Can somebody please advise me what to do.
I have a 15 month old working cocker spaniel, she is lovely but into everything.
She is obssessed with pinching socks, until recently if she pinched one I have managed to persuade her to give it up by offering her a treat, but she seems to have got wise to me and last week she swallowed an adults sock as soon as she saw me coming, I phoned vet and they said that I should take her down so that they could make her vomit, washing soda, 15 mins and £38.00 later I brought her home with what must have been the cleanest tummy ever. But she obviously has not learned her lesson cuz she has now eaten my daughters trainer sock.
Please can anyone advise me what to do to stop her from doing this as apart from the cost of vets bills I am scared that she will cause a blockage and make herself ill.
Thanks
Jayne

I'm sorry but it's not the dog who hasn't learnt from the lesson - but you............
You and your family must learn, that unless you pick up all socks and put them somewhere secure (and this may take some management on your part) then you may well have a very sick dog on your hands (and maybe worse :( )

Dogs are like babies, sometimes we have to change the way we live to keep them safe........

Digger is right you need to ensure no socks or similar items are left around.
I have known dogs die from swallowing socks, harsh words I know but it is reality.
On a more positive note, your dog is a young teenager & with maturity may stop stealing socks etc.
Take care.

What do you do when she picks up a sock? I ask this because, if you chase her and make a fuss to get it back, you are turning it into a game, and she has learned a good way of getting attention! You are showing her that a sock is a valued commodity, and something that she needs to hang on to! You need to turn the idea on its head, and teach her that giving you the sock is the game. She's a working cocker, so she will have the instincts for this. How good is she at retrieving balls etc, and giving them to hand, just as a good gundog should? A good gundog trainer (such as John on this board) will be able to give you tips as to how this is best done.

In the meantime, make sure no socks are left lying around! Dogs are very good at teaching us humans how to be tidy!
:)

I agree with everybody. My dog had a "thing" for socks ever since i stupidly chased her for one one day ... I KNEW this was a bad thing to do but i was very rushed and stressed on that particular day, and so succumbed to what i thought was the quickest and easiest option - NOT

She ended up trying to get socks all the time - the only good thing is that she didn't eat them (although i have a friend whose Flatcoat DOES ) I did basically train her to retrieve, she did this anyway so i had to specifically train her to retrieve socks. I did lots of swopsies with very high value food rewards and if she did manage to grab a sock, ignored her and walked away. I also "flooded" her with socks although this may not be a wise thing to do with your Cocker as he/she eats them.

Lindsay
X

Your dog was only going on instinct, she's a working cocker after all ;-).  You can either train her to give them up to you as a formal retrieve or you can be tidy.

My gwp, Harvey, is a knicker eater.  My solution - I don't leave any lying around where he can get them. :-D 

Helen

I learnt the hard way :(  my dog ate my husbands sock and was very ill :(  we nearly lost him as his insides ruptured and he nearly bled to death.  after an emergency op to remove sock he was on a special diet that was to put minimal strain on his intestines and anti-inflamitories for nearly two weeks. the Bill came to just under £700.  Socks were banned in our house for a long time. Now they are worn but are NEVER left lying around. I would rather go with out socks than loose my dog.  :(  My advice to you would be to bin all your socks for a few months then buy new ones but keep them well out of reach of you dog.  You need to break his habit and having no socks available for a few months worked for me. :)  Yes my family did moan but I think it was worth going without socks for that time as he is now not really bothered about them.

I too have a dog (Rottweiler) that thinks socks are 'trophies'.  He has managed to swallow one some months ago and sicked it up after a couple of days - no ill effects thankfully (our vet told us to wait and see, which we did).  Now we are vigilant about ANY socks and where they are, so I too learn't the hard way that its YOU as the owner that must train yourself and your family that you cannot leave any socks lying around - otherwise, you may end up bankrupt :-).

Ahem, Guest would you be posting this if you replaced the word "sock" with "poison"?

I think not!