Have you ever seen your dog try to bury their food? Maybe they take a treat and run to the backyard or drag a food bowl over to somewhere where they can dig. This behavior might be baffling on the surface, but it is quite common. Food burying is a behavior from your dog’s wild ancestors who had to guard every meal from their competitors. Today, your dog might not need to bury food, but they could still be responding to the same impulses.
The 2 Reasons Why Dogs Bury Their Food
1. Instinctive Burying
For many dogs, burying food that they treasure isn’t a sign of a problem. It might even be a source of pleasure. For them, burying is pure instinct. In the wild, wolves often bury their kills so nothing else can get to them. Burying food also helps preserve it because the ground helps regulate temperature, cooling it down. Digging holes lights up some of the same parts of the brain for modern dogs, so they might still want to bury leftovers. This is pretty harmless behavior, but it can be annoying.
2. Anxiety and Hoarding Behaviors
On the other hand, some dogs start burying food because of anxiety or stress. Just like their wild ancestors buried food to keep it safe until the next meal, your dog might not feel secure and want a backup cache of food. This is common in dogs who have been abused or neglected in the past. It can also be a response to introducing a new pet to the home. You should start being concerned about burying food when it is accompanied by aggression and other poor behaviors around food.
How Should I Respond to My Dog Burying Food?
There are a few different approaches to stopping your dog from burying food. If your dog seems to be burying leftovers by instinct, you might be feeding them too much. Feeding them less or exercising right before feeding will help curb the behavior, along with some behavior training. Consider giving your dog toys or chews to bury instead.
If your dog is hoarding food because of stress, that approach won’t work. Reducing meal sizes will probably worsen your dog’s anxiety. Instead, work to overcome anxiety about food and reduce stressors. Working with a trainer can help.
No matter the cause, you can change your environment to make burying harder. Feed your dog where they don’t have access to soft dirt. You can also switch to a heavier bowl if your dog likes to drag their food bowl around.
Conclusion
Food burying isn’t always a cause for concern, but it can be frustrating. The good news is that it is often a relatively easy fix. Training and environmental changes can help your dog get the nutrition he needs without needing to bury food. And even though the behavior seems strange, it’s pretty understandable; after all, we all feel more comfortable when we have resources on hand for a rainy day.
See also:
- Why Does My Dog Leave One Piece of Food? 4 Reasons & What to Do
- Why Do Dogs Bury Their Toys? (10 Possible Reasons)
Featured Image Credit: freestocks-photos, Pixabay
