# Why do dogs like to carry stuff in their mouth? **URL:** \ **Category:** Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share\ **Created:** [April 5, 2024, 5:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-dogs-like-to-carry-stuff-in-their-mouth/999888 "2024-04-05T17:02:08Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![Gatopescado](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/gatopescado/32/5711_2.png) [@Gatopescado](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gatopescado)\ **Post date:** [April 5, 2024, 5:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-dogs-like-to-carry-stuff-in-their-mouth/999888/21 "2024-04-05T17:37:44Z")
I once heard they were gonna clone these Bad Boys. That would be Epic! ---
**Author:** ![running\_coach](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/running_coach/32/15836_2.png) [@running\_coach](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/running_coach)\ **Post date:** [April 5, 2024, 5:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-dogs-like-to-carry-stuff-in-their-mouth/999888/22 "2024-04-05T17:39:48Z")
> [@EddyTeddyFreddy](#): > > Oh, jeez, dogs and sticks! Dogs and sticks! What is it about STICKS that they love so much? [![](https://www.dailypaws.com/thmb/dU4EIVZcQjqWtTYw0FjTJ_Z0W6s=/1500x0/filters:no_upscale():max_bytes(150000):strip_icc()/dog-gets-large-stick-2000-ecd78e777ef24892a8e929432f25e482.jpg) ](https://www.dailypaws.com/thmb/dU4EIVZcQjqWtTYw0FjTJ_Z0W6s=/1500x0/filters:no_upscale():max_bytes(150000):strip_icc()/dog-gets-large-stick-2000-ecd78e777ef24892a8e929432f25e482.jpg) ---
**Author:** ![EddyTeddyFreddy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/eddyteddyfreddy/32/18796_2.png) [@EddyTeddyFreddy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/EddyTeddyFreddy)\ **Post date:** [April 5, 2024, 5:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-dogs-like-to-carry-stuff-in-their-mouth/999888/23 "2024-04-05T17:50:50Z")
Ah-hahahahahahahahahahaha!! Thank you for that. ---
**Author:** ![OldOlds](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/a3d4f5/32.png) [@OldOlds](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/OldOlds)\ **Post date:** [April 5, 2024, 6:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-dogs-like-to-carry-stuff-in-their-mouth/999888/24 "2024-04-05T18:05:51Z")
Oskar (our Giant Schnauzer) pulls socks from the laundry and carries them around the house. He doesn’t chew them or ruin them, other than making them damp, but it’s just his thing. We don’t mind, other than finding socks in random places. ---
**Author:** ![NegativeZer0](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/negativezer0/32/14307_2.png) [@NegativeZer0](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/NegativeZer0)\ **Post date:** [April 5, 2024, 6:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-dogs-like-to-carry-stuff-in-their-mouth/999888/25 "2024-04-05T18:07:47Z")
I love watching my border collie when I, or a family member, get home. He spins around in circles, anxiously trying to find a toy or a stuffed animal to pick up in his mouth. He finds one and then carries it over to us and leans against us. It’s like his way of saying “Here, I got you this. It is my favorite thing. I want you to enjoy it too.” ---
**Author:** ![EddyTeddyFreddy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/eddyteddyfreddy/32/18796_2.png) [@EddyTeddyFreddy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/EddyTeddyFreddy)\ **Post date:** [April 5, 2024, 6:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-dogs-like-to-carry-stuff-in-their-mouth/999888/26 "2024-04-05T18:08:43Z")
Does he let you take it from him? Or is he just displaying it? ---
**Author:** ![NegativeZer0](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/negativezer0/32/14307_2.png) [@NegativeZer0](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/NegativeZer0)\ **Post date:** [April 5, 2024, 6:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-dogs-like-to-carry-stuff-in-their-mouth/999888/27 "2024-04-05T18:19:51Z")
Oh he lets us take it from him. He likes to show it off, but also LOVES if we take it and throw it down the hall for him to go fetch. ---
**Author:** ![Aspenglow](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/aspenglow/32/76_2.png) [@Aspenglow](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Aspenglow)\ **Post date:** [April 5, 2024, 6:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-dogs-like-to-carry-stuff-in-their-mouth/999888/28 "2024-04-05T18:45:45Z")
LOL, it would be a dachshund. 😃 Great pic! * * * Here’s one of Ollie I took on the same day as other photos I recently posted in the Pet Pictures thread. The toy is an old nobbly ball I got for one of my now long-deceased German shepherds. After the German shepherd died (at 17 years old!), it sat under an old apple tree for 18 years until Ollie discovered it a couple weeks ago. [![Imgur](https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/53634312685_37695d969e_b.jpg "Got a Toy - ND") ](https://www.flickr.com/photos/194984876@N07/53634312685/in/dateposted-public/) He carried that thing around for a few days until I noticed he’d chewed a couple of the nobbles off. He’s a dachshund, but he’s got the mouth of a doberman. ---
**Author:** ![Eyebrows\_0f\_Doom](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/eyebrows_0f_doom/32/3119_2.png) [@Eyebrows\_0f\_Doom](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Eyebrows_0f_Doom)\ **Post date:** [April 5, 2024, 6:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-dogs-like-to-carry-stuff-in-their-mouth/999888/29 "2024-04-05T18:49:31Z")
Saw this little guy on a beach once and was so amused: [![](https://www.dropbox.com/scl/fi/jrqo0ytomtpg6ic41u54h/IMG_3954.JPG?rlkey=ov1m4i65nrpspi9nm20mb82t6&dl=0) ](https://www.dropbox.com/scl/fi/jrqo0ytomtpg6ic41u54h/IMG_3954.JPG?rlkey=ov1m4i65nrpspi9nm20mb82t6&dl=0) ---
**Author:** ![nelliebly](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/nelliebly/32/5422_2.png) [@nelliebly](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/nelliebly)\ **Post date:** [April 5, 2024, 6:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-dogs-like-to-carry-stuff-in-their-mouth/999888/30 "2024-04-05T18:53:22Z")
> [@EddyTeddyFreddy](#): > > Oh, jeez, dogs and sticks! Dogs and sticks! What is it about STICKS that they love so much? My lab used to pick up sticks on walks so we could throw them in the irrigation canal for her. She’d make spectacular leaps off the bank, swim to the stick, and carry it back to us. Unfortunately, there were very few trees where we lived, so sticks were in short supply. One time during a walk, she was begging to play fetch, and I told her, “I’ll throw it if you find a stick.” She disappeared and came back a few minutes later dragging a shrub. I sprinkled her ashes in that canal. ---
**Author:** ![Beckdawrek](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/beckdawrek/32/3647_2.png) [@Beckdawrek](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Beckdawrek)\ **Post date:** [April 5, 2024, 6:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-dogs-like-to-carry-stuff-in-their-mouth/999888/31 "2024-04-05T18:53:25Z")
Ollie’s getting big. What a cutie.😊 ---
**Author:** ![Aspenglow](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/aspenglow/32/76_2.png) [@Aspenglow](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Aspenglow)\ **Post date:** [April 5, 2024, 6:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-dogs-like-to-carry-stuff-in-their-mouth/999888/32 "2024-04-05T18:56:08Z")
Thanks. 🙂 His weight now exceeds the 11-pound threshold for a mini by about a pound and a half. But I guess I’ll keep him. 😉 I think he’s going to top out at about 13 1/2 pounds. ---
**Author:** ![Gatopescado](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/gatopescado/32/5711_2.png) [@Gatopescado](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gatopescado)\ **Post date:** [April 5, 2024, 7:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-dogs-like-to-carry-stuff-in-their-mouth/999888/33 "2024-04-05T19:44:34Z")
> [@Aspenglow](#): > > He’s a dachshund, but he’s got the mouth of a doberman. Dobermans are nothing but Dachshunds on stilts. I call them “Tall Trixies”. ---
**Author:** ![ZipperJJ](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/zipperjj/32/211_2.png) [@ZipperJJ](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ZipperJJ)\ **Post date:** [April 5, 2024, 7:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-dogs-like-to-carry-stuff-in-their-mouth/999888/34 "2024-04-05T19:49:28Z")
Your pic doesn’t display. But that reminds me of a beautiful boxer girl that I’d always see at our dog beach. She would walk around with a very large stick. It wasn’t hers from home, she wouldn’t take it home, but she would find one (or the same one?) every time she visited. She wasn’t a jerk about the stick - sometimes other doggies would sniff it, or even take it. She was cool. But she always had a big stick! ---
**Author:** ![Ulfreida](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ulfreida/32/8014_2.png) [@Ulfreida](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ulfreida)\ **Post date:** [April 5, 2024, 8:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-dogs-like-to-carry-stuff-in-their-mouth/999888/35 "2024-04-05T20:13:56Z")
There was a big plant nursery I used to shop at which had a golden retriever. He would lie about with a piece of wood in his mouth. Once I held out my hand and said “give,” which is the word I use for my own dogs, and he calmly spit the wood into my hand. It was painted with the words “My name is Bob, I am not for sale.” I said, “got it, Bob” and gave it back to him. He took it and walked off. ---
**Author:** ![kambuckta](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/53a042/32.png) [@kambuckta](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kambuckta)\ **Post date:** [April 5, 2024, 10:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-dogs-like-to-carry-stuff-in-their-mouth/999888/36 "2024-04-05T22:26:48Z")
When our doggo is relaxed (laying on the couch or bed/s), before she nods off, she’ll grab a mouthful of blanket, cradle it with her paws, and drift away to some place wonderful. She doesn’t chew the blanket, just sticks it in her gob and closes her eyes. The look of sheer contentment on her face is a sight to behold. ---
**Author:** ![don\_t\_ask](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/e68b1a/32.png) [@don\_t\_ask](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/don_t_ask)\ **Post date:** [April 5, 2024, 10:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-dogs-like-to-carry-stuff-in-their-mouth/999888/37 "2024-04-05T22:39:41Z")
When I was a kid I had a dog named Pockets. Still carried everything in his mouth though. ---
**Author:** ![Beckdawrek](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/beckdawrek/32/3647_2.png) [@Beckdawrek](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Beckdawrek)\ **Post date:** [April 5, 2024, 10:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-dogs-like-to-carry-stuff-in-their-mouth/999888/38 "2024-04-05T22:53:52Z")
The Chihuahuas gather every toy, theirs and kids (shoes and socks are fair game) every night. Pile them in dog beds. When they run outta room, around dog bed. Somehow they are allover the floor every morning. ---
**Author:** ![Eyebrows\_0f\_Doom](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/eyebrows_0f_doom/32/3119_2.png) [@Eyebrows\_0f\_Doom](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Eyebrows_0f_Doom)\ **Post date:** [April 5, 2024, 11:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-dogs-like-to-carry-stuff-in-their-mouth/999888/39 "2024-04-05T23:35:42Z")
> [@Eyebrows\_0f\_Doom](#): > > Saw this little guy on a beach once and was so amused: > > [Dropbox - IMG\_3954.JPG - Simplify your life](https://www.dropbox.com/scl/fi/jrqo0ytomtpg6ic41u54h/IMG_3954.JPG?rlkey=ov1m4i65nrpspi9nm20mb82t6&dl=0) I can’t figure out posting this image. Let me try again. Woohoo it works! [![Imgur](https://i.imgur.com/A3qZ7Nl.jpeg "imgur.com") ](https://imgur.com/A3qZ7Nl) ---
**Author:** ![kayaker](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kayaker/32/441_2.png) [@kayaker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kayaker)\ **Post date:** [April 5, 2024, 11:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-dogs-like-to-carry-stuff-in-their-mouth/999888/40 "2024-04-05T23:49:23Z")
> [@kambuckta](#): > > before she nods off, she’ll grab a mouthful of blanket, cradle it with her paws, and drift away to some place wonderful. She doesn’t chew the blanket, just sticks it in her gob and closes her eyes. Our dog Kizzy does exactly that with her Wuba (a piece of a torn up sloth toy). It’s precious to watch. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-dogs-like-to-carry-stuff-in-their-mouth/999888.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-dogs-like-to-carry-stuff-in-their-mouth/999888.md?page=3)