Connect with a verified veterinarian in minutes. No waiting for appointments or office hours. No high fees. No need to worry about your furry family member.
Nothing’s more embarrassing than having company over for a grill party, only to have your female dog come tearing through the yard with a pair of your underwear! She may then find a comfy corner where she can chew up your underwear in peace! Yikes!
But what causes a female dog to chew up underwear? There has to be a reason for this behavior! Well, we did some research to find the answer to this question. Read on to learn why your female dog is chewing up underwear!
Why Do Female Dogs Chew Underwear?
1. Dogs are Scent-Oriented
One of the main reasons a female dog will chew up underwear is because of the smell! Not that your dirty underwear necessarily smells bad. But they do have a scent that your dog can smell.
Connect with a verified veterinarian in minutes. No waiting for appointments or office hours. No high fees. No need to worry about your furry family member.
Consider that a dog’s sense of smell is 10,000 times stronger than ours. In addition, dogs use their sense of smell in many ways. They can communicate and interpret messages through scents. For instance, a male dog will smell that a female is in heat and receptive to his advances!
2. Your Scent is Precious to Your Female Dog
Another thing that humans don’t understand is that your female dog finds your scent precious. Your dog identifies you by your scent and may take comfort and feel happy when she can smell you near.
So, no wonder your female dog may go after your underwear! Your body produces a large number of pheromones in the groin area. These scents are very strong to your dog and may attract her to your underwear. She feels closer when she has something near that smells like you.
3. Waste Smells Attract Dogs
This may be gross, but waste smells also attract dogs. For instance, if you had an accident while laughing or coughing, this smell could attract your female dog to your dirty underwear. She may even start to chew on them!
4. Playfulness & Curiosity
Your female dog is pretty smart. She may have learned that when she goes after your underwear, she gets your attention! She may do this from playfulness!
She may also be curious about a piece of clothing that smells like you and chew it up. Dogs do these things sometimes! It’s just part of being a normal canine!
Summing It Up
So, there you have it! A female dog may go after your underwear because they smell like you. She may chew them up and play with them for this reason or even to get your attention!
To keep your fur baby from chewing up underwear, you may want to consider changing your underwear more often, using a dog-proof clothes hamper for dirty clothes, and doing your laundry!
Julie
Julie is a graduate of the University of North Carolina, Wilmington, where she studied Animal science. Though contrary to the opinion of her parents she was meant to study pharmacy, but she was in love with animals especially cats. Julie currently works in an animal research institute (NGO) in California and loves spending quality time with her little cat. She has the passion for making research about animals, how they survive, their way of life among others and publishes it. Julie is also happily married with two kids.
Review symptoms, medications & behavior to keep your pets healthy with a Vet Online in just minutes.
Ask a Vet Live Now