Expert: Jill Connor, Ph.D. - 10/29/2008

Question
Well, whenever my puppy gets ahold of a sock he will NOT let go, even with commands like drop. We have to pull it from his mouth, and usually he starts to growl (I don't think it's aggressive though).... He's fine afterwards. What should I do to solve this?

Answer
First: I have no idea what breed your puppy is (or what sex or how old); second, you need to provide appropriate play objects for this puppy; third, you need to play "take it, leave it" games with this puppy.  This means, you interact with the puppy while he has a legitimate dog toy and, during his attempt to keep/hold on to it, you  STOP INTERACTING in the play behavior, wait until his jaw relaxes and then remove the object while saying "leave it"; wait three seconds, say "take it" and return to play.  Repeat this for short intervals (depending on age of dog, no more than three minutes at a time, two to three times a day), ALWAYS KEEPING THE TOY YOURSELF at the end of the interaction.  Your dog will learn "take it" and "leave it" and also learn that you are in control ("winning").  Regarding socks and other such coveted objects, the dog loves objects that contain scent (like socks and underwear) but...you can CREATE AGGRESSION by interacting inappropriately with any dog while it has such an object.  If you get angry or upset, if you chase, if you corner the dog, if you become physically abusive (forcing the object out of the dog's mouth), the dog will become afraid.  He will NOT CONNECT his obtaining the object with your anger.  He will only learn that you are angry, not to be trusted (behaving in a manner he can't comprehend) and will become defensive (and, in the case of your puppy, aggressively defensive.)  Once he has appropriate play objects and you have GENTLY taught him "take it, leave it", sacrifice some socks (a few.)  Put two or three casually around the room.  EVERY TIME the puppy grabs one, LEAVE THE ROOM quickly; count to ten; reenter the room.  Do this EVERY TIME the puppy picks up a sock (sacrificial sock) and your puppy will very soon learn that socks are extremely non-rewarding.  NEVER for any reason chase any dog to retrieve an object.  ALWAYS set the dog up and prepare to spend a half hour or more, once a day for several days, teaching the dog that appropriation of these objects means YOUR immediate withdrawal behind a closed door.