Video summary
The primary reason your dog steals socks and underwear is not mischief or an attempt to embarrass you, but rather their incredibly sensitive sense of smell combined with a deep emotional need for connection. While humans might find these items disgusting due to sweat and body odor, dogs perceive them as the most comforting and familiar scents in existence because they carry your unique identity. To a dog, wearing your scent provides safety, reassurance, and a feeling of belonging; it signals that you are present even when you physically aren't. When you leave for work or run errands, this presence vanishes from their world, causing stress as pack animals struggle with separation anxiety. Consequently, they retrieve these items to surround themselves with your scent, effectively using them as stand-ins for you while you are away, a behavior that is endearing yet rooted in genuine emotional distress rather than simple playfulness.
However, this seemingly cute habit can quickly escalate into a serious medical emergency if the dog consumes the stolen item instead of just carrying it around. Swallowed socks or underwear do not pass through a dog's digestive system easily and can cause severe intestinal blockages that often require expensive and urgent surgery to resolve. This dangerous behavior is frequently driven by boredom, lack of exercise, and insufficient mental stimulation; when dogs are under-stimulated, they will raid the laundry basket because it offers an accessible outlet for their energy and attention needs. If left unchecked, this specific urge can lead to destructive behaviors like chewing on furniture or ripping up rugs, resulting in thousands of dollars in veterinary bills that catch owners completely off guard.
Beyond the immediate physical dangers, there are also breed-specific compulsions that may require specialized intervention beyond standard training techniques. For instance, Bernese Mountain Dogs have a notorious reputation for obsessively stealing and consuming socks to an extreme degree, sometimes appearing as if they are starving despite being well-fed. In such cases, simple commands like "leave it" or the use of e-collars might not be enough; owners may need to address potential obsessive-compulsive tendencies by securing their environment more rigorously. While most dogs simply carry items around out of love and a desire for your presence, distinguishing between harmless carrying and dangerous eating is crucial for ensuring your pet's safety. Ultimately, understanding that these actions are complex communications about stress levels and emotional needs allows owners to provide better outlets like appropriate chew toys and increased interaction, turning a potentially hazardous habit into an opportunity to strengthen the bond with their beloved companion.
Read the full video transcript
Look, I've been training dogs for over a
decade and I have seen a lot of weird
stuff, but one thing comes up constantly
and I mean constantly every day and the
owners are laughing about their dogs
stealing their socks and stealing their
underwear and running around. We We're
sending these things in group chats.
We're posting it on Instagram for
everyone to see and everyone thinks it's
funny. Look, I get it, right? It is kind
of funny until it isn't because what's
actually driving this behavior is going
to surprise you guys and mostly it's
going to probably embarrass a lot of you
and most people have no idea that the
real answer has two sides of it and
we're going to talk about both of those
sides. Now, the reality of why your dog
is stealing your socks and underwear,
the real reason guys is because
you smell.
You stink. That's why. You're That's
what's happening. Your socks and your
underwear are the smelliest items in
your entire home. Everything that makes
them stink to you makes them absolutely
irresistible to your dog. And if you've
ever brushed it off as cute or funny,
then you need to hear what I'm about to
tell you. The dog's nose, depending on
the breed, is somewhere between 10,000
and 100,000 times more sensitive than
ours. When I get my dog Lakota's we feed
raw out of the fridge, I swear guys she
she loves her we feed raw, first of all,
but I'm pretty sure she can smell the we
feed raw through the package. I'm like I
go in and I take it out and she can't
hear anything and she just comes zipping
around the corner. I Anyway, you guys
get the point. While you're walking into
the room thinking, "Mhm, smells like
pizza in here" or whatever, your dog is
picking up every single ingredient of
that pizza. Who touched the box, what
laundry detergent they used, what kind
of deodorant they used, what kind of
shirt they had on and who delivered it.
Their nose is essentially a
supercomputer and scent is the primary
language of your dog. I I've worked with
deaf dogs and blind dogs that use their
nose to literally do everything and
there's no change, right? So, when your
dog buries their face in your gym socks
and drags your underwear out from the
dirty laundry basket, they're not doing
it to embarrass you. Although, it's
probably embarrassing now that you know
why it's happening, just telling
everybody how bad you smell. They're
doing it because that [music] item is
absolutely soaked in your scent. And to
your dog, your scent is the most
comforting, familiar, and reassuring
thing in the entire world. Now, here's
what I really want you to understand.
Your smell isn't just a smell to them.
It's you. It signals safety, comfort,
and home, and belonging, right? Like
your dog knows this is my owner. And
when you walk through the door after a
long day, your dog doesn't just see you,
they smell everything about you, where
you've been, what you've been doing, who
you've been with, and they're just
excited that you're actually back. And
when you're gone, that presence
disappears. Except, it doesn't
completely disappear, not when your
laundry basket is right around the
corner. And that's the interesting
thing. So, it's not just gross, it is a
little gross, but it's also a little
endearing. Think about it from your
dog's perspective. You leave every
single morning, regardless of if you
work from home or not. At some point,
you leave the house. You go somewhere
that they don't follow you. They don't
understand that. They don't work, right?
They don't run errands with you. They
don't realize you got to go to the gym,
and you got to, you know, go get gas, or
whatever the heck you do. You've been
gone for 8 hours, 6 hours, 45 minutes,
or whatever. All they know is that you
were there, and now you're not. And dogs
are pack animals, right? They're wired
for being with each other. Being
separated from their person can
genuinely be stressful for them. So,
what do they do? They find the next best
thing. They grab a sock, they drag out a
t-shirt, they curl up with your hoodie
on the couch, etc. Now, in doing that,
they're surrounding themselves with you.
It's kind of a stand-in for while you're
away. Again, it's kind of endearing.
Now, interestingly enough, research in
animal behavior backs this up
completely. Studies have shown that dogs
left with an item carrying their owner's
scent show significantly lower stress
responses compared to dogs left with
nothing at all. A lot of times at my
facility, dog owners, when they do board
and train, will leave a pair of
sweatpants, or maybe even a hoodie.
Because your dog's scent is connected
with you literally. It calms them down.
But, I cannot stress this enough. Here's
why it stops being cute. Now, this is
really important, especially for those
sock stealers out there. Dogs don't just
steal socks. A lot of times they eat
them.
And that's where this goes from funny to
frightening very fast. Now, listen to
this guys cuz it's life-changing. A
swallowed sock doesn't just pass
through. It can cause a serious
intestinal blockage. That means
emergency surgery. Very serious. If your
dog is frequently stealing and chewing
on clothing, socks, or underwear, or
anything else, that's your cue to take
it very seriously. Because here's the
thing, sometimes it's not just missing
you. It's It's Sometimes your dog is
flat-out bored. They're under-exercised,
they're under-stimulated, and they're
under-worked. And these types of dogs,
as you probably know, will find ways to
fill that gap. They raid the laundry
basket because they can't go outside and
run around and dig holes. It's your
dog's way of saying, I need more from
you. They need more play. They need more
of you. To redirect this behavior, make
sure that these items aren't left within
reach, and give your dog appropriate
outlets is what you should be doing.
Maybe something to chew on instead of
your underwear, like a chew toy or a
bone or something. A dog that's craving
more of your attention will find
creative ways to meet those needs, and
not all of them are safe. You know, like
a dog who chews on your couch, or chews
on your furniture, rips up the rug, or
whatever. We're talking hundreds,
sometimes [music]
thousands of dollars in vet bills. And
even if it's an emergency surgery, we're
talking multiple thousands. And guys,
this happens way more than people think.
And it almost always catches owners
completely off guard. If you guys
haven't listened to my podcast with tons
of veterinarians, you should go check it
out. It's a No Bad Dog podcast, and
[music] vets talk about this all the
time. So, next time you catch your dog
trotting past with your favorite sock
dangling from their mouth looking
incredibly proud of themselves, they're
not being mischievous. Well, maybe
sometimes they are, especially those
little puppies. What they're probably
doing is they're carrying a piece of
their own favorite person with them
because you're out there, you know, on
your phone, or you're working too much.
I mean, I'm guilty of these things, too.
And that's one of the most tender things
a dog can do. Your socks stink, but to
your dog, they smell like home. They
smell like you. And that's the most
important smell in the world to them.
So, again, it could be endearing, but
there's so many levels of well, your
dog's telling you something, for sure.
And also, this is very very very
dangerous. And I And like I said before,
I'd love to know, as we're going through
this, if anybody has dealt with
something like this, cuz I genuinely
love to hear these stories. I had a
client one time, it was a I don't know
about the the Bernese Mountain Dogs. I
don't know if you guys have ever heard
of this before, but Bernese Mountain
Dogs, for whatever reason, are infamous
for stealing socks. And this dog, it
would be like if you haven't eaten in 2
weeks and you found like marshmallows
everywhere. Think about that. Like a dog
goes out and you're just sucking down
marshmallows like as fast as you
possibly can. But that's what this dog
would do. And I remember we worked on
the leave it, and we worked with the
e-collar, and we worked on multiple
different things, cuz it was so I mean,
the first time it happened, she was
like, "I can't believe this happened. He
passed it." Or And she's like, "We need
to go in the training. We need to do
this." And I said, "Look, you need to
also like shut your doors." Like this is
past training. Like this your dog might
have something OCD-type of thing. Your
dog actually might feel like that, you
know, they need to do this for whatever
reason. It could not be for any of the
reasons we discussed in this video.
[music] That's why I'm asking about like
Berners. If anybody else has had had a
Berner out there, or even a dog that has
had this like habitual, obsessive, like
compulsive
need to go and suck down socks or
underwear or something, let me know the
comments, cuz I want to dive into why
these things are happening and if
they're tied to particular breeds.
Because Goldens will carry things
around, but they typically don't eat
these things. They typically just carry
anything around, hats, cardboard boxes,
not necessarily socks and underwear. So,
it is fascinating. Guys, you know, at
the end of the day, it's just important
for you guys to understand some of these
things. Every single time I make these
videos, my goal is for you guys to click
on a video and help you understand your
dog more. If at any point in time we did
that in this video, do me a solid favor.
Hit that subscribe button. We put videos
out every Wednesday and every Saturday.
And of course you guys should check out
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link below if you guys want to support
us as a family business. [music] Anyway,
hopefully this was helpful. Thank you
guys so much for watching. I talk to you
in the next one. Peace.