It’s a wolf instinct that lasts. If you have a garden, your dog may have buried a bone there once. But why do dogs bury things? This behavior may seem a bit strange to humans. But in reality it is something normal, explain the specialists.
“The reason a dog buries something is to save it for later,” said Teoti Anderson. She is a professional canine behavior consultant and trainer based in Florida. “If you don’t know when to find your next meal, it makes sense to hide the leftovers,” he clarified.
Forecasters
Burying bones is a type of food storage. It is a behavior typical of many bird and mammal species. It can even be seen in the canine ancestors of domesticated dogs, the gray wolves.
Wolves are known for their crafty hunting skills. According to a study published in the journal Ethology, their hunting remains are sometimes carried and buried. It is known that wolves and other canids hide food in hiding places that are located in fairly large areas. Even wolf pups bury and move the hidden to keep their siblings from discovering it.
Most dogs today no longer have to hide food because their owners feed them. But your natural urge to put things away doesn’t go away. Sometimes it has nothing to do with storing food or protecting it from others.
The specialist in dog behavior, César Millán, says so. This pet behavior can be a way to enjoy the valuable items in order to enjoy them again later. It can also be a method of reducing stress, says Millán.
Some races, such as terrierare they just more likely to dig. Either to bury food or to drill holes for no particular reason. “It happens to dogs that were specially bred to hunt or hunt creatures in their burrows. They often like to bury toys, bones and candy, ”said Anderson. “It’s not uncommon for a dachshund to bury a bone under sofa cushions,” he said.
Great nose
Dogs often visit the places where they hide their things. Some of them buried a gift and then they ignore it or forget about it altogether. It’s not because you forgot your location. Dogs have an incredibly keen sense of smell – 10,000 to 100,000 times stronger than humans. This is confirmed by research in the journal Applied Animal Behavior Science.
Dogs can bury anything but bones. I once knew someone who buried stones. I have no idea why these rocks were so special, but they were special to him. If we are to understand why dogs bury things, we need to look at wolves and the past.
