Dogs Eating Underwear
Just recently, I met up with a friend, who during the course of our conversation, told me that his dog had been eating his underwear. I think he was slightly embarrassed by the whole thing, but honestly there is nothing to be embarrassed about. Actually it’s not even that uncommon. In fact, dogs eating underwear, socks, nylons, etc. is such a common problem that if you Google “dogs eating underwear” you will find thousands of results. It appears that many of us have had to deal with this issue at some point in our lives.
As a pet sitter and dog walker, I’ve been asked about this issue numerous times; not only by clients, but also by friends and family.
Most people want to know why… and then they want to know what to do about it. The “why” is a matter of debate. Answers range from lack of exercise (i.e., boredom) to seperation anxiety to a desire to feel closer to us. I even saw a Wiki post claiming that it was because the dog did not see the owner as the “alpha dog” (my personal thought on that one is “utter nonsense”)! Not everything a dog does can be related to dominance or your “alpha dog” status (that in itself is another whole topic to be explored at another time).
Let’s face it. Dogs are notorious for eating pretty much anything they can get their teeth on. I even saw one blog post claiming their dog had eaten their Wii remote! Sounds funny right? The reality is that this can be a very serious problem. I personally know of one dog that died after eating his owner’s nylons and another that died (just recently) after eating a sock.
Dogs eat things for a variety of reasons. I like to equate dogs eating underwear with their penchant for rolling in poop or rolling around in a spot where a dead animal once laid. Simply put, they like the smell. It appeals to them. It is my personal belief that dogs eat underwear (and socks) because they like the smell, perhaps because the item carries the scent of the owner, but maybe not. The truth is…only the dogs knows for sure.
So here are some things you can do to prevent your dog from eating your underwear:
1. Pick up your clothes (especially underwear, socks, and nylons) – don’t leave them out for your dog to find.
2. Store clothes in a hamper that has a tight lid or is stored in a closet where you can shut the door. The idea is to prevent them from having access.
3. Teach your dog the commands “leave it” and “drop it” – that way if you catch your dog stealing your underwear you can retrieve the item without a whole lot of damage
4. Consider kenneling your dog when you are not home or placing him or her in a “dog-proof” room away from these items.
The reality is your dog is going to find these items if given access to them. There is no spray or “cure” for the dog who likes to eat your underwear or socks. The best thing you can do (in addition to limiting access) is to teach him commands that will allow you to have more control over the situation. You have to be the protector of your own dog. After all, they can’t do it for themselves.
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I laughed while reading your blog. I live with 2 dogs totaling 230lbs and if I let them they will eat pretty much anything they want. One of them used to open the kitchen cabinets and eat all day while I was at work! After this same dog ate the sleves off my leather coat I became dilligent about keeping things put away for their safety and my sanity.
Lorraine – I laughed out loud when you said they ate the sleeves off your leather coat. How did they ever do that? Yikes! I am assuming everything turned out okay on that one.
I also love your description of one of your dogs just taking whatever he or she wanted out of the cabinets. I am now dying of curiosity – what kind of dogs do you have? They sound like they are pretty big.
Thank you. I thought I was the only one with a dog who had an underwear fetish. I have three dogs but only the one goes after the underwear and socks. The Hamper thing works great. And as for eating things, one of my other dogs (when we first got her from a no kill shelter) took it upon herself to eat my remote to my very expensive TV. I understood she was still new to the environment so with a little time and understanding she stopped eating everything. List of things she ate: TV Remote, cell phone, shoes, socks, paper towels (unused), a laser pointer, many toy action figures, several pieces of mail and the list goes on.
Thanks again for the blog.
Nope! Not by a long shot. In fact, it’s one of my top blog posts. It still continues to get hits and I wrote it several years ago. You are definitely not alone.
I almost died when I read you list of the items your dog consumed. Holy cow! How did she survive puppyhood?
I am the owner of a female Terrier who is 5 years old. She has been eating the crotch out of mine and my three daughters’ pants, bathing suits, underwear for years now. We never catch her to scold her. I am scared she will have a blockage and need surgery. Plus, I am highly irritated by how much her bad habit is costing us. Just recently realized that she pulls the clothes through the holes in the hamper because she ruins clothes that were not laying around as well as ones that were. I have never had a dog that did this before. I wish there was a way to break her of it for everyone’s sake.
Hi Stacy
How frustrating. Have you tried Bitter Apple? I had to use it with Jasper when he was younger because he would shred my living room rugs all of the time. I had the same fears you did about him ingesting it. You and the girls could spray bitter apple on your underclothes before throwing them in the hamper. I suspect it wouldn’t have to be long, just long enough to deter her. It’s worth a try!
I think you’re utterly wrong. Why? Because our dog used to exhibit this behavior and actually DUG THROUGH THE HAMPER to fish out underwear. He one day all of a sudden stopped. We don’t know what caused this or why, but he did. We could leave him home alone with dirty laundry all over the place and he wouldn’t chew anything. Fast forward 6 years, we have another dog and what happens? He just recently started exhibiting this behavior again starting tonight. The drop it command works, but that still doesn’t prevent anything from happening.
You explanations are completely contradictory to everything we’ve experienced. It’s not the dog having access to it, it’s the fact that the dog wants it and will get it if they want it bad enough. Keeping things away from the animal doesn’t fix the problem, it just band-aid’s it just like the “drop it” command. If you could say the same thing to your dog pooping in the house, it doesn’t fix anything if he already started pooping and stops mid-poop; he still thinks it’s ok to poop in the house unless you tell him to stop. Nothing was solved.
What’s the solution? I don’t know, but spraying something until he starts to think you sprayed something so he doesn’t touch it isn’t the answer either. That too is just tricking the dog for a certain amount of time until he finds out you haven’t been spraying it and the behavior starts all over again.