You emptied your credit card on that perfect underwear and now your dog is tearing it to pieces? Why would dogs do that? Is it a sign of dogs’ love and appreciation, does it show separation anxiety, or does it show destructive behavior?
Dogs have a different way of showing their affection, and it is no wonder that they would chew on foreign objects, but why your underwear? This article will give you some insight into this behavior to better understand why your puppy likes ingesting foreign objects and decides to chew your underwear.
The History Of the Chewing Behavior
It is a known fact that a dog’s sense of smell is so much better than that of humans (approximately 50 000 times better). Contrary to the way people observe the world with their eyes, dogs observe the world with their noses. They tend to associate scents with everything around them, all of the objects, animals, and people. (*)
Two Dogs Meeting
The best example of this is a pooch meeting another one. What is the first thing they do? They get to know one another by sniffing under their tails because of the unique tail smell of every dog. That is how they recognize other dogs, and a familiar scent to them is what a familiar face is to humans.
Your Scent
The same logic applies to your clothes and the dog’s underwear chewing. The dirty underwear has a certain scent unique to the person wearing it. Most dog breeds can recognize the scent and relate it to their owner’s scent.
This is the crucial thing that makes your pet devour your perfect pair of panties. They associate it with you, and it immediately becomes an object of interest.
However, eating underwear is not the only thing they chew on. Dogs also like to eat other parts of your clothing, such as jackets, shirts, and your favorite blanket, because they have the strongest marker of your scent.
The Major Reasons Behind Your Dog’s Eating Underwear
It comes as a surprise to humans that dogs would start chewing on something so strange as dirty laundry, especially dirty underwear. You may catch yourself asking, “Why does my dog eat my underwear” very often. There are a couple of reasons why your pet is eating your underwear, and now each one of them will be explained.
1. The Pica Syndrome
Pica syndrome is an appetite disorder in dogs that can also be found in humans. This abnormality makes dogs eat things that are not usually part of the dog diet. This refers to eating non-food items as well as nonfood substances. (*)
Your pet suffering from the Pica syndrome would eat different small toys and clothing items such as socks or your underwear. They could also turn to eat wood, metal, sand, or rocks.
Pica syndrome should not be considered a disorder related to the digestive system or a nutritional problem because it is a psychological abnormality where the dog starts chewing non-food substances.
Causes for Pica Syndrome
Some of the medical reasons behind this syndrome are diabetes, anemia, thyroid disease, not enough vitamins, or increased appetite.
The worst thing is that dogs behave the same way even after the primary problem is solved. However, you can solve this if you provide veterinary advice.
Veterinary guidance may treat the dog with some changes in the diet or ask you to visit a behaviorist. Whatever you do, do not leave your pet unattended if you want to avoid some health complications.
2. Teething Puppies
If your dog is still a puppy, you should expect it to chew underwear and any other foreign object or foreign material. Little puppies do this because their teeth grow very early, usually the first five months.
This is the fearful phase of teething puppies when the first teeth come out in the mouth. This phase is so painful for your pet that it will do anything to alleviate the pain, including eating your underwear.
When it comes to teething, young puppies are very similar to toddlers. The puppy will chew on anything that comes in its way without choosing the material.
Yet, if you wonder why it chooses nothing else but your underwear, the answer is simple. Your underwear has the bonus benefit of the scent of the pack leader. So do not be appalled when many dogs choose this scent over anything else.
Teething takes a different amount of time for other puppies since it is determined by the growth cycle of the dog. It also depends on the dog breed; not all dog breeds teeth simultaneously.
What To Do if a Teething Dog Eats Your Underwear
You can stop this behavior if you replace your clothes with some other chew toys. There are many toys in the market designed specifically to satisfy young puppies in the teething phase. These toys provide comfort and ease for your dog. If you happen to have teething toys for human babies, you use them too since they would do the job.
3. They Are Bored, and They Need Your Attention
This one is such a nice reason for your dog’s underwear chewing. In your dog’s world, you are one of the most important things. Of course, they like other scents too, but their master’s scent is satisfying. So if they want your attention, they will probably start licking you, eating objects around you, or chewing your dirty underwear.
When yelled at, most dogs understand it as a good sign and will repeat the behavior. The same will happen if you chase your dog with your underwear in their mouth.
Dogs love your attention and will do anything for it. If they could, they would be next to you every moment of the day. But unfortunately, they also suffer from separation anxiety when their owner is not around.
When they are not receiving the attention they are seeking, dogs learn to take things to the extreme, such as devouring their dirty underwear. Once they see your nervous reaction, they will repeat this behavior to get your attention.
Provide Mental Stimulation
Therefore, instead of leaving your items all around, try to keep them out of the dog’s reach. You should keep your dog entertained if you want to avoid destructive actions on its part.
Mental stimulation is key for this problem’s solution. So, instead of keeping it bored and ignored, try entering a couple of training sessions in your dog’s daily routine. This way, you will discourage your dog from eating your underwear when they suffer from separation anxiety.
Some hyperactive breeds of dogs, including the retrievers, shepherds, and terriers, need much more physical exercise throughout the day to get rid of the excessive energy. Thus, keep them engaged, play games with them, or provide running sessions if you want to avoid the chewing behavior.
4. Hunting Scents
Due to their primal origin and hunting skills similar to other animals, many dog breeds pay the most attention to scents. They always look for the strongest scent, and the more scent there is in the surroundings, the better they will manage around.
This is how dogs or cats like to lay on you or rub themselves against you. Both cats and dogs act like this to show their dominance and make a claim on the owner and the territory.
They choose dirty socks and dirty underwear because these pieces of clothing have the strongest scent of the pet owner. They usually smell the crotch area which provides the strongest smell. Let us avoid dwelling into too much detail about the scent glands and say that your pet likes to smell the pheromones in your clothes.
Ironically, this is how dogs show affection, so the best bet is to keep your dog far away from your clothes if you want to stop this behavior.
5. Weaning Too Early
Your vet might tell you that your puppy eats your underwear due to its weaning too soon. If you start weaning your puppy before it is around eight weeks old, it can develop strange behaviors that can further affect the dog’s health.
Since they have been weaned off their mother’s milk too early, they feel suddenly growing up and need some peace and consolation. But unfortunately, weaned dogs will chew any foreign material that will comfort them too soon.
If the mother dog is not around, you are not around, then your dirty laundry comes next because it contains your smell, and you are the next closest thing to your dog other than its mom.
6. A Sign of Compulsive Disorder
If your dog eats your underwear too often, this might be a problem you should address sooner. Your dog might show some kind of compulsive behavior. Some dogs generically inherit this kind of behavior. Other dogs may have this disorder due to stress, anxiety, or other factors.
Needless to say, the best bet here is to consult the vet on how to treat dogs that act like this. This can be a challenging mental problem, and it is best to ask the vet for advice on finding the root of the behavior.
FAQ
Why Does My Dog Enjoy Chewing My Underwear?
The owner’s scent on the clothes is the most important trigger for this behavior. They enjoy this because, through your scent, they are closer to you. They will like to tear any foreign object in the surrounding area, but your underwear goes first since it is your most personal thing.
However, watch out since young puppies tend to swallow these things. If they swallow enough of the material, this can end up in blockage in the digestive tract.
How Can I Discourage My Dog To Stop Eating My Underwear?
If you want to discourage dogs from eating underwear, you should not react too much and make a fuss in the first place. Dogs usually do this just for your attention, and they will get the wrong signal if you yell, scream or chase them.
Since they see that there is a reaction on your part, they take it as something they should repeatedly do. So, next time, do not give them this wrong kind of attention.
Another thing to do is put away all of the things that could trigger the eating.
The next thing to do is use an anti-chew spray that can successfully stop the behavior. However, it is up to you if you want your clothes to smell a certain way.
Finally, consult the vet if you are unsure what is the best thing to do and try to fix the issue together.
Why Does My Female Dog Chew My Clothes?
Your female dog does this because it is too attracted to you and loves your smell. It is eating your underwear or dirty laundry because these clothes contain the most intense smell of you. They are drawn to it and will destroy any kind of clothing that reminds them of you.
Are Dogs Able to Smell Female Period Blood?
The answer is yes. Both dogs and cats can smell the period of blood from the menstrual cycle. They can easily detect the smell. They do not know the menstrual cycle, but they sure know that something smells differently.
Conclusion
To wrap this discussion up, we could say that dogs eating underwear is mostly related to their master’s scent. Of course, this could be triggered by various factors. It can be caused either by teething periods, too soon weaning, or compulsive behavior.
If it does not stop any time soon, consult the vet to solve the problem. Dogs become humans’ best friends easily, but they can become just as easily their worst nightmare if they behave like this.
Related topic: Why Does My Dog Pee When Excited?
*photo by myronstandret – depositphotos