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Sometimes, dogs are little people with fur.
We understand them, and they understand us.
At other times, we remember that they’re animals – weird ones at that – driven by instinct and ingrained behaviors that they can’t seem to control.
This is true when we catch our dogs trying to bury their bones in blankets. It’s not so weird to see them successfully cover their treasure in the folds of the blanket. But it’s totally weird to see them nosing at the air, making absolutely no progress as they do it.
Why Dogs Bury Their Food
It’s not surprising to see a dog bury a treat that they cannot finish. I got to see this in action when I tried to give Matilda a chicken foot. She nibbled unenthusiastically at the end, then abandoned it in the grass. It was cold out, and she just wanted to go inside, so I gave the foot to Cow.
After that, I grabbed another chicken foot and chopped off the toes. It was grisly, at first, but I got used to the sensation of bones cracking under my knife.
Matilda gleefully chomped away at one, then two chicken toes. She ate them whole, bones and all.
I decided to step up the challenge again by giving her the middle portion, sans toes. I stopped supervising her as I fed Cow indoors. When I returned to the back door, I noticed her digging around in the garden. She returned inside, then, shortly after, asked to go out again.
She dug up a very dirty chicken foot, and seemed just as happy to gnaw at it now that it was clodded with mud. I threw it away and decided that she would have to work on them indoors, inside her crate so she wouldn’t be compelled to bury it.
Wild dogs and wolves gorge themselves on feast days, then bury what they can’t finish. I’m not sure how this influences their survival. A buried bone would quickly attract maggots and become too rotten to eat. However, if the soil is frozen, the burrow could act as a refrigerator. No way would scavengers be affected – any self-respecting scavenger can easily sniff up a tasty cache.
But There’s No Stinkin’ Dirt!
Our modern dogs don’t have to worry about storing leftovers or hiding food from scavengers – but they don’t realize that.
It’s not unheard of for dogs to nose air-dirt over their food bowls, push imaginary soil over their bones, and do other weird things in the name of apartment survival.
If your dog is truly an invisible dirt pusher, you’ll notice that they’re not making any traction at all. Their movements are more like obsessive head-bobbing.
I can’t find any research data on this, but that’s not surprising. What foundation would fund a study on dogs that pretend to bury their food with imaginary dirt? None, none at all.
I created Little Dog Tips to answer these questions. To uncover the mysteries that no scientific institution has dared uncover before.
The best I can do with a non-existent research grant is ask you guys.
Does your dog try to bury food?
Do they do it with invisible dirt?
Do they do this weird head-bopping thing in the air?
Do they do it at a certain time of day, when you have guests, when they think nobody’s watching?
As for Matilda, she only does this when I give both Cow and her a bone or long-lasting treat. Cow always chomps things down in seconds, only to stare at Matilda. I try not to let Cow bug Matilda, but when she does, Matilda will definitely try to find a hiding spot, even though her nose isn’t even touching anything.
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As a dog mom to Matilda and Cow, she spends most of her days taking long walks and practicing new tricks, and most nights trying to make the best of a very modest portion of her bed.
You'll also find her baking bread and making homemade pizza, laughing, painting and shopping.
I’ve seen so many dogs do this but never my own, not even with a toy. Matilda is adorable and must really love her chicken feet! 🙂
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I share the last few sips of my hot tea with my little chi mix (loves it). If he things it’s still too hot by the time I offer it to him, he air buries it for a while… smart pup!
Thanks for post. Didn’t know what to call his, intent but seemingly non-productive efforts to fix his intensely desired but not yet ready favorite treat.
btw it’s green tea, a little milk and honey – he loves it and knows it’s eventually coming when i turn on the kettle.
That’s such a cute idea, green tea is full of antioxidants, but I’ve never thought to try it for my girls. I’m going to make a big batch of iced sugar-free caffeine-free green tea and see if they like it! It’ll be great to keep them hydrated in the summer. Great idea!!
All my dogs have done this and I’ve always had boarder collies.
They also nuzzle blankets and soft/plush teddies soothing themselves. Its so cute to watch, like puppies sucking their mothers milk.
Hoarder Collies??
Sometimes they are just not hungry at the moment and are saving for later. I’ve also noticed that my dog waits for me to eat and then he will eat like pack order. Both ok but understandably frustrating if u have more than 1 dog.
Ollie will bury treats in the house then he keeps going back to make sure it’s still covered. Sometimes he will try and bury his treats in my fluffy rug and I only find out when I tread on them. Outside we sometimes meet a chap who will give him a gravy bone. Ollie doesn’t even try and eat it he just goes into the trees to bury it. Then the cheeky dog goes back for another even though I tell this chap to only give him half but he won’t. Ollie will bury it then his big Labrador goes and eats them.
That is too funny… Lololol!
I once observed a dog doing this to a toy right before he began to guard the toy. Ever since I think of the “buried” item as potentially “hot” and carefully watch for other signs of coveting.
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Thanks for your expertise! That seems to make a lot of sense. I stopped giving Matilda these bones that she doesn’t eat, but buries, because I’m worried that it could cause a resource-guardy fight between her and Cow.
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Not a bad idea. Prevention is 9/10ths of the law in training.
There’s a rawhide bone that my dog will not touch it’s been sitting on the floor by his bed for a year I think. and he just crawled into his bed.
Last night I set the little rawhide bone on top of his bed thinking maybe he would want to nibble on it but here this morning instead of nibbling on it, when I looked over at him as he crawled up on his bed I noticed he was pushing the air with his nose to cover it. He never actually touched it and then when he was satisfied he walked to the other side of his bed and layed down, never touching the bone at all. as if he wanted to bury it because he knew it was once alive.
I thought it was weird so I got online to see if anyone else was aware of such behavior but I didn’t find anything
My dog tries to bury his food too! He does it with his treats sometimes, whole bowls of food, and even takes a pieces of his food out of his bowl, sets it down somewhere and air buries it. He does rub the ground with his nose though if there is nothing laying around that he can bury it with. He will often later go back to it after a few minutes, sometimes days later. He has done this since he was a puppy (he is 9 now), and I just find it hilarious. Though, it can be messy. We will randomly find pieces of food or bone laying around at the corner or a rug in the bathroom or tucked in the corner of couch corners. I recently just had to clean up some old newspapers that were laying near his bowl because he messed them all up by trying to push them onto the food bowl and then pulling it back with his paw (as if he was digging) whenever he could no longer see his food.
When he was younger and had a bone he really wanted to hide and couldnt find a spot, he would actually whine so I often put down a cloth just so he could go through his ritual.
I found your blog trying to figure out if this was specific to a certain breed. 🙂
Your dog’s obsession sounds adorable, how kind of you to help him by providing a cloth for him to use! What breed of dog do you have?
I was always under the impression female dogs did this more. I thought they were saving their food for potential puppies in the future. Only my female dogs buried things, while my males never did, and yes, they would bury things with fake dirt.
Interesting! I don’t have any males, but another commenter has a male that does this, so it doesn’t seem to be a female-specific habit.
I’m in tears with laughter and joy! I couldn’t figure out what my yorkie was doing for the longest time. It was a friend who pointed it out. I just thought he was weird. Which he is!
He digs at the comforter on my bed and noses his prized possession around. Then he turns around and buries it with his hind legs with his imaginary dirt.
That was all well and good….until he lifted his leg twice last week to “mark” his spot. I laughed hysterically of course, but seriously….I can’t have him do that.
I dug up a spot in the yard today and made the soil easy to dig around in.
I don’t know if it will work, but when he does this (which is 2-3 times per day) I’ll take him and his treat to the appropriate spot.
I’ll keep you posted if it works.
Your dog sounds hilarious, he really doesn’t want anyone else to have his treat! I’ve since stopped giving Matilda the treats she was pretending to bury, she didn’t seem to enjoy them enough to eat them right away. I know she was extra wary because of Cow, do you have any other dogs in your home, or any idea why your dog is so worried about hiding his treat?
My dog buries me at night with my blanket. I can be sound asleep n ill wake up to to doing it again lol
*To her doing it again
My Yorkshire terrier “buries” food not all the time but at least once a week we don’t have any guests when he does it and now just leave him to it he’s nearly 7 so I assume this has now become a habit for him
We have found kibble dog treats and even toys “buried”all over the house
I have an 8-month-old and he air buries all of his bones – doesn’t matter what kind! Sometimes he will nibble and chew on them and then bury them, but other times he will just go straight to air bury it. He buries them in the couch, rugs, blankets, his bed, our bed, or even just on the floor. He particularly likes burying them in corners of rooms and laundry baskets. The strangest thing is that he doesn’t bury anything when we are outside. We live in chicago and there isn’t a lot of opportunity for him to bury or dig in real dirt so I just assumed he was adapting to not having that ability. It’s so cute to watch!
So, my baby Brandi does this with her treats and when I’m trying to get her to eat sometimes (more often the less). I got her from a shelter and she had pretty bad anxiety. There aren’t any other dogs but I have 2 cats. Only one of them are brave enough to check out her food. He doesn’t ever get the chance to eat it unless we are gone from the house. But she fits this with treats more often than none and they get buried in the couch or in her bed…. I thought it was too precious. I glad to know she isn’t the only weirdo… Lol…
Good story, however isn’t true that chicken bones are not good for dog digestive system. It was said chicken bones splinter and can get l Lodged in the intestine of a dog.
I just buy a whole rotisserie chicken from Walmart and pick off all the meat for my blue heeler . She is worth the $7 a day .
Raw chicken bones are lightweight and soft, they don’t splinter or get lodged. It’s cooked bones you have to worry about.
The thing about rotisserie chicken is, it can be very salty and have all sorts of seasonings on it. I wouldn’t think the onion or garlic would be enough to harm your dog, even in the long run, but it’s more affordable and healthy to give raw meat, unseasoned, as a snack. A whole deboned chicken wouldn’t be a complete, balanced diet, though I’m not sure if you meant that your dog only eats that.
Hope this helps! Let me know if you have any other questions.
My chi/Jack Russell mix typically eats her high-value treats right away. However when she’s feeling unwell or nauseated, she will attempt to bury her regular food (which she won’t eat at all). I’m not sure if this is her trying to save it for later because she knows she doesn’t want to eat it right now, or if the smell of it is making her nausea worse and she’s trying to cover it up to get rid of the smell.