What causes my dog to eat my socks?
As an owner of a teething puppy can attest, dogs love to chew on anything and everything. The act of chewing may appear to be nothing more than a nuisance, but if your dog swallows anything he may be chewing on, well, that's another story. Socks are one such item that dogs appear to swallow on a regular basis. Although socks aren't as dangerous as ingesting toxic doses of medication or food, they can be a source of concern if your dog eats any.
Why Do Dogs Consume Socks?
Dirty socks on the floor may not appear to be an appealing snack option for you or me, but that doesn't stop dogs from thinking so. Dogs enjoy eating socks for a variety of reasons. Socks, even freshly laundered ones, can smell a lot like you, and your dog's interest in your socks may be piqued as a result. They may begin chewing and licking at them, and they may accidentally swallow them while playing. If your dog perceives them to be valuable due to their smell, he or she may purposefully swallow them in order to resource guard them. Of course, some dogs simply enjoy eating things they shouldn't. Pica, a condition in which one eats non-food items, is not only a human compulsive behavioral disorder; dogs can also suffer from it. There are also metabolic disorders that can cause your dog to eat non-food items like socks.
What's the Big Deal About Eating Socks?
Socks may appear to be innocuous enough to leave where your dog can get to them. What's the problem here? We're not talking about antifreeze or sugar-free gum, so what's the problem? Unfortunately, socks can easily cause gastrointestinal upset, blockages, and even septicemia and death due to their linear nature and ability to ball up. They can become lodged in any part of your dog's GI system, preventing other gastric materials from passing normally. As a result, the tissues surrounding the wound may become inflamed. If the blockage is not removed, the inflamed tissues may begin to necrose (that is, the cells begin to die), resulting in life-threatening septicemia.
Of course, not all episodes of sock ingestion are equally emergent. A Yorkie eating a baby sock is more concerning than a Great Dane eating the same baby sock. All cases in which a dog ingests a sock, on the other hand, necessitate close monitoring and immediate veterinary attention. Especially if there is vomiting, inappetence, or lethargy. If your dog ate a sock, don't force him to vomit it up. Instead, take them to the vet to be examined.
Your veterinarian will perform a thorough examination, including palpating your dog's belly to check for tenderness or bloating caused by gas buildup. Your veterinarian will then want to take a radiograph of your dog. Contrary to popular belief, soft tissues such as food in the stomach, stool in the colon, and any gastric material within the intestines can be seen on an X-ray. In addition, your veterinarian will look for any gas patterns that may indicate a partial or complete blockage. If a single X-ray suggests a blockage, your veterinarian may recommend a barium study. This is the stage at which your dog is given a liquid that appears bright white on an X-ray. X-rays are then taken immediately following ingestion, as well as two, four, six, and sometimes eight hours later. The barium's high contrast can aid in determining where.
A treatment plan will be determined based on your dog's symptoms and what the radiographs reveal. A more conservative treatment plan would include hospitalization, IV fluid therapy, and gastrointestinal medications. Using fluids to keep your dog hydrated can help keep your dog's GI system hydrated, which may encourage your dog's intestines to continue passing the sock. If your dog's veterinarian believes that a conservative approach is not in your dog's best interests, he or she will want to perform an endoscopy or exploratory abdominal surgery. Unfortunately, these surgical procedures are the only sure way to determine whether an ingested sock has caused an obstruction and the only way to remove the sock.
How Do I Prevent My Dog From Eating My Socks?
The first step in preventing your dog from eating your socks is to keep them out of your dog's reach. Laundry should be put away as soon as possible, and dirty socks should not be left strewn on the floor. Providing more appropriate play and enrichment for your dog can also help to prevent boredom, which could otherwise lead to sock eating. Mental stimulation can also be provided by interactive toys, puzzle feeders, and activities such as agility, flyball, and field trials.
Training is another way to keep your dog from ingesting anything they shouldn't. Using positive reinforcement-based training methods to teach your dog the meanings of 'drop it' and 'leave it' can be extremely beneficial. If your dog isn't quite there with his training, give him a different toy to play with. This may persuade them to remove the sock. Of course, you can physically remove the sock from their mouth, but your dog may interpret this as a game of keep away, which will encourage them to play with socks even more.
Socks may appear dirty and smelly to us, but the fact remains that dogs enjoy eating them. Unfortunately, if your dog ingests socks, the consequences can be costly. Prevention, as with most veterinary medical issues, is the best treatment option.
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