No dog could resist the tantalizing charm of a nice juicy bone. As dog's best friend, we love to spoil our furry friends with bone treats, but have you ever noticed how they bury their bones? Experts suggest it's the "wolf" in them that causes them to scurry and hide their precious treats.
The Dog's Odd Behavior: Burying Bones
Chewing bones is a common favorite pastime for many of our furry friends. If the dog cherishes the bone, we often see them bury it in the yard.
This behavior seems odd to us, so we ask: why do dogs love to bury their prized possessions?
Teoti Anderson, a professional dog trainer, and behaviorist tells Live Science, "The reason why a dog buries something is to save it for later. When you don't know when you'll find your next meal, it makes sense to hide leftovers."
Burying bones is a form of "food caching" that stores available supplies for later access. It's common among many species of birds and mammals, including the ancestors of domestic dogs --the gray wolves--which is where our four-legged friends inherited their instinct.
Wolves are known for their cunningness and hunting skills. However, when on the hunt, gray wolves don't stay in the hunting grounds long enough to devour their prey; hence they occasionally carry and bury leftovers later, according to a 1976 study.
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Gray wolves are also known as "scatter hoarders," which means they stash leftover prey in hideaways located over considerably large areas. The same study states that wolves would cache and move their cache for safekeeping away from their siblings, even as young pups.
Hence when dogs exhibit the odd behavior, you can rest easy knowing that it's just a remnant instinct of their past lives.
Most domesticated canines don't feel the need to store food because their doting fur-parents consistently feed them on time. This means that their natural urge to store food away fades because it is unnecessary.
On the other hand, according to well-known dog behaviorist Cesar Millan, storing bones might not always be for scavenging. It can also be a way for dogs to savor their prized possessions so they can play and enjoy them later. It is a way for bored dogs to initiate play with their humans or a method of stress relief for overly anxious dogs.
Meanwhile, there are breeds, like terriers, that are more prone to digging, whether it's for burying food or burrowing holes for no reason at all.
Anderson explains that dogs bred to hunt or often chase bury their toys and treats. It is fairly uncommon to see breeds like Dachshunds not bury bones. Canines who cache visit their stash whenever the mood hits.
"Some dogs bury their treats and ignore them for weeks. While some bury their treats multiple times in varying spots."
When a dog doesn't retrieve its stash, it isn't because it forgot where it's located. Dogs have an incredibly powerful sense of smell that's 10,000 to 100,000 times humans, says research published on Applied Animal Behaviour Science.
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