If you often let your dog chew on a bone, you will likely find it a few times under the rug, in a corner of the closet, or in an inconspicuous place. This is not a coincidence, but because your pet is hiding it.
Do you know why dogs hide bones? It is customary for dogs to dig holes to hide bones due to the survival instinct they learned from their ancestors to feed themselves during days of scarcity.
The survival instinct
Before dogs were domesticated as pets, they were wild animals that hunted in packs in a manner similar to wolves today. The advantage of hunting in groups is that they can divide in many different directions to find their prey, and when they do catch their prey, they can always take down much larger animals. The problem is, when it comes to defeating a buffalo, moose, or larger animal, no matter how small the dogs are, they can’t consume all the prey. And they don’t want to share the “fruits of their labor” with the vultures.
Food accumulation
When there was too much food, or even when dogs had eaten their prey until it was boneless, wild dogs evolved enough to know that they need to conserve excess food for times of scarcity. . But where should a dog find a safe place to hide his food from scavengers or other pack members?
Why bury bones?
Dogs’ claws and paws are well suited for digging, and over thousands of years they have learned to bury the bones of their prey, reducing the risk of other animals taking their food. Although bones do not have a high nutritional value, the remains of flesh and marrow inside the bones when dogs gnaw are enough to support them during hard times. Burying bones not only prevents other animals from finding them, but also masks their odors, reducing the risk of spoilage from air and sunlight.
Preservation of heredity
Modern domestic dogs, when properly fed, are less likely to revert to ancestral behaviors and store food. However, some dog breeds tend to hide food more than others. If you feed them too much or if the feeding times are inconsistent, your dog will plan for the future and hide food in case he gets hungry or the food bowl runs out. Sometimes dogs hide food or bones and never find them, simply because the tough time food preparation behavior persists, although it is not always. Even plastic bones and other toys can stimulate this behavior. Some dogs also stock bedding materials, so they sometimes steal clothes or towels to cover their sleeping areas.
Why do dogs often scratch the ground and dig?
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