Top 3 Reasons Why Dogs Bury Their Food and Treats

Generally-speaking, there isn’t much to worry about if your dog has a tendency to bury their food and treats. Aside from this indicating your dog is well-fed, there are other reasons that may help explain this interesting behavior.

1. Dog’s instinct to save food

Yes, dogs may have a natural instinct to save food for leaner times. This is also referred to as caching. This sounds weird given the typical eating behaviors we associate with dogs. Most dogs gobble up the food and treats in front of them in a matter of minutes. If your dog is burying some of his food, it might just mean that the dog is very well-fed. Dogs that don’t have access outdoors might “bury” their treats in other ways. For example, they might hide surplus food in drawers or other discrete spots like the inner space of a shoe.

2. Resource-guarding behaviors

Some dogs may be more defensive of their possession than others. Food and treats are valuable to dogs. Burying could be one way for dogs to “protect” their valuable goods. This might be a likely reason if your dog shows sign of aggression whenever someone tries to take away his favorite possessions.

3. Attention-seeking behaviors

Some dogs may bury their food because they yearn attention. Over time, the dog may have learned that certain behaviors, such as burying their food, results in a positive reaction from their owners. This could be a potential reason if you have a dog that is left alone for an extended period of time.

How to stop a dog from burying their food

In most cases, there isn’t anything wrong with dogs that bury their food. As we mentioned earlier, it might just mean your dog is well-fed. The easy action in such cases would be to reduce the amount of food and treat you give to your dog.

Not so much for the dog but one problem this behavior could introduce is the attraction of pests and rodents. The last thing you would want is for rodents like mice and rats to appear in the backyard as they seek the food which your dog buried. The solution, again, is to find the right balance in the amount of food your dog is fed.