one was not mentioned in that brief abstract. Your veterinarian should research this for you.