Always carrying socks

[Milliebaby]

Hi Guys,
I wonder if you can shed some light on this one. We got millie from Dogs Trust rescue back in Feb when she was 10 months old. She has settled in really well with us and the 2 cats. However she keeps going into the washing basket and taking a sock out and carrying it around with her. we have also found them in her bed. She has plenty of toysand gets loads of excercise every day.
I was wondering if this is a normal thing and if there is anything we can do to stop her.
i have tried removing the basket but she still seems to find them.
I make sure there are none about if we go out as i am very wary she could swallow them.
Does anyone elses bundle of fun do this?
Thanks,
June

[brunie's mom]

She probably likes to carry them around, because the socks smell like her humans.
I would make sure she cannot get a sock. Pick them up, put them away close the door to where the hamper is kept,etc.
Socks can be dangerous and this is not a habit that I would be allowing.

Gina

[brutus'mother]

Brutus LOVES socks.
I have never allowed him to play with old socks, shoes, etc. I didn't want to confuse what is his, ie, how would he know it's ok to chew old socks but not new ones.
However, if I drop a sock on laundry day he is more than willing to pick it up for me.
I too worried about him swallowing one.
The socks were the catalyst for teaching "drop it/leave it" at a young age.

[tatertot]

Pepsi, and now Taser, love socks and underwear. Despite trying to teach him not to suck on them, the temptation is just too great for him to refrain. We now keep him out of the laundry room.

[janaldworth]

Hi, I have the same problem with my 7 month old 'Tink', he will go into my teenage son's room and pick them up off the floor and bring them to me, very pleased with himself, it seems he only like's socks that have been worn never clean ones and no other clothing, just socks, I have had to keep his door closed as trying to get my son to keep his bedroom tidy is a much harder task!!

[Milliebaby]

Hi Guys,
Thanks for the replies. She is slowly getting better but i think this is something she has been aloowed to do in her previous household as we rescued her 2 months ago.
The way i look at it is if this is her only vice we are doing well.

June
x

[Marley55]

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 !!

[Marcino]

I can't say my dog does this, but my cat Mocha has a sock fetish. He fetches socks from the laundry room, brings them up stairs, deposits them at our feet and strolls off. 18 years and still going!

I would just be careful... my friends Rhodesian just had sugery a couple of weeks ago to remove 3 socks and a pair of underware from her intestines

[Milliebaby]

the thing is Millie doesn't chew them she just carries them round in her mouth. its very strange.
Anyway we love her just the same and at least we now know what the sock fairy looks like.

[Denise L.]

Bras were Cyrus's thing when I first got him. I always had the laundry secured but my underwear drawer sticks and if I didn't have that sucker closed all the way, he would squeeze his big ol' nose in and grab one.

Not anymore. I am happy to say (as I knock on wood!) he doesn't get into anything ever.

I had a cat who loved pantyhose She would grab a pair and walk around the house yowling her fool head off.

[Static'sMum]

Static went through a sock stealing faze. I swear he would pop into 'stealth' mode, as he always managed to steal a sock the second it was dropped without me even noticing. And he would put the whole thing in his mouth so i wouldn't be able to see it ... but he is good with the 'let go' command and would promptly spit it out.
He doesn't do that anymore ..... thankfully ... i got sick and tired of washing socks over and over again - because he didn't discriminate between dirty and clean ....

[QuietDaze]

"Not anymore. I am happy to say (as I knock on wood!) he doesn't get into anything ever."


That's what I though...however, I also learned that I am not as vigilant as I thought because a few weeks ago I found a vomit covered pair of my underwear in my room. I was so relieved that they came up on their own. So I make sure I'm even more on top of the hamper and keeping the closet door fully closed. Well....last week I see him tossing something in the yard. I'm thinking he dug something up so I go and get it. Turns out it was ANOTHER pair of my underwear. I have no idea if he snatched them and ran outside or if this was a pair that he 'expelled'.

My point, you can never be too careful. I believe that carrying is going to turn into to eating at some point so watch him. I figured out that he must have stolen this last pair right out of the bathroom when I was in the shower. For some reason I think that if I put them on the bottom of the clothes pile, that he can't get them. Duh!

[myandromeda]

Socks are a favorite in our house too. I don't get the fascination. LOL!