While they LOVE socks and underwear with all their little doggie hearts and souls. socks were the number one item on the list of things we surgically removed from dogs, followed by underwear and rocks !
There are a lot of theories behind why they do such a silly thing and eating things that are not food items is called pica. Sometimes it's for attention-getting behaviors. ie: a scolding is still attention, which may be reinforcing the action. It is also thought the behavior may be an attempt to obtain a necessary nutrient lacking in the diet, although no nutritional studies have ever substantiated this. Sometimes it may be from frustration or anxiety. It's possible the behavior begins as play, and as the dog investigates and chews on the socks, they begins to ingest them.
Jaxx was a sockaholic and needed intervention
the laundry hamper is now on a higher shelf, the mud room door is kept closed at all times and NO socks can be left unattended for more than a second or the guilty party has dish duty for the week. Trust me...that works !!