Carrie6660

Hi everyone, I am at my wits end! My 5 month old Dobey pup is obsessed with socks. He has eaten numerous socks over the past couple of weeks and managed to either bring them back up or pass them but last night he managed to get to the ironing pile and swallow two which were balled together.

My husband luckily noticed he was choking and desperately tried to pull them out . It was terrifying, thought we were going to lose him!

Has anyone got any tips? it's making me paranoid, I have to follow the kids around making sure nothing left in his reach. He's terrible , I dropped one on the floor carrying the washing downstairs last week and he literally swallowed in in less than a second!,,

help

Carrie

Patches Mom

Yes you have to be super diligent also teach "Drop It" and "Leave IT" right a way keep him crated or on a long line even inside so you will be able to get some control over him. Doberman s have a nick name of Dobergoats it is extremely dangerous for him to eat socks. He can become obstructed and if you do not figure out the problem and get him to a vet right away he can die. Surgery to remove the sock or what ever he ate can cost $3,000.00 to $5,000.00 they can loose some of their intestines if the obstruction causes some of the intestines to loose blood supply and die. One can only loose so much intestines and it can be a death sentence for the pup/dog. Puppy obedience classes will help you train your pup you go with him the classes should help you train him. You can get books, go on line positive training with rewards in treats or praise work best.Good Luck and welcome to DT.

falnfenix

be more diligent with your laundry - keep it up and out of his reach until it's put away. crate him when he's not under full supervision.

Carrie6660

We have been going to training classes every week and he's really quite good. If I say "drop" to balls or toys etc he does it every time, just crazy about sock!!

I guess it's just a case of being on top of him constantly until he grows out of it, my previous Dobe would occasionally eat his bed but only if his routine was disrupted. Someone suggested putting something smelly like olbas oil on one and leave it for him but I really don't think anything will put him off .

Carrie

Instant Noodle

When our dobergoat was younger, he ate socks too, and one of my undies. We ALWAYS keep a close eye on him, but sometimes all it takes is 3 seconds and he's in the closet choking down an article of clothing.

I cannot relate because I don't have small children of our own, but we started to be very regiment about leaving socks around in the house, not allowing Duke into our closet anymore, redirecting him whenever he does get the opportunity to poke his head into the laundry basket or shows any interest in our socks. Nowadays, he still pokes his head in the laundry basket every chance he gets, but at least I don't have to worry about him gobbling up a sock.

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LaneyB

I guess it's just a case of being on top of him constantly until he grows out of it

I hope for your sake that he does outgrow it. My deceased lab liked to eat nonfood items, and ended up with 3 surgeries. Unfortunately he didn't just eat socks, although a sock + a towel was the cause of the 1st surgery. It cost us around $10,000 in surgeries over the years, not to mention the feeling that we were awful pet owners because he kept finding new things to injest. We ended up not being able to have any stuffed animals in the house, keep the laundry locked up, and keep the house super clean (which isn't such a bad thing!).

lestat1978

I don't have any first hand experience with a Dober goat.

What if the preferred item was laced with something really foul tasting?

I have a friend who chews Menthol Skoal. Every dog backs away from it. His brother's Lab will actually growl at him if he holds the can out.

Think the dog would only avoid the item if it was laced or that if enough time passed with only laced items available it'd break the cycle?

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workingk9s

There have been so many Dobermans that have either needed surgery or have died from eating socks. Dobermans are sock eaters. I don't think they grow out of it. We have a hamper that has a lid. Problem solved.

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LaneyB

Also make sure the hamper is solid. My lab learned to pull the socks through the holes in the hamper.

GrdnDelite

If he's quick enough to grab them while you're carrying laundry, it sounds like he needs to be in his crate when you are doing that.

Children can be taught to keep their socks in specific places. My grandkids have no trouble seeing that their socks and shoes are in a designated safe place when they are here.

It's not just that the surgery is expensive; it is that the dog may or may not survive the surgery and recovery.

For an unvented, covered hamper, consider a tall kitchen trash container with cover, or even a plastic 30 gallon or so outside type trash can. Unsightly? Yes. But, oh, so worth it.

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VZ-Doberman

Keep the socks away and problem solved. If you don't then be prepared for a whopper of a vet bill and maybe no dog.

Adara

I say look into insurance just in case with a sock eater. Flirt didn't show too many dober-goat signs. She was a chewer but I didn't realize she was an eater until her first surgery when she ate 8" of fleece she tore from a dog bed. Oh wait, I do remember we had one almost surgery incident when she ate the batting/netting out of an old comforter. After her first surgery, we got insurance. Within 30-40 days she had another surgery from sticks and bones (I feed raw and didn't realize how much she coudl gulp, combined with 3/4 cups of stick ) I thank every day that goes by that we are able to keep her safe That sounds extreme, but living with a dober-goat can be scary. when we got the new puppy, any time toys came out I counted them every time and picked them up when we went to bed just in case she got up and I didn't wake up.

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Colleen
Flirt, ADAMAS All the Girls Do It, OA, NAJ, CL2-F, CL2-H
Gabby, Ch Gold Run's Token of Rumor, JH, NA, OAJ, NF, NJP, CL2,CL3-H, CL3-F Vizsla
Havoc, GCh HRQ Guess Who's In Trouble, JH, OA, OAJ, CL2-H, CL2-S, CL2-F Vizsla
Envy, Kizmar's Bailey HotShot of Adara, Vizsla

lestat1978

Insurance is definitely a good idea!!

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http://www.caesarinc.org

KevinK

get a baby gate, block off laundry area. Also, keep a better eye on him. I know it's tough especially when they're young, but if you can't give your undivided attention, especially at this age, I would put him in a crate, or safe area until you can give that 100% attention back. The best way to stop him from eating socks is to never allow it to happen.

GingerGunlock

I would really not suggest trying this, because ingesting chewing tobacco could make a dog very sick (happened to my coworker).

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SGranger Ph.D

Ugh! Ahren went through this with socks, and undies! They make a butterant but it didn't phase Ahren- so I took and started wearing "lotion on my feet" so throughout the day it got thoroughly into my socks- aloe, Cheyenne pepper, an heavily scented old people lotion all mixed together and slathered on- he got ahold to one, went to gagging and coughing and never touched another piece of laundry... He walks a wide circle around any clothing article.


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PatchworkRobot

I agree with whoever said to keep the socks off the floor and the dog out of the rooms where the socks are easily found. Personally, I just keep my bedroom door closed.

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Baron1

Baron also likes socks. And recently started taking chunks out of the sofa. We never catch him in the act though (and we have a tiny apartment). Going to increase his exercise. I think he's just bored and getting destructive -_-

Adara

I would crate him when unsupervised myself.

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Colleen
Flirt, ADAMAS All the Girls Do It, OA, NAJ, CL2-F, CL2-H
Gabby, Ch Gold Run's Token of Rumor, JH, NA, OAJ, NF, NJP, CL2,CL3-H, CL3-F Vizsla
Havoc, GCh HRQ Guess Who's In Trouble, JH, OA, OAJ, CL2-H, CL2-S, CL2-F Vizsla
Envy, Kizmar's Bailey HotShot of Adara, Vizsla

dragonflyz

Tango ate socks like crazy when he was younger. I never caught him with a sock and at first didn't even know what dog was eating them. He would inhale them like a hoover. At the time I had 3 small kids and it took a while to get them all in the habit of not leaving the socks laying around. We haven't had an issue with socks in a few years but about a year ago Tango injested parts of a toy and he had to have surgery to remove a squeaker. I know he eats stuff like that so the stuffy toys were only allowed in the kids rooms for the smaller dogs to play with... Somehow Mr. Hoover aka Tango ate the toy.

There are NO STUFFIES ALLOWED in the house!!! I almost lost Tango, he was very sick and it cost me a ton of Money! Good luck with your pup. It's tough to keep dogs from eating stuff if they are determined.

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tdd16738

One of our dobies loves to eat underwear and socks. The underwear passed but unfortunately one of the socks balled up and got stuck. Surgical removal and lots of guilt for us. Now everything is put up. He is very sneaky and has even been seen nosing his way into drawers and raising up on his hind legs to get to something on the counter. Doors are closed.

kmbeach22

This isn't just a doberman related problem. My cat loves ribbon, and can unfortunately open cabinets and doors. She got into a closet and found ribbon one night. Needless-to-say, around $4k later, thankfully, it was removed and she was ok. While picking her up, my vet shared stories about how many dogs he gets regularly that eat socks. He said he sees it all of the time. I'm not sure exactly what causes the behavior, but I feel like it goes beyond training commands. My advice is that unfortunately you're going to have to become extremely alert and careful when doing laundry, or where socks are thrown after being worn. They're going to have to be kept out of reach. It's something that everyone in the house is going to have to be mindful of at all times.

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Anton-Caesar

Every dog i have ever met has at some point picked up socks! Caes is yet to eat one but i dont ever leave them accessible.

We never leave washing anywhere he can get it, we actually have a stairgate on the door to the spare room where all the washing is dried! I suppose when you have kids its more difficult. Id would definitely try something like putting something horrible in the sock so next time he goes to grab one he might think its got something he hates in it (whatever that may be)

Beaker

When we were hiking Isle Royale, the park rangers warned us not to leave our boots or socks outside the tents as the foxes would steal and eat them. They suggested it was the salt they liked. Of course that doesn't explain clean sock eating.

Maybe the dog likes the "game" of being chased when it has a sock, that's when my dobe picks up the socks. She's right in front of me and with a play bow. She also "helps" me put socks on since she knows when I start putting socks on she's about to go outside. She doesn't chew them though.

I would just try really hard not to have socks and the dog in the same space at the same time. It's a pain and may not be 100% do-able but if the pup is ingesting them I think that's probably the only course of action that I can see.

Hopefully at only 5 months your dog will grow out of the phase!

labanddobbielover

Jack likes socks too!! He sucks on them after they've been worn. He doesn't like the clean ones.

But we've gotten into the habit of taking socks off and dropping them directly into the washer.