Why Do Chihuahuas Like to Steal Socks?

It is 15 minutes after dinner time, and Sandy has started to whine loudly. She roots through this bed, sifts through that bed, and occasionally comes over to throw herself against my leg. After 12 years of being her companion, I know what she wants.

We look together until she finds “The Sanctioned Sock” a fuzzy pink and white striped sock my daughter outgrew. We gave it to Sandy Pawz as her very own sock, so she would stop stealing all of ours.

Before we all agreed she could have this particular sock for her very own, we had to do “sock audits” in her kennel, bed, and various hiding spots. We would do these whenever all the laundry was done but no one had any socks. We’d find over 40 at times, squirreled away in various corners of the house.

Now, Sandy almost exclusively carries this particular sock around. If she loses it, you’d better help her find it!

Why Dog’s Steal Socks

It turns out, there’s a lot of reasons why dogs steal socks. Ferreting out why your particular dog is a sock thief may take some consideration. Let’s take a look at the reasons why a pup may be taking your socks.

Maternal Instinct

I spoke with an animal behaviorist about Sandy’s sock stealing at one point, because she simply doesn’t match the usual reasons dogs steal socks. She never eats them, chews them or damages them in any way.

In fact, they are held very gently and care and affection is lavished on them. They are slept with, carried around, and if they are lost, a huge fuss is made over it. Switching them to a new hiding spot happens about 15 minutes after dinner, every single day.

The behaviorist’s best guess for Sandy’s particular reasons is probably some sort of maternal instinct. The sock is her ‘baby’ and she enjoys pretending to care for it.

Other dogs may be acting out burying of resources perceived as valuable. If your dog seldom has access to long-term chews to hide, they may decide to cache a sock instead.

Separation Anxiety

Another reason why dogs may steal socks, especially if they steal a favorite person’s sock, is because of separation anxiety. They may want to feel close to that person and feel sad that they’re gone.

Dirty socks tend to carry their owner’s scent, making them a very appealing option. When dogs take their owner’s socks whenever they are gone, separation anxiety is likely the culprit.

Play

What’s the fun of having a toy if no one else wants it? When a dog presents a human with a drool covered ball, the human doesn’t seem too interested. When they have a sock however, the human usually wants it back!

A fun game of keep away, racing through the house at top speeds can be gained from taking that sock!

Dogs crave interaction, and they often find they get better results through doing something you don’t like instead of something you do.

If you’d rather not play keep-a-way with a sock, consider inviting them to play with an appropriate item instead.

Pica

Does your dog like to try and eat the socks they steal? Consuming non-food items is known as pica, and some dogs certainly can develop it. When carrying socks turns into eating socks however, it can have deadly consequences.

Socks can cause blockages in the dog’s stomach or intestines, sometimes requiring emergency surgery to have them removed.

If your dog is a compulsive eater, it’s best to keep socks away if possible. This means keeping your socks picked up off the floor, and using laundry bins with solid sides (clever dogs can work the socks through the vents)

Boredom

Some dogs are just bored. If they don’t have a lot of other enrichment, they may try to make fun of their own by finding things to do. Those ‘things’ might be burying your socks in random places around the house.

While it might not be your idea of entertainment, dirty socks with the novel scent of your day on them is more entertaining than that squeaky toy that doesn’t have any new scent on it.

If your pup is destroying socks and other items out of boredom, giving them something more constructive to do can help them. Try giving them their food in puzzles instead of dishes, increasing exercise, or teaching them new tricks.

If they have more things to do, they will have less time for stealing socks—and may not feel like they have a reason to.

Is Stealing Socks Harmful?

I’ll be honest, when Sandy was stealing literally all of our socks to stash in the back of the kennel, it was annoying. Once she discovered that “her” sock was never fished out of the kennel like the other ones, she quickly abandoned other socks in favor of the one that was never removed.

Now, it’s a cute habit of hers that gets a regular feature on our Facebook page. We call it “Sock Sunday” and share a picture of her with her sock.

Since Sandy never attempts to eat, chew on, or swallow pieces of the sock her activity is harmless. If your pet handles socks gently and has never swallowed a piece before, it’s probably fine for your pet to do so.

It becomes dangerous when your pet starts eating them, or behaviors that may become eating such as picking, shredding, tearing or chewing.

Similar Posts:

• 6 Cute and Funny Chihuahua Videos
• Separation Anxiety in Chihuahuas
• 4 Reasons to Kennel Train Your Chihuahua
• Satisfying Your Chihuahua’s Prey Drive
• Watch Our Halloween Videos!