# Weird/Gross obsession



## Gleepers (Apr 20, 2016)

I’m my adult life I’ve had 4 dogs of 4 breeds and stinky socks and undies have always been a huge score. 
Penny (the golden) has a particular affinity. Of all the stuff she has destroyed the amount of socks and undies tops the list. 
My little guy rarely steals them himself but is usually 100% complicit in turning them into tug toys


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## suzydee (May 7, 2012)

LOL! Don't feel bad, mine is sneaky he waits till I leave my bedroom and finds the most unappropriate thing to haul downstairs. Last time I was opening the patio door to let him out in the morning and looked down to realize he had my lavender bra folded in his mouth and out the door he went. uuggh!! I had to run out to get it. Very embarrassing. I have learned to put my clothing up high on something that he can't grab. We never get angry over it, he USUALLY will drop it.


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## puddles everywhere (May 13, 2016)

Well I guess I'm the odd man out here... my pup began by climbing into the washer & dryer to take out socks and whatever. I told her what a wonderful dog she was and now that she is 2 she only has to climb half way in but I no longer have to reach to the back of the dryer or washer. 
She also brings me a throw pillow off the sofa if I'm in the study, guess she thinks I need a cushion vs the hard chair? Of course the phone, remote, water bottle (always keep the lids on!) will end up by my side as well if I leave the room without them. She must think I'm forgetful.
Put a name to them and encourage them. Then if you need someone to help carry something to the trash, or carry in a bag of groceries or drop your keys... you will have some extra help. They are retrievers after all 
I would rather have them bringing me stuff than running away and hiding it from me. Gratefully she has never attempted to tear anything up as she finds the atta girl reward a much better choice than being scolded. If you really don't want this, teach the leave it command and replace the item with something of her own so she can learn which items are ok and which ones are off limits. 
I also don't leave any shoes, socks or temptations out... preventative measures helps.


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## DevWind (Nov 7, 2016)

I have a little dog that does this and things even grosser. LOL! She’s my second “obsessive” dog. First was a miniature poodle who lived a long healthy life.short of closing doors and keeping everything out of reach I don’t have a solution.


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## Pammie (Jan 22, 2011)

Mine has learned to nose the hamper lid open to take stuff out! He also prefers socks and underwear was happy to get my husbands t-shirt. I now have to put a weighted object on top so he can not get in- I am still (most of the time) smarter than him! :roflmao:


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## Gleepers (Apr 20, 2016)

Puddles, I’ve been trying to get Penny to bring me stuff from day one. Occasionally she will and you would think she won the lottery I dish out so much praise. 
She’s a lot better at it with husband than with me. 
Perhaps some day.


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## Jnoel21 (Sep 20, 2017)

suzydee said:


> LOL! Don't feel bad, mine is sneaky he waits till I leave my bedroom and finds the most unappropriate thing to haul downstairs. Last time I was opening the patio door to let him out in the morning and looked down to realize he had my lavender bra folded in his mouth and out the door he went. uuggh!! I had to run out to get it. Very embarrassing. I have learned to put my clothing up high on something that he can't grab. We never get angry over it, he USUALLY will drop it.


 thank you for that visual. Mine hoard their toys out in the yard. I don’t really care aside from it makes them gross. Now I find socks and underwear frozen to the ground from the winter. I’m sure my neighbors really appreciate the lawn decor. I don’t really care aside from her getting my expensive, cherished stuff. I guess I should just give up haha. For Christmas I think I’ll get her a Costco size pack of socks and underwear


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## Jnoel21 (Sep 20, 2017)

I love when I am at work and realize a hole in something and immediately know it’s from Maura. The two love to play tug with my nice, expensive work socks. That’s the evening routine when I come home. I do appreciate some of the retrieving. Maura taught herself how to grab the mail from the door slot and brings it over to us. I’m all for that. I’m a bit of a clean freak. Or I should say I’m very organized. I have worked through the golden hair & have accepted it. But socks and underwear all over my living room like a teenagers room...the next challenge


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## Jnoel21 (Sep 20, 2017)

Pammie said:


> Mine has learned to nose the hamper lid open to take stuff out! He also prefers socks and underwear was happy to get my husbands t-shirt. I now have to put a weighted object on top so he can not get in- I am still (most of the time) smarter than him! <img src="http://www.goldenretrieverforum.com/images/smilies/roflmao.gif" border="0" alt="" title="Roflmao" class="inlineimg" />


 heh. I know mine is smarter then me. I mean, she better be for what I paid for her haha I’m sure I can think of ways to put one over on her.


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## Julie Timmons (Dec 16, 2016)

My husbands answer to the sock thief has been to go buy more socks. We have socks all over the house, I am constantly picking them up. I was concerned at first that Riley was going to eat them but once I discovered he just loves holding them in his mouth, I gave in. 
The one that gets me is when he sneaks into the bathroom while I’m in the shower, I swear he is tip toeing, and grabs all of my clothes and brings them out to the living room to snuggle. 
If ever I fall unconscious in my house alone, I will be found under a strange pile of “things” including toys, clothes, hundreds of socks, clothing... they aren’t called Retrievers for nothing!


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## Hilabeans (Feb 27, 2018)

Teddy seems most excited to bring us clothing and blankets in the morning when he first wakes up. We're quickly learning "drop it", so hopefully we can continue to catch him bring us these prizes and have him return them to us. I'm sure at some point there will be an embarrassing presentation in front of neighbors/house guests!


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## Neeko13 (Jul 10, 2010)

Neeko loves socks!!!! They are all over the house, he cant go out to the bathroom in the morning without an item in his mouth!!!! He most of the time brings it back, if not I yell, where's the sock? and he runs back out to get it.. On laundry day I ask him to bring me socks...I would give him a treat for every sock, but then he was bringing me 7 or 8 at a time...so now, just one treat for all socks... My dog sitter must laugh, we have socks on the floor in every room...I have all my good boots up on something, so he cant take them, and slobber on them.... :laugh::laugh:


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## Jnoel21 (Sep 20, 2017)

Julie Timmons said:


> My husbands answer to the sock thief has been to go buy more socks. We have socks all over the house, I am constantly picking them up. I was concerned at first that Riley was going to eat them but once I discovered he just loves holding them in his mouth, I gave in.
> The one that gets me is when he sneaks into the bathroom while I’m in the shower, I swear he is tip toeing, and grabs all of my clothes and brings them out to the living room to snuggle.
> If ever I fall unconscious in my house alone, I will be found under a strange pile of “things” including toys, clothes, hundreds of socks, clothing... they aren’t called Retrievers for nothing!
> 
> ...


 ah yes they are shower bandits. And mine loves to sleep/lay in her piles that she puts together in the middle of the night. She’s a little hoarder


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## Julie Timmons (Dec 16, 2016)

Neeko13 said:


> Neeko loves socks!!!! They are all over the house, he cant go out to the bathroom in the morning without an item in his mouth!!!! He most of the time brings it back, if not I yell, where's the sock? and he runs back out to get it.. On laundry day I ask him to bring me socks...I would give him a treat for every sock, but then he was bringing me 7 or 8 at a time...so now, just one treat for all socks... My dog sitter must laugh, we have socks on the floor in every room...I have all my good boots up on something, so he cant take them, and slobber on them.... :laugh::laugh:



Haha, the boots! My visiting company looks at me strangely when they take off their shoes and place them on the floor, and I pick them up and put them on top of a table. Household member’s shoes are fair game tho and all slippers are now being “stored” in the dog’s toy box. These little buggers have such strange yet similar habits. ❤


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## FosterGolden (Mar 10, 2014)

Mine loves socks, bras (fun tug toy with my other dog) and my slippers. The problem with the socks is that he gulps them when I am not home. I have never seen him do it, I don't know when he's done it, but I obviously I figure it out once he pukes them up a few weeks later. He's even swallowed one of those fluffy socks that you wear in the winter with the non-skid spots on the bottom. I used to wear socks to bed and then in the middle of the night would take them off in my sleep. He would dig around in the bed when I wasn't home and get a hold of them. I am not a clothes on the floor person, but he also grabs them if, for example, I drop them on the way to the washing machine or leave a basket of clean clothes on the floor. I discovered that he will also swallow new, never worn socks. I'm very lucky that, so far, no surgery. I am very careful now and have also learned the signs that he has swallowed a sock. Basically, his breath reeks of the sock that is fermenting in his stomach for about a week before he barfs it up. Needless to say, I am extremely careful with my socks!


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## jdavisryan (Jan 28, 2018)

Yep. When we picked Daisy up from the breeder she was trying to pull the sock off of the nice man's foot - 8 weeks old. She certainly had lots of sock stealing opportunities at our house with 2 teenage boys. I eventually trained her to take all of the socks she found around the house into the laundry room and drop them in the basket for a treat. She turned out to be more helpful than the boys!


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## CedarFurbaby (Jun 6, 2016)

Gleepers said:


> Puddles, I’ve been trying to get Penny to bring me stuff from day one. Occasionally she will and you would think she won the lottery I dish out so much praise.
> She’s a lot better at it with husband than with me.
> Perhaps some day.


I can relate lol I would say retrieving is less in Cedar’s nature than chewing things up. 

About socks and picking up other stuff, I just want to add that they always seem to find it more fun and the more obsessed they get when we unintentionally give them attention and fuss.


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## gdgli (Aug 24, 2011)

My puppy used to pull my socks off my feet as I was putting them on. He outgrew that but he still goes on sock and panty raids.


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## gdgli (Aug 24, 2011)

FosterGolden said:


> Mine loves socks, bras (fun tug toy with my other dog) and my slippers. The problem with the socks is that he gulps them when I am not home. I have never seen him do it, I don't know when he's done it, but I obviously I figure it out once he pukes them up a few weeks later. He's even swallowed one of those fluffy socks that you wear in the winter with the non-skid spots on the bottom. I used to wear socks to bed and then in the middle of the night would take them off in my sleep. He would dig around in the bed when I wasn't home and get a hold of them. I am not a clothes on the floor person, but he also grabs them if, for example, I drop them on the way to the washing machine or leave a basket of clean clothes on the floor. I discovered that he will also swallow new, never worn socks. I'm very lucky that, so far, no surgery. I am very careful now and have also learned the signs that he has swallowed a sock. Basically, his breath reeks of the sock that is fermenting in his stomach for about a week before he barfs it up. Needless to say, I am extremely careful with my socks!



Sounds dangerous to me. Change something.


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