Why Do Dogs Bury Bones?
Have you ever seen a puppy hide a bone in the garden as if it were a valuable treasure? What's the deal with that? What causes puppies to hide bones? Well, today we will find out.
It might seem strange to us humans that our little buddies love to take their favorite chew toys and bury them in the backyard, but for dogs, the reason seems to actually be quite sensible.
Dogs Bury Bones to Save them for later.
It's called food caching, and it's something lots of dogs do naturally.
Food caching is when a dog, or any animal, stashes away food supplies for later. It's most common among birds, squirrels, and other animals looking to survive cold winter months.
Even though dogs have spent ages as a domesticated pet, they still have some hardwired traits from back when they lived in the wild.
Dogs are descended from ancient gray wolves, who were food cachers themselves, and it seems that instinct never went away, even after all these years spent as a pet out of the wild.
Most of the time, wolves eat all their prey before they move on. But from time to time, they'll carry their kill to a special spot and stash it away for later. Even little wolf pups are known to bury things for later.
Dogs Bury Bones For fun:
Sometimes, they'll even move their buried treasures around so their brothers and sisters won't find them. And it's no different with dogs. They might not need to bury their food for later, but they still have an instinct to hide their most prized possessions where they won't be found.
Dogs do not Bury Bones only
Bones are a common one, but there's seemingly no limit to the prized possessions that a dog will bury. Toys, stuffed animals, rocks, or even household items you might not want to be buried in the dirt.
Depending on the breed and personality of a dog, they might store their stuff for a month, a week, or just a day. Some dogs can't help but dig it back up just minutes later.
So why do dogs bury bones?
Well, because dogs are descended from ancient gray wolves, who were food cachers themselves. And it seems that instinct never went away, even after all these years spent as a domesticated pet.
So whether it's tomorrow's meal or a little piece of doggie treasure, it's a pretty nifty way to hide stuff like a dog, or maybe a pirate.
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