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So my 1.5 year old Pug (Sergeant Doakes) is a pretty good dog. He's obedient for the most part, but if there's a sock, boxer short, undershirt or any other kind of clothing item on the ground, he'll grab it and run away from me when I try to get it back. I can get him to sit in front of his food until I give him the order to eat, but if I say "leave it" to the laundry pile, he just ignores me. How come? What can I do to ensure he doesn't steal socks?
He loves the scent of "his" people and wants it to be comforting. It's cute but a bother. Just never leave dirty laundry on the floor or where he can get to it!
Also, if you always chase him when he grabs something like that he will continue to do it because he is getting attention. Try swapping it with a toy then praising him when he has the toy or totally ignoring him when he does it. Ignoring might not work because the gratification of the theft might be the object itself... specially if it has been worn and has your scent on it.
He loves the scent of "his" people and wants it to be comforting. It's cute but a bother. Just never leave dirty laundry on the floor or where he can get to it!
While it's important that a dog learn to be compliant with the "leave it commands, some undesirable behaviors can be avoided just by not presenting the opportunity to the dog--put the laundry in the hamper (one with a lid). My dog wants to get into the trash, for example, so we never leave it in the house when we leave the house and he's inside or overnight. Why set the poor dog up for making a mistake?
Clearly your dog is trying to teach you and the rest of your family to be somewhat better housekeepers.
Although he is frustrated by how slow you all are to learn this simple "command" he is very patient and will continue to try and teach each of you until you have it down pat. He has great faith in you because you have learned to playchase and catch me if you can with the clothes, which if great fun for him.
On a more serious note does he have toys that he would be happy to substitute for laundry? Perhaps something soft and "furry" that you can pretend to try and capture from him?
My pup looooooves socks. He'll take them and try and hide them (indoors). Some days he'll wimper because he can't find a good spot. I think it's soo cute, but at the same time, I have very little pairs of white socks left lol.
Thankfully, we managed to teach him "Drop it" early on. So he will drop a sock when given the command. Our trainer also recommended that if you take something away from him, make sure you give back something in return. Exchange the sock/clothing for a favorite toy.
dogs are also 'protective' of the pack and have been known to hide the scent and take and stow or hide or chew up anything that has the scent of his/her family on it. Not to be disgusting but this is particularly true of underwear (found in the back yard on many occassion) and. well. the bathroom trash can during a certain time of the month.
One should always remember when it comes to animals stealing things it's the owner that allowed it to be acessible.
So my 1.5 year old Pug (Sergeant Doakes) is a pretty good dog. He's obedient for the most part, but if there's a sock, boxer short, undershirt or any other kind of clothing item on the ground, he'll grab it and run away from me when I try to get it back. I can get him to sit in front of his food until I give him the order to eat, but if I say "leave it" to the laundry pile, he just ignores me. How come? What can I do to ensure he doesn't steal socks?
Sounds like you've made a super-fun game out of it.
You could either keep the socks out of his reach or try ignoring the sock stealing a few times. He might lose interest in the game if you do.
Sounds like my dog. She can be 'starving' and have kibble in her bowl but she will go eat rocks or lint or anything off the floor she can find.
Grabbing laundry, dirty shoes, and so on are her favorite way to get attention.
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Clearly your dog is trying to teach you and the rest of your family to be somewhat better housekeepers. 
