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Why Does My Dog Bring Me Socks? (Explained)

Does your dog bring you socks when you come home? Are you trying to figure out the meaning of your dog’s bringing of socks to you? Nevertheless, you may be surprised to know that this bringing of socks may just be your dog’s manifestation of affection to you.

Why does my dog bring me socks?

You have probably experienced this behavior from your dog when it brings you your socks. This behavior is nothing but a display of affection to you. In addition, this behavior can also mean that your dog wants to show off its ‘toy’, wants to play with you, or your dog is trying to comfort you.

There are myriads of reasons why your dog will bring you your sock and being knowledgeable about the reasons can help you to better understand and mold your response. 

Seeking Attention:

One of the major reasons why your dog will bring you socks is due to the fact that your dog is actually waiting for your attention. And sometimes, they may also whine a bit to have your attention which is just a part of their reinforced behavior. 

Wanting to Play:

If your dog is bored or if there is a lack of stimulation, then chances are your dog will give you an indication of that by giving you a sock which also means your dog wants you to play with him/her.

A sign of Comforting:

When your dog is giving you something valuable to them, this is actually a sign of trust and the similar is the truth when your dog brings you socks. 

In addition, dogs can actually sense whether you are in distress or not, and by seeing this, your dog will bring you their favorite ‘toy’ (sock) to comfort you. 

Why does my dog bring me socks when I come home or in the morning?

There are myriads of reason regarding why your dog like to bring you socks when you come home or in the morning. In addition, dogs have a natural instinct to hunt and to scavenge and this lets the domesticated dogs ‘hunt’ or ‘steal’ socks. 

But when your dog brings that sock to you when you come home or in the morning, it simply means that your dog is showing you its prey for petting or encouragement.

Another reason that can be a possible answer is that this bringing of socks upon your return is an indication of the fact that your dog is very excited and happy to see you, and wants to be near you. 

What does it mean when your dog brings you a sock?

When your dog will bring you a sock, this is an indication of seeking attention. This can also be a desire to play with you and can also be a sign of showing excitement. 

In addition, another reason why dogs will bring you your sock is that your dog can sense whether you are in distress or not and your loving dog will try its best to comfort you by bringing you a sock.

Moreover, your dog can also bring you your sock because it reminds your dog of you. 

Why does my dog carry a sock and cry?

Your dog may seem to carry a sock and cry due to the over-excitement of seeing its favorite person. Another very logical answer to this situation is related to reinforced behavior. When you typically play with your dog, you throw something and your dog will fetch that for you. 

In this process, dogs will start to whine or cry when you stop throwing the ball. When your dog will notice that his whining has resulted in catching your attention and in making you play with him, this will actually work as a reinforcement or reinforced behavior. 

Consequently, the similar is the case with your dog carrying a sock and crying. And your dog’s reinforced behavior is nothing but an indication that it wants to play with you and wants your love, affection, and attention. 

How to stop my dog from bringing me socks?

Being very knowledgeable animals, dogs can almost mold or change their behavior if the proper environment and situations are given, and knowing the ways of preventing certain unwanted behavior of dogs can help in the future. 

Training: 

If you want to stop your dog from bringing you a sock, then you can simply train your loving dog not to do so and you can achieve this by using the reinforcement technique.

Regular Exercise: 

If your dog is bored, it will bring your sock, and to remedy this situation, you can just maintain a routine of playing with your dog regularly which can help to prevent this type of behavior. 

Additionally, you should also make your dog do regular exercises and you also need to provide enough stimulation to keep your dog busy. 

Safe Distance: 

One of the simple ways of stopping your dog from bringing you socks is that you can just keep the sock at a safe distance and out of the reach of your dog.

Do dogs understand gifts?

Dogs are more intelligent than you may think. It is generally believed that dogs do understand the idea of gifts. In addition, the idea of giving gifts in dogs may also be responsible for their natural instinct.

Moreover, if your dog is very affectionate towards you, then your dog will show this by giving you something precious of theirs. 

In the wilderness, dogs bring their prey to their babies as gifts and although it is not the same scenario with humans, it still is like showing love and affection to their human leaders. 

In addition, dogs are also thrilled to receive gifts especially when that gift is a replacement of their previous toy that they have destroyed. Moreover, if your dog is giving you his favorite toy, then it is a sign that your dog is appreciating you. 

Do dogs bring socks as a gift?

Dogs can definitely bring socks as a gift for you. When they are stealing or bringing your socks as gifts, chances are they are actually looking for attention, affection, and love. 

In addition, your dog can also bring you your sock as a gift because it wants to play with you and will love to have your company.

Moreover, dogs understand the process of appreciation and so they will always give you your sock as a gift to show their prey and will expect petting and appreciation from you. 

This kind of gift-giving tendency of your dog also stems from the natural instinct for hunting and from selective breeding. Nevertheless, having your dog show its caring behavior to its owner can be a very fulfilling thing for the owners to see. 

Why does my dog steal socks?

Dogs very much like to steal your socks and there are several reasons working behind this. Dogs generally are very expressive and fun-loving and they also like to get all the attention they need.

In addition, one of the reasons why dogs like to steal your socks away is due to the fact that they like to get your attention

When your dog will notice that you seem to turn your attention to your dog after your dog steals your socks, your dog will associate the stealing of socks with attention gaining and will continue to showcase similar behaviors.  

Moreover, if your dog has separation anxiety, then it will be likely for your dog to steal your sock because your sock will be a familiar and comforting thing for your dog.

How to prevent my dogs from stealing socks?

Sometimes, stealing a sock can be unwanted behavior from your dog but the good news is that there are arrays of things to be done for making your dog stop stealing socks. 

In addition, you need to make sure that your dog is getting sufficient and enough exercise so that its mind is not diverted in stealing socks from you. 

Moreover, another basic thing you can do is that you can just put your socks in a safe place meaning you should put them in a safe place where it is out of reach of your dogs.

You should also give your dog enough love, support, affection, and attention so that your dog will not think of stealing your sock. And you can also train them to differentiate between the things they can play with and the things that should not be used as toys.

In addition, giving them enough stimulation and providing them with distractions will also work like wonder in ceasing the stealing behavior. 

Final thoughts:

What can be more exciting than seeing your dog show its affection to you? This is one of the biggest reasons why your dog will bring you your sock. However, they can also showcase this behavior because they are seeking attention, looking forward to playing with you and showing excitement.