What is it with spaniels and socks?

[Lobo do Mar]

Salty's absolute favourite toy is two of my old socks with a tennis ball in the toes of each and then the two tied together at the ankle open end

Kind of like those Patagonian throwing weapons 'bolas' https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bolas

Or as I like to say as I hold them up to make my 11 year old daughter cringe - 'Sock Testicles'

Funny how you can buy  all these fancy expensive toys and they love an old piece of rope from the boat or something

[bizzylizzy]

and  ´ere was me thinking that bolas were what y‘ put on yer ´ead!, 

[Mudmagnets]

Perhaps we should rename them 'socker spaniels' 

[Shaun W]

What was quite an amusing trait has taken a bit more of a serious turn for us.
A few days ago, Alfie started retching and up came what lurked like a poo, my first thought was had he been eating poop again? Followed by is there something wrong inside and he is able to regurgitate stuff from his bowel?
I picked it up and discovered it was a sock.
Then last night on his evening walk, he grabbed something, dropped on command but went back and by the time I got to him, had swallowed, I was able to get my fingers in and pull another sock out. I wondered if he had somehow swallowed it earlier, but went back out after taking him home and found  that it was a pile of socks left in the street.

Any advice on how I can stop him eating socks, he’s a prolific scavenger, regardless of what he is being fed, or whether he has just eaten.

[bizzylizzy]

You can practice a „Leave“ command - we did this by walking past something tempting,(dog on lead) and as soon as he attempts to grab whatever it is, tempt him back with something even more high value, say „Leave“ and praise. Don’t pull him away, he needs  to learn to make the decision himself.
We‘ve had some amount of success with this but only if I‘m quick enough to spot what Humphrey‘s seen early enough and if its something „dropable“, (i.e. frozen horse pooh) I can usually get him to drop it (unless its a ball, then no chance!  ) but I haven‘t managed to cure him of eating cow pats, cat pooh  and I‘m not optimistic of ever instilling enough self discipline in him that he‘ll leave things alone if I‘m not around! You can really only keep continuously training and try to avoid leaving socks around, - admittedly I am THE world’s worst for having socks lying all over the place but I do tend to roll them up into a tight ball so they‘re not so easy to gulp down! 
Its just another one of the many challenges that we cocker lovers have to endure I guess! 

[ips]

My one loves socks and anything similar, my leave that command is reliable but no good if she gets to it first (obviously) we have on numerous occasions got it out of her gob numerous occasions of her passing it a day later and one dishcloth moment a few months ago that cost me £150 at emergency vet, luckily she vommited it up after being given whatever vet gave her.....flaming cockers 😂