It’s not a big deal, except that I feel awful that he isn’t getting his tasty snacks.
We’ve tried a variety of things, but he prefers to bury anything slightly firm, such as dried chicken feet. If we don’t let him go outside, he becomes stressed and paces the house until we allow him out.
I understand that this is natural canine behavior, but would you try to correct or manage it at all?
I’ve dealt with this with many dogs over the years. It’s an instinct for them to save food for leaner times, which means you’re feeding your dog well. For some dogs, it’s also about ‘seasoning’ the treat, especially hard, preserved treats. A few days underground can soften that rawhide or pig ear right up!
For dogs that get stressed over this behavior, I manage the problem by giving them hard treats when I have time to let them out into the yard to properly bury it. This way, they can fully enjoy their treat to their preference. If I have multiple dogs, I only let the ‘burying’ one out so they can hide it to their liking. I watch to ensure the first dog is comfortable with their hiding spot before letting the other dogs out. If the first dog is stressed that the others might find the treat, I retrieve it for another time, letting the first dog see that I’m taking back the treasure. After doing this a few times, my dogs trust me to give them back their treat.
The rest of the time, I feed them small, easily eaten treats.
I don’t think it helps to try to correct this behavior, as it can cause food anxiety and increase food guarding behavior.
Thank you for the information! My golden quickly buries his bully sticks and whatever “special” gift we offer him. He eventually finds them, however. While we are all disgusted out, he is content with his sloppy, dirt-covered treat.
My dog, bless her heart, conceals everything. Treats and toys. But she does not hide it outside; instead, she hides it in my drawers, shoes, and couch. She will take advantage of any available space. She is an excellent dane…I just allowed her to do it. Is that bad? She is our only dog.
that is not wrong to let her do that. I believe it gives kids comfort to know that they have their own belongings in hiding places they enjoy.
I had one whippet who liked to hide random items beneath the bed. I never realized she was doing it. I don’t clean under my bed very regularly. When she died, I cleaned beneath my bed to transfer her blanket, and she had three tiny piles. One pistachio shell, one nacho cheese dorito, and one oreo cookie with the center licked out.
When I was a kid, my retriever mix would bury his raw ox bones and leave them to grow in the soil, only to discover them a few weeks later.
Please tell me you don’t allow your goldie to bring his rank shit inside.
Ha, no. We do our best to keep those things out!
How do you deal with the dirt they bring in with their bones?
If they try to come in with the bone, I take it from them, dust it off and deliver it to their crate, removing all but the one easily washed blanket from the crate. They can enjoy it in their crate all they want, but the buried item is not allowed in the living area. It’s either a crate toy/ chew or an outside toy/chew from then on.
My dog does the same, but since we don’t have a fenced-in backyard, she tries to bury them inside, generally in her bed.