Sock(s!) Eater... Round 2!

[Debb, Lucy & Oscar]

Its been a busy last few days, but Saturday morning my DH informed me that after he returned from taking Lucy for a potty he found Oscar had thrown up not one, but TWO socks in his crate. He hadn't yet eaten his breakfast so the socks were pretty dry. This is the 2nd time he's thrown up a sock (or 2!). The first time the entire incident was on our radar, as I had found 1 sock but not the matching other sock. That time we just played a waiting game, for him to either develop symptoms of an intestinal blockage, or bring the sock up. This time, we didn't have any idea he had ever eaten any socks. We're not sure how he got them, but it could have only been with the socks folded together (it was a matching pair of men's socks), and that would have meant they were either one of my husband's 'sock bombs', 2 dirty socks folded very tightly together into a sock bomb (which he is known for doing), or from the laundry room where a clean folded pair may have dropped onto the floor from the clean sock bin. Whichever it was, I highly suspect Lucy was the original perpetrator  as she's the opportunistic one and she goes on search-and-seizure missions looking specifically for items with which to bait Oscar. Lucy is the one who plays with, but doesn't swallow items, while Oscar is the swallower.

DH and I had a chat about ramping up the diligence factor, making sure doors are always closed and keeping things out of reach. Maybe we had gotten a little lax (ya think?), although not knowing how he ended up swallowing a pair of socks, we're not sure exactly what we need to work on. In any event, at least being more diligent is now on our radar!

The good news to all this is, (beside the fact that we once again avoided an intestinal blockage) that ignorance is bliss, and we didn't fret for days waiting for something to happen with Oscar. He exhibited no signs whatsoever during the however-long-it-was he had socks in his tummy. They certainly didn't 'fill him up' as he was as hungry as ever, he pooped on his regular schedule and never seemed in any discomfort.

[Rebecca DuScott]

Glad to have come across this post!  To know we are not alone!  Our pup (15 weeks now) is a sock swallower too.  With two younger kids in the house its been a real challenge to keep socks away from pup!  He swallows them in a heartbeat!  So far they have always come back up and he has never seemed to be bothered by them while we are waiting for them to come back up.  We are working hard to keep track of socks and have limited pup's access to the whole house.

We all hope he'll be able to join us around the house as he gets older, but I'm not convinced. 

[Debb, Lucy & Oscar]

Lynda, I wouldn't be unnecessarily worried. It seems socks have a way of disappearing all on their own with no help from doodles. Its one of life's great mysteries :)

[Lynda Kamrath]

Wow.  This is scary.  I have a couple of socks missing and can't find them anywhere.  Could it be that somebody ate one of the socks?

[Ricki and Tara (doodle)]

Your two remind me of another male/female doodle pair here on DK! Hint: F &V!  Why is the female always the instigator? I'm  holding out hope that Oscar will outgrow it....someday...

[Debb, Lucy & Oscar]

Hi Ricki... you know, my feeling is its 'wishful thinking'. For one, its Lucy who gets the socks for Oscar. She gets them (and anything else she can find) as bait to get Oscar to play with her. They'll play tug for a while but its Oscar who always ends up with the item. Lucy is a dog of opportunity. She's very sneaky and spirited/willful. Teaching her to leave socks (or sock bombs) alone would be a major feat! Oscar is 13 months. I was hopeful he'd outgrow eating things like socks, but its looking doubtful that will ever happen.

[Ricki and Tara (doodle)]

I'm so glad Oscar is okay! That is so scary! Is there any way to use the sock bombs to practice training him "leave it" to the point that he will "leave it" when he is alone with them? I've never had a sock eater so it may just be wishful thinking....how old is Oscar? Maybe he will outgrow it?

[Debb, Lucy & Oscar]

April, you were so lucky to have noticed the sock in Luna's mouth/throat in time! What is it about men and 'sock bombs'? Tim use to leave them lying around too, which made me wonder. He swears he didn't, though. It could just as easily been my fault for not closing the laundry room door, so I'm not pointing fingers! I have often had to put my fingers down Oscar's throat to retrieve something. I agree, it is gross!

[April S.]

OH my goodness!  Luna almost swallowed a sock last night!  My hubby also does the "sock bomb" thing and sometimes leaves them next to the couch or somewhere they shouldn't be.   Last night I could hear Luna gagging a little and eating something, I reached in her mouth and had to put my fingers down her throat to get the sock out.  Dogs can be so gross sometimes!

[Debb, Lucy & Oscar]

Oh, and for those of you with 2+ doodles, have you ever noticed how quiet the doods get when they have something they shouldn't?? When the dogs go quiet and are out of sight, we just know they're up to no good!

[Debb, Lucy & Oscar]

Thanks everyone!  I honestly am beside myself with Oscar's propensity for socks. Its looking like this will be a lifelong thing with him. I really was hoping he'd grow out of it.

Lonnie, that is too funny about 'Libby, the hanky thief'! We're not hanky people, but if we were I'm sure Lucy, given the opportunity, would steal one from Tim's pocket, too, while he was napping. She's constantly on the search for anything she can get. Usually, its Tim's Crocs that we find the 2 of them playing with (which we keep by the back door to slip on for a quick trip outside). Funny, those Crocs don't have a mark on them. They should make dog toys out of that material...lol..