My Irish Setter Sugar loves her stuffed penguin

by Sally
(UK)

My 16 year old Irish Setter, Sugar, loves her little baby toy. It is just a little stuffed penguin which has a little plastic squeaker inside, but Sugar loves her "baby".

When I first brought it home for her, I called her over and said, "Sugar, come get your baby!" Then I squeaked the toy a few times and she loved it. She jumped around and started whining for me to give it to her. I tossed it and she ran straight over to it and picked it up as gently as she could, as if were really a puppy, and took it to her bed and laid down beside it.






Now, if I leave her alone with it at first, she will pick it back up and bring it over to me and lay it down at my feet to start the game over again. When she is finally ready to stop playing, she lays down with the baby and puts her head on it and usually goes to sleep.

I don't know exactly what it is about the "baby" that she loves so much. I know that she gets really excited when it squeaks. I think she likes it when I do it, but she seems to try very hard not to make it squeak when she picks it up and carries it.

It is only about six inches tall by three inches across and is not very fully stuffed. It fits easily in her mouth and she doesn't have any trouble carrying it.

When she's not playing with it, she usually hides it under a chair in the den; I think she's trying to keep our other dog from playing with it. Sugar has never really liked balls or ropes, but she really loves her baby.