Why do dogs........

[yorkster]

Here is a question I have always wondered about, but had not thought of for quite awhile until today when I gave my dog a bone:

This afternoon I gave my dog Scout a bone, and she ran outside imediately and buried it in the backyard.
Why do dogs do that? Are they saving it for later? I have not yet seen her dig one up and do anything with it- maybe she has, but I have not seen it.
Do dogs in the wild do that? Is it somehow connected to that instinct? Why wouldn't they want to enjoy chewing a bone at the moment, rather than later? Are they hiding it from something?

I know its not a really big important quetion, but I am just curious...........

[jennifert]

I am so dying to know that too!!! I'm gald you brought it up!!! Duncan buries toys and bones, sometimes on the sofa under the bed, wherever he can find. He has a few favorite spots! Some dogs do this and others do not I've noticed! Some dogs never bury things at all>!! We'll have to compare all the dogs that do it and see if maybe they all have something in common?

[yorkster]

Doing a comparison is a great idea!

On another note: you mentioned your dog burying his toys inside the house. I am wondering now about that. There are a few toys I have not found of hers (I know they are not outside). One of them is her KONG that was stuffed with treats and peanut butter....

[Barbiro]

Buffy did that this morning. I was hand-feeding her some chicken nuggets and every once in a while she would STORM to the room and hide a piece under the bed. She doesn't do that with her regular food, just when I hand-feed her something. Carrie, we need your expertise here!

[RachelJ]

One of my previous dogs would bury things inside by putting imaginary dirt over them. She'd take her nose and make the action of pushing dirt to cover the object she was trying to bury. When she was satisfied the task was completed, she would turn around and walk away, even though the object was as unburied as it had been before she started. This used to always crack me up.

[jennifert]

That's what Duncan does!? It's hysterical! Then he'll bark at either me or it. It's like he's asking me, "Can you see that? I bet you can't see that! Try to find that. I dare you! You can't find it! Oh you found it? Well, I knew you would. I was just kidding!"
Duncan actually seems to remember where he puts things too and if we go to my mom's or my boyfriend's overnight, when he gets back, he goes right to the spot to make sure it's still there. So silly! My roommate'd dog, on the other hand, (a golden) has never buried anything inside or out!
I would love to know what the reasoning is. I thought maybe it was a breed specific thing but I can't help because I don't know what breeds Duncan is?

[sabies]

Sounds like my dog. She only does it with some treats and real bones (raw from the butcher). Since it's only with "special" treats, I think she's saving it for later and wants it all to herself. I'm sure they had to store food in secret in the wild.

Also I know for a fact that she goes back and digs up her stash. She had a bone at our vacation house that she would relocate each time we visited there - as soon as she jumped out of the car. One time a neighbor dog sniffed around where she hid her bone (I watch her bury them, she's not skilled at the secret thing) and she FREAKED OUT on the dog, unusual for my normally submissive wimp.

[sammi]

Buddy Boy does this too!!! One day he was trying to cover his knuckle bone with lint from the carpet or such! I gave him part of a old tee shirt and he uses this all the time to cover just that one bone! And when he hid a denta bone behind the couch he checked it everyday at least once and one day it was gone so think he moved it outside. He has a stash buried outside and before he will dig anything up he will check to see if anyone is looking out at him from the house! Don't you think they are saving it for later in case they have no food - like they would do in the wild?

[jennifert]

I thought this too, that they were saving it for later. but my roommate's dog doesn't do it...wouldn't all dogos do it? Were your dog's rescues? Duncan was. He lived on the streets for a time before he was found by the dog catcher so perhaps he did this to store his food in case of emergency....

[jennifert]

I thought this too, that they were saving it for later. but my roommate's dog doesn't do it...wouldn't all dogos do it? Were your dog's rescues? Duncan was. He lived on the streets for a time before he was found by the dog catcher so perhaps he did this to store his food in case of emergency....

[sabies]

I suppose for some dogs the instinct is stronger. You may be on to something Jennifert - my dog is a rescue and she does it. I've had 2 strays and 2 puppies in my family and only the stray dogs buried stuff. Maybe being out on their own brings out the instinct.

Maybe it's a sign of high intelligence .

Can anyone else add to the rescue/non-rescue stats?

[Stenograsaurus]

I've owned three dogs and only one has done it. And, guess what, she was a stray also!!! I always attributed it to living in the wild and saving what little food she could acquire. Carrie, are you going to inform us on what causes this behavior?

[Hbrika]

Oddly Gully doesn't really dig.

Bones are GONE. Food is GONE

I was told that most Labs do it. Privately I think its a dog thing and not a Lab thing

Sometimes though if I am really tired I will wake up and one of her toy bones will be beside me I think its a 'Here is my toy dad, get better please' thing

[jennifert]

Duncan may have some lab in him and he digs and buries things. My roommate's dog is 1/2 lab and he doesn't do it! I had a dog growing up that wasn't a stray and he DID do it but he had absolutely NO lab in him! I guess it is just an individual thing....I wonder why though!?

[carrie]

This behaviour is often seen in pet dogs and it is a strategy that is very useful to a wild canid. By stashing any excess food away, covering it to hide it from scavengers and being able to remember where it is hidden a wild canid is gaining a very large advantage if it fails to find sufficient food in the following days.
It is a behaviour that appears to be instinctive to a degree. It may also be partly a learned behaviour or have an element of learning about it to "switch on" the instinct - that may be why it is not seen in all dogs. It is also known that dogs show different behaviours in varying degrees - some dogs howl regularly while others never do, for instance.
As for toys - this is a very interesting way to show the difference between a human and canine point of view. A dog that stashes it's toys is treating them as a valuable trophy ( such as a chunk of meat). The human leaving the toys around for the dog to play with at will is in effect raising the dog's status in the pack by allowing access to such valuable and prized posessions. The human sees it as a kind and loving gesture to give the dog as many play things as it wants without realising how important they are in defining relationships for the dog.