Like with other herding breeds that were bred to be independent thinkers, "stern reprimands" are generally not effective. Instead you have to to persuade the dog to chew on something else in a way that it's like the dog thought of it himself.
They're not golden retrievers, they're not going to stop chewing on your underpants because you tell them not to.

You have to be very consistent also.

Just to add, think of herding dogs like teenagers. Yelling at them doesn't get them to do what you want.

You *can* teach dogs not to do what they really really really want to do.

but at what cost in time/energy?

Police dogs won't accept steak from strangers, but their training is intensive, constant, & ongoing.

You can keep the dog from gobbling up the steak by keeping your steaks in the fridge &, especially in the case of an Aussie, making sure that no one shows the dog how to open the fridge!

Maybe each person can keep a separate basket in his/her closet for ready-for-the-laundry underwear.

& a friend used to have this sign on her bathroom door:

"Keep This Door Closed!

I Mean It!"

"He has been caught in the act and reprimanded sternly -- and it's clear from his demeanor that he knows he's breaking the rules"

If I sternly reprimanded you for saying that would your reaction be because you knew your statement was patently wrong? No. Your reaction would be to me rebuking you for saying it. Similarly, your dog is responding to YOUR agitation when you speak sharply to him, NOT to what you are trying to tell him.

Yes, train your roommates. In general, people are a lot harder to train than dogs. But give it a go.

Maybe I'll try a lidded trash can for my undies -- It's where they're ending up anyway! ;-)

Loved your comment about not showing him how to open the fridge Sylvia!

Have you tried spaying bitter apple on a couple of old pairs. After he gets a few mouthfuls, he may decide that they aren't so tasty after all.

http://www.doctordog.com/store/search.aspx?keyword=chew+deter&page=1

"Yes, train your roommates. In general, people are a lot harder to train than dogs. But give it a go."

ROLF! And my grandmother used to say about the owners of poorly trained dogs that you have to be smarter than the dog to be successful.

I suggest hanging a plastic bag with a draw string in your closet and use that for your soiled unmentionables until wash day. I have to shut the bathroom wastebasket in the shower with the glass door to keep my dog out of it. Ew.

You need to buy a lidded and latched laundry basket that your dog can't get into, and then you need to teach your family to use it! There's no point in reprimanding your Aussie. He's far too attracted to your scent to ignore the temptation when it's made available to him.

My Moondog, during her first couple of years, would chew the crotches out of my dirty underwear, then carry them out into the yard through the dog door and drop them all over the place. Occasionally I would miss a pair on my daily reconnaissance missions. Imagine trying to explain crotchless underwear lying in the middle of my barn aisle to my young riding students and their parents!

Thankfully, Moonie outgrew her underwear infatuation within a couple of years.

Laurie

LOL Oh my.
The mental imagery made it all that much funnier.

That's exactly how mine look after he's had a good chew!
In fact, I have to wonder if perhaps my husband isn't complicit?

Chewing is chewing. It makes no difference if it is your underwear or your furniture. The dog can be trained not to chew your underwear or anything else. And yes it will take an investment of time and energy on your part. If you don't want to make that investment, simply keep your underwear out of the dog's reach.

And it doesn't take that long to train a dog not to accept food from anyone but its owner.

How much are you walking your dog or getting him involved in fly ball or letting him out for a couple of hours to play with other dogs at the local dog park? Your dog is a working dog, they are bred to be working 8 to 10 hours a day, left alone without some really good running jumping playing and otherwise getting rid of all that pent up frustration from being inside on a reglaur basis (or being outside in a fenced yard to play with himself or a couple of people and a couple other dogs) simply put it is not enough and your dog will stop placating himself by chewing your underwear (which is loaded with your scent) he is needing direction and attention and some really full days of play and run. Go work your dog before you leave each day and your dog wont care that you are gone when you leave.

Actually Mazer, Hubby and I both work from home, and we each take several active 'play breaks' with him each day. But of course, he fetches the undies when no one's with him, then hides them in his crate for later...

Dogs aren't necessarily bored & lonely when they do things we deem socially unacceptable.

It isn't an impoverished environment that's at the root of the behavior, it's the irresistability of the lure.

Think of all the doggie behinds they lick...
with the same gleeful abandon with which they gobble steak!

It all makes perfect sense in doggie-land.

So if your play breaks consist of hanging around the house and your yard, look around your neighborhood and see if there is a local dog park, or a flyball club - I think your dog is suffering from what I call the FISHBOWL SYNDROME - None to little outside contact with other dogs dog smells, and good long walks in a new area every so often. Fire Roads, Open Space areas, dog parks, regular parks, even contacting your local vet and seeing if there are flyball competition or agility training will help your dog rid itself of the frustrations building by being in the same location all the time. Good luck with your furbaby.

The humans who are not following the rules must be the ones to pay the consequences. Cleaning up the messes, replacing the chewed clothes, having extra chores assigned for noncompliance. All of these could work.

And lidded hampers, of course.

Do let us know how the trash can idea works out... I'm thinking the step-can type would be a good idea... (maybe would work even better if bolted down to the floor?? those herding dogs are infuriatingly intelligent!)

This reminds me of when we first got Capone... he would hide from storms in my walk-in closet. After a particularly bad storm, we went to check on him to find him perfectly content - apparently he'd been tossing my underwear up in the air, and playing with them. He'd collared himself with a few thongs, and didn't like it when we took them off. It was as if we were denying him his new pretty collars. We had many good laughs over that one.

Thanks for the good suggestions -

Mazer - Our little guy gets horribly carsick -- So much so that I think his agility training classes and trips to the dog park have been more misery than fun.

Do you have any good suggestions to cure carsickness? Our vet gave us some 'doggy dramamine' but that made him so groggy he was zonked when we got to wherever...

My dog also loves to take our clothing out of the hamper. She figured out how to open the lid. Not necessarily undies, just anything that we have worn. At least she doesn't chew them up - just carries them around. If we are ever missing an article of clothing it can be found in her toy box.

I had to laugh when I read this thread along with the suggestions for the OP. Especially mazer's suggestion to take the dog to the park more often. I spend a lot of time playing with my dog and I walk her for at least an hour every day and whenever I grab her leash she has to run around until she finds a piece of clothing that she wants to take with her! I think some dogs just have clothing fetishes! lol!!!

~Betsy

I once had a cat who had a rubber glove fetish.

He'd open the cabinet door under the kitchen sink & drag out a rubber glove & parade it through the house-
holding it in his teeth & walking that same proud swaggering walk leopards on National Geographic specials use to carry their prey!

I had a Wheaten terrier (nale) who had a fetish for my husband's underpants (tighty whiteys). He never bothered anyone else's underwear. DH is the only male in this house. The dog would grab the underpants off the floor and chew and drool over them. Since he couldn't talk, we didn't know what the fascination was. The dog left us (accidentally) in 2002. We now have a female Wheatie who ignores underwear on the floor. OTOH, if there's a big enough pile, she may sleep on it. My own belief is that the dog smelled "human" and the underwear somehow comforted him.

I have the same problem with one of my dogs, an english shepherd. It is only her and none of my other 3 (malinois, aussie, and smallish mixed breed).

I consider myself to be pretty dog savvy and honed in on why dogs do what they do. This one baffles me though. I'm more interested in WHY she does this than the cure itself -- though it IS costing me a fortune in underwear and pants.

Any thoughts on why this particular behavior? Is it just a salt thing??

An old co-worker of mine from the shelter years ago had the same problem with one of her adoptees (female also) and her daughter's undewear and pants.

(Egads I'm not even sure I want to know - curiosity killed the cat yanno).

Dogs under 2 years of age are very likely to continue to get car sick, oursdid until he was 1 - then he stopped getting car sick and has never been sick since - try again, it might help, other than that you might want to fill some empty cola cans full of dried beans - tape the cans closed and hang the cans from the hamper - when your dog goes for your undies - the cans might repel him. Good luck

I have the same problem. So, I keep a small basket under the sink in my Master Bathroom. I only use this basket for my underwear and other delicates. I was them in a mesh bag. After drying, if I don't have time to fold in put away I just toss the mesh bag in my dresser drawer to be safe.

Just be happy he isn't going after your pants. Mine do and I've lost one too many pairs of $80+ jeans!! Argh!!!

Good Luck!

I had a dappled dacshund (sp) that did the same thing, hubby got a huge kick out of it, always asking me if I had been buying edible underwear again:( We never could get him broke of the habit, but he had been a abused dog before we got him (they ducktaped his mouth shut because he got into the trash) I never had any problem with him getting in the trash though, so I always wondered if that was just the story given, and he had been munching undies there. His new owner a bachelor loves him to death and never has trouble with him whatsoever, a perfect fit!

lol, i am so glad that it's not just me! Ginger goes so far as to actually take them out of the laundry basket, while weeding through all the other clothes in there. She doesn't go for hubby's underwear or pants, or any of my other clothes.