Sock-eating dog

[erinburyk]

Our Golden Retriever has a habit of seeking out our socks and chewing them up. I scold her whenever I catch her doing it, but she just can't seem to break the habit. They are irresisitible to her! She'll even go and get the same sock I took away from her 5 seconds before. I think it's an addiction!

We tried getting laundry hampers that were taller so she wouldn't be able to get into them, but she just pulls them over, steals some socks and makes a run for it. Sometimes she brings them to us to show us what she's got, and other times she hides with them and chews them to pieces. I'm getting tired of scolding her with no results. Any suggestions?

[Carina]

I have a couple of friends with a Cocker Spaniel who did that, they just could not break her of the habit. One day she managed to swallow one and needed a $600.00 surgery to remove it or she would have died...now her people keep the laundry basket in a closet and just don't leave socks where she can find them. Socks were the only thing she "stole" - other laundry she left alone.

You could try spraying cayenne pepper sauce or Bitter Apple on every sock you "intentionally" leave lying around...that MIGHT work. Or you could get her some special designated objects, and try training her to bring those to you instead - but if she's like my friends' dog, she might just be too obsessive about the socks to easily break the habit, and the simplest thing is to get into the habit of keeping socks away....

Sometimes the path of least resistance is the easiest one!

[Ali's2 dogs]

First of all it is very important to keep the socks AWAY from the dog for her OWN saftey. As mentioned I know of MANY pups who have had to have surgury to remove pieces of sock that was blocking thier intestines or wrapped around something in there. Try finding a new place for the hamper like in a closet that is off-limits for her. You must make sure that socks ALWAYS get put in there and do not get left anywhere around the house. If you want to have a happy healthy dog then you are going to have to be committed to making changes to your life that work around having them.

I do not mean to sound so hard but I just hate to see people take on pets and not do what ever is neccesary to keep them safe. NOT that you are doing that. I can tell that this problem is really bothering you and you WANT it to stop.

I would suggest that if she brings you a sock give her a strong "NO" but nothing more aggressive than that. Also you may want to mix cyan-pepper and water and spray it on the outside of the laundry hamper. OR buy some of the "no-chew" sprays that they sell at the store and put it on the outside of the hamper if that is where she is getting the socks from.

When we got out youngest, it was the best day in my life b/c he likes to chew socks so that gave my husband a REASON to use the hamper instead of the floor his dirty clothes...

GOOD LUCK AND KEEP US UPDATED!