Anyone who has a teething puppy knows that canines love chewing on everything. Chewing might seem to be little but a nuisance however, if your dog is able to swallow something chewed on, then that’s something else entirely. One thing that dogs are known to eat regularly is socks. Although socks aren’t as dangerous with the ingesting of toxic doses of foods or medications they could be an issue if your dog eats anything.
What is the reason Dogs Eat Socks?
The dirty socks lying on the floor do not look like a desirable snack for us or you but that doesn’t deter the dogs from thinking about it. Dogs are fond of eating socks for a variety of reasons. Socks, even if they have been washed, could look a lot like your dog and you may get their initial fascination with socks that are piqued by this. They could begin chewing or biting their socks and take them out of their play. If your dog regards them as valuable due to their scent, they could even choose to swallow them as a way to protect themselves from them. Of course, there are dogs who tend to consume food items they should not. Pica is a condition in which people eat food that isn’t theirs isn’t just a behavior disorder that’s seen in humans but can also affect dogs. it as well. There are also metabolic conditions that can make your dog want to eat items that aren’t food-related like socks.
What’s the problem with eating Socks?
Socks could be harmless enough to keep them in a place in the vicinity of your dog’s access to them can be accessed by your dog. They’re not Antifreeze as well as sugar-free chewing gum but so what’s the problem? Due to their linearity as well as their capacity to roll up, socks are able to cause stomach obstructions, upsets, and even septicemia and even death. They may become stuck within any area of your dog’s digestive system and hinder the normal flow of gastric substances. In the process, surrounding tissues may become inflamed. If the blockage isn’t eliminated the inflamed tissues may even begin to necrose (that means that cells die) and could lead to life-threatening Septicemia.
Of course, not all sock incidents of ingestion are the same. For instance, a Yorkie who eats the sock of a newborn is more alarming than a Great Dane that eats that same baby’s socks. However, all instances in which dogs ingest socks require careful monitoring and immediate attention from a veterinarian. This is particularly true when you notice nausea, a lack of appetite, or a lack of energy. If your dog has eaten socks, don’t attempt to get your dog to throw up the sock again. Instead, you should take them to the vet to get their condition checked.
Your vet will conduct an exhaustive exam, which will include taking a bite of your dog’s belly to determine if there is any discomfort or bloating that may be caused by gas buildup. After that, your vet will need to take the dog’s radiograph. Contrary to what many believe tissue softness is able to be detected on X-rays that include food from the stomach and stool within the colon, and gastric material in the intestines. Your doctor will also search for any gas-related patterns which could indicate the presence of a blockage, whether it is complete or partial. If one X-ray could be suspicious of obstruction the vet might consider the barium study. This is when your dog is fed liquid that appears in the image as clear white. The X-rays are taken right after ingestion, then after two, four, six, and sometimes even eight hours afterward. The bright contrast offered by barium helps identify where, if at all obstruction to your dog’s GI is.
Based on the symptoms of your dog and the results of radiographs will help determine the best treatment plan. A more conservative treatment strategy will involve hospitalization, IV fluid therapy, and GI medications. In keeping your dog hydrated, the fluids will help keep the GI system of your dog healthy, which can help encourage the dog’s intestines to keep passing through the socks. If your vet isn’t convinced that a more prudent method will be best in interests of your pet and they’ll want to conduct an endoscopy or an exploratory abdominal surgery. These procedures are unfortunately the only way to determine if an ingested sock is causing an obstruction. It is they are also the only way to eliminate the socks.
How Do I Stop My Dog from eating socks?
The first step to stop your dog from eating the socks you have is to make sure they are out of reach of your pet. Make sure to wash your laundry quickly and avoid leaving dirty socks lying across the flooring. Making sure you provide more appropriate activity and enjoyment for your pet could help to prevent boredom that would cause sock-eating. 1 Interactive games, puzzle feeders, and other activities like agility flyball,, and field trials will provide your dog with mental stimulation, too.
Another method to stop your dog from eating anything it shouldn’t training. Utilizing the concept of positive reinforcement method of training to instruct your dog on the meaning of ” drop it” and ” leave it” is can be extremely useful. If your dog isn’t yet at the point of his learning you can redirect them to another toy that they can play with. This could cause them to throw the sock away. You could try to physically take the sock out of their mouths however, your dog could consider this to be an attempt to play keep away, which could cause them to want to have fun with the socks again.
For us, socks may be filthy and smelly However, the fact is that dogs love eating socks. However, they are expensive to manage when your dog ingests the items. Similar to most veterinary medical issues, the best remedy is to prevent them.