Why Do Dogs Hide Their Bones Under The Ground
Burying bones, barking and chewing are only some of the natural behaviors of dogs. Dogs have always been depicted as bone burying animals in cartoons, in movies and in children’s books. Dog owners are also exposed to the inclination of the pets to bury bones.
A dog carrying a bone on its mouth would furtively look around and try to look for the best hiding spot. Once found, the dog would frantically dig - carefully lay the bone on the hole and then cover it with dirt and soil. Do dogs know why these animals are burying bones Do dogs know why they are burying bones? The pet may not be aware why it is burying bones as scientists believe that this is an instinctive habit to survive.
Dog scientists have this theory that the inclination to bury bones is an ingrained habit of canines. The habit of burying bones is as old as the dog’s history. Even though dogs have existed for millions of years, it was not very long since these animals were domesticated. Burying bones have been a very useful habit for primitive dogs that need to survive the harsh life in the wild. Primitive dogs have lived difficult lives in the wild. Apart from the need to avoid the predators, dogs have to fight other animals for the prey because food is scarce.
Humans hoard food. Squirrels work long hours to fill their coffers with acorns and nuts. Even ants fill their anthills with food in preparation for the rainy days. Dogs are hoarders too. Food in the wild is scarce. A dog that has been lucky in finding a large prey that cannot be consumed in one sitting would have to hide the food from other animals. The dog will dig up what was buried when food is scarce. The buried prey may already have rotted but the bones rich with nutritious marrow will remain to fill the hungry stomach of the dogs.
Dogs nowadays don’t go hungry. Pampered pets don’t have to bury bones for the rainy days but the instinct to hoard remains. Dogs still have the inclination to hide not only bones but other food as well. Bits of food are even seen on the dog’s bed and blanket. Dogs are pampered pets and in the eyes of doting pet parents, the dog can do nothing wrong thus the inclination to dig and to bury bones and other food items will be forgiven even if the dog has destroyed the well manicured lawn.
