Dogs follow an inherited urge to hide things around. Thousands of years ago, wandering dogs never knew where they would get their next meal from.
After an incredibly successful hunt, they buried the excess food so that scavengers would not great it. When these dogs were hungry, they would return to the secret location and dig up their remains.
Dirt served as a refrigerator for Mother Nature, keeping the buried chunks of edible meat longer by storing them out of the sun. This natural aging also made the bones even tastier.
Some dogs can’t resist flashing and glittering objects, such as jewelry or cell phones. They get these things from the bedroom dresser or the bathroom to bury them in a secret place.
Perhaps, it can be under the pillow in the dog bed or the full laundry basket. With the habit of stealing and hiding things, dogs express their loneliness or boredom.
According to the latest research, some dogs are also looking for attention. Dogs do not want to annoy their humans and are not malicious either. They simply hope to gain more playing time from their masters with their actions.
Why Dogs Still Hide Their Food
You are probably asking yourself now: My dog has no competitors who could eat his food away. The basic instinct of the wolf is also still present in your dog.
Terriers and golden retrievers, in particular, bury their food. They often spend hours looking for the best hiding place. The most popular are light soils in the garden, but the mountains of laundry are not safe from them either. Sometimes, I even found treats in my bed
Another reason why dogs hide food is that some dogs see humans or neighboring dogs as food competitors. Therefore, they prefer to hide their treats, bones, or beef scalp piece. After all, we could possibly steal something from them.
Hide Their Bones in the House
Have you ever offered a bone to your dog either to watch him go to a sofa or to bury him in the yard? Sometimes, dogs prefer to conceal things in secret locations, and dogs also tend to cover objects belonging to them and even stuff not.
There are several reasons of why they hide bones in corners
- Dog’s instinct
- Because of Its Race
- Boredom
- Unhealthy Dogs
Dog’s instinct
This behavior may have been established because of the powerful survival instincts of domesticated dogs, wild dogs, and the gray wolf. Eating was not often the simplest, and these wild dogs sometimes buried the waste outside.
The soil functions as a natural refrigerator by holding the meal out of direct sunshine. The earth’s temperature drops with the cavity diameter, which keeps the food fresher such that when the food is unavailable, the animal will restart it later.
Dogs will bury something other than just food as long as they believe it is essential. This is because of their innate desire to preserve precious items.
Because of Its Race
Several groups are more apt to dig and bury bone than most. Some of these races involve terriers, roofing rats, beagles, bass hounds, and small snappers.
For example, Cairn Terriers are naturally trained to explore and play small games, and their outstanding digging ability and quest sense has kept. Since these breeds are enormously grown for digging, they will choose to save their resources more often and bury them.
For them, this is a natural behavior. Keep in mind that this behavior can still happen in other dog races.
Boredom
Dogs need to be stimulated and encouraged every day with their resources because if people do not have it, they can develop their own ways of sustaining themselves. They might steal a remote TV control and bury it to gain your attention to introduce a lot of different routines.
Is the TV remote control missing? Check for fresh mounds of earth in the garden. What’s the lump under the sofa cushion? The dog may have hidden the children’s toys.
Unhealthy Dogs
Stress and anxiety can also play a part in hiding bone. Any dogs who are concerned will bury items to settle down since digging is self-calming.
If a dog does not feel healthy when eating, he may be buried the food or bones. It is advisable to contact your veterinarian and pet professional for advice.
Why Dogs Hide His Toys
When a dog wants more attention from you, he would rather burry toys or things around than food. To minimize item hoarding, give the dog a single toy or bone.
He should only deal with these few things. The rest will be locked away. The toys are exchanged regularly.
Limiting the amount and providing variety will likely reduce the dog’s urge to bury things in the garden. In the house, you can keep your favorite bones or toys under a blanket.
For example, hide and let the dog “find” the things: this is how an unpleasant habit turns into a fun game that is fun a few times a week, especially in rainy weather. Or the other way around: The dog should take a specific object from a selection of toys and hide it in the living room, but not in the whole house.
By naming and choosing correctly, you can strengthen his communication skill. With a little imagination, you can make interesting educational toys yourself from simple cardboard tubes, cups, or old socks without much effort – the joy of the treats in them will be just as great!
Hiding Food and Not Eating
When your dog hides his meals and not eating, it may indicate that you feed him with too much food. If the dog knows that he can’t eat the treatment at once, he covers it and finishes it later.
The dog owner can stop overfeeding his canine partner since they may induce additional health problems such as obesity. Dogs never say no to treats.
They are sometimes over-eat, then they hide their treatments to eat later. If there are two dogs in a home, dogs can often indulge in hiding to keep their medicines and toys secure.
Pretend To Bury Things
Your dog can sometimes pretend to bury food. At the moment, he was interested in exploring the environment.
This is particularly true of more shy canines. If your dog does this often, think about adjusting feeding hours while your home is quieter. Maybe at a particular period, prepare canine feed separated with human dinner’s schedule.
Takeaway
Burying things can also pose a health risk to your dog. The old bone marinated in the ground can cause an upset stomach or diarrhea.
In this case, going to the vet is recommended. As a dog owner, you should generally keep an eye on the fact that the dog does not steal any edible things and that they keep secret supplies somewhere.
Ultimately, human behavior is sometimes the cause of unwanted animal reactions: If some dog owners are too generous with treats and toys, they save his extras in a safe place to enjoy them later in peace.