Why Are Dogs Burying Bones
Burying bones, Dogs barking and chewing is something dogs often do. Dogs burying bones are often seen in children’s books, in the movies and in animated cartoons. Dog owners would know about the dog’s puzzling habit.
With a sneaky look on its face, a dog that has a bone on its mouth will look for an ideal spot to hide the “treasure”. The instant the best hiding place is found, the dog will dig madly and bury the bones. Do dogs know why these animals are burying bones Do dogs know why they are burying bones? Burying bones is an instinctive behavior thus dog experts believe that man’s best friends don’t really know the reasons why they have this habit.
Dog experts believe that almost all of the behaviors and habits of modern day dogs are deeply rooted from their past. From the time dogs have existed, they have been burying bones. Although dogs became man’s best friend only for thousands of years; these animals have existed for over a million years. Primitive dogs have lived harsh lives in the wild and the habit of burying foods has been a great help to survive. Dogs’ existence in the wild is no picnic. The ancestors of modern day dogs not only have to avoid predators but also other animals that would want to have a shot at the dog’s hunted prey.
Humans hoard food. Squirrels fill their nest in tree hollows with acorns and nuts. In preparation for the rainy days, ants would fill their anthills with food. Dogs bury bones to hoard food. In the wild, food is hard to come by. 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 dug up bones will ease the gnawing of the dog’s stomach.
Dogs these days never lack food. Pampered pets don’t have to bury bones for the rainy days but the instinct to hoard remains. This is why dogs will still bury bones. Bits of food are even seen on the dog’s bed and blanket. Because digging and burying bones and other food is instinctive in dogs, pet owners just have to take in stride the inclination of the pet to rearrange the garden to bury its “treasures”.
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