Disgusting But…Why Does My Dog Eat My Underwear? And How Do I Stop It?
We know how disgusting this question is, but many people are victims of this problem. If you have a dog, you must have noticed how he is attracted towards stinky, soft, and stretchy things lying around.
And if you’ve ignored this behavior because, by this time, you are just so used to their peculiar actions, then we will explain in this article why this sort of behavior is intolerable.
Dogs naturally tend to chew on soft things like underwear and socks. Even if the underwear is stinky, dogs, unlike humans, don’t care about hygiene, and they still get attracted to these disgusting pieces of cloth lying around! Here are some reasons why dogs tend to eat underwear.
They’re too attached to their owner
Dogs find the scent of their owners in their underwear! And when they detect their human’s smell coming off from it, they enjoy playing with it and start chewing on it even more! This all sounds extremely absurd, but now you are getting to know some interesting facts about your pets. Dogs love chewing on underwear because they are made up of stretchable fabric. When puppies are going through their teething phase, like human babies, they like to chew on stuff, and just like babies chew on their bibs, pups chew on their owner’s underwear!
Sometimes when you’ve left them on their own for long, your absence affects their mood, and they start missing you and want to feel you and your scent. Therefore, they move their way towards your drawer with your skivvies and start nibbling on them to feel your smell. Dogs have a tendency to remember the smells of their owners. When they greet their owners, they put their noses against their owner’s noses and develop an attraction.
It might be Pica
Chewing on underwear is a sort of Pica among dogs. Pica is a condition where dogs tend to eat non-edible items. It might be severely dangerous to your dog’s health because they might be putting extremely unclean things in their body and might mess up your dog’s digestive system or even their intestinal tracts. In Pica, dogs might get attached to multiple non-edible things or even a single thing.
It’s just another nuisance!
Sometimes dogs need to play with anything they see around, so they start chewing on socks lying around out of boredom. They are curious creatures and want to see things that are reachable by them; just like that, when they see underwear, they want to see how it tastes, and so they start munching on it. Other than that, chewing may result from anxiety, compulsive medical disorder, or even nutritional deficiencies.
Dogs will do anything to have their owner’s attention. They might as well even go to the extent of behaving in an unaccepted manner just so their owner might lay their eyes on them to scold! So, when dogs feel neglected by you, they might start chewing off your underwear to get attended to by you! Often when dogs don’t like something that’s happening around them, they might start chewing compulsively to insinuate about something they don’t like. The owner’s task is to catch their pet dog and figure out the root of the problem!
How to reduce this behavior?
Besides being gross, the habit of eating your skivvies might cause serious gastrointestinal problems in your dog. Since dogs’ bodies cannot digest cloth, it won’t last long in their bodies and will eventually be expelled by vomiting. A cloth coming out of their bodies might cause gastrointestinal tract blockage, which can lead to severe problems. Therefore it’s recommended to consult a veteran immediately in this sort of situation because they can tell a cure for the forced expulsion of the cloth from your dogs’ body.
Your underwear should be out of reach!
Simple. Keep your underwear away in a separate place, for example, a box in your cupboard or the laundry; ensure they are out of reach of your dogs!
Invest in dogs’ playtime!
Your dogs love playing with you! So, to avoid repetitive activities, try out new playtime stuff with them! Take them to parks for walks where they can easily sniff on plants, bees, and flowers, buy them small toys with which they can play, and even tasty toys they can chew on!
Even when you change your walking tracks often, dogs will enjoy it because they will be exposed to new smells and sights!
This way, dogs will forget their boredom and won’t be interested in doing peculiar acts like nibbling on your underwear!
Train your dogs to behave!
You have to start training your dog from day 1 if you want him to listen to you. Teach them what actions to perform by speaking small, minimal sentences like “Come here,” “Take it,” “NO!” etc. This way, you can stop your dog from doing something that causes you displeasure.
And make sure to teach them positively because that will enable them to learn and behave in a certain manner. Whenever they are drifted towards your panties, sternly say “No!” and if they seem confused, help and divert their attention with a toy or a yummy snack so that they forget about those disgusting pieces of cloth.
This sort of positive reinforcement will make your dog leave strange and unacceptable habits and will save you the costs of consulting a vet!
FAQs
What to do if my dog ate underwear?
You should immediately consult a vet because this eating habit in your dog might be because of Pica (a medical condition in dogs).
Why does my dog eat underwear and throw them up?
The fabric of underwear cannot be digested; therefore, it’s compelled to be expelled from the dog’s body.
How do I get my dog to stop eating everything?
Try to distract their minds and don’t let them get bored. Take them out for walks at new places, so they can sniff around, taste, and smell new things.
