Dog behavior that I don't understand..

[JerseyJanice]

The title of this thread could also be "Huckle, Buckle, Bean Stalk."

Whenever our dog Max gets a new chew toy like a pig or cow ear or a rawhide bone, he insists on hiding it, then finding it, repeatedly for a good week before he works on chewing it.

He buries them in the backyard or in my laundry baskets or our couch cushions. Does it over and over again, too.

What's up with this? Is it some canine instinct to play hide and seek with toys or chews?

 

[WDWisTheBest]

Our dogs do this constantly.
What type of dog is it?

 

[JerseyJanice]

He's a mix, mostly labrador retriever, some Rottweiler and we don't know what else.

I guess it's the retriever in him--he loves to carry something in his mouth. And whenever he comes in from outdoors, he has to bring something with him. If he's coming in from the yard, it's one of his toys or a stick. From the front of the house after a walk, it could be anything--sycamore balls, chestnuts, roofing tile, rocks, etc.

I hate when he buries his rawhide things. They get all muddy and messed up.

 

[KathyTX]

Definitely sounds like retriever behavior! And a good retriever, at that.

I'll never forget the look of pride on the face of my sweet Lab girl Bailey the day she found a dead bird in the back yard... she positively PRANCED into the kitchen, gently dropped the bird at my horrified DH's feet, then sat and looked up at him with the most satisfied and proud look on her face.

And crickets! Both of my labs love crickets! They love them so much that they like to carry them around. In their mouths.

First they spot the cricket, corner it and pick it up (gently). Then they just carry it around for a while. Then put it down and watch it for a bit. Then pick it up and carry it around. Then put it down...

Pretty soon, I'll just find random cricket legs here and there on the floor. I know that I'll find a slobbery and well-loved legless and lifeless cricket body after that...

 

[janette]

I've had 2 dogs that do this. One a small terrier mix buried everything. Of course she was mostly inside so the couch or even the bed covers were great places.

Our Bichon puppy also does this. He likes the big Milk Bones but since they are more than he eats he hides them. Never really know where we are going to come across a doggy treat.

 

[Dixielady908]

lol I think its funny, but I can imagine that after awhile it would probably drive me crazy...My dog just takes the rawhinds and dosnt stop until he has finished them. I will sometimes take them and hide them, and tell him to find them. He likes the game, but he also know all my hiding places....

Denise

 

[RUDisney]

My pugs are like Denise's dogs. They don't stop chewing until it's gone. My parents' bichon hides her ears. Sometimes she hides them so well that she can't find them. She knows that they are hidden and the general proximity. She bugs my parents until they help her to find it. Who do you think the really trained ones are in that house?

 

[MerryPoppins]

One of our bichons cries when she gets a chew toy. She sobs and moans and cries over where she should hide it as she walks the floor. Finally she gives in and eats it.

 

[Beauty]

Well my main thought is


AWWWWWWW!!!!!!

I want a picture of Max!!!!!

 

[Pin Wizard]

My flat-coated retriever, Max, has never retrieved a thing! We've tried sticks, balls, frisbees, you name it. He looks at us like we're nuts. I've even taken him down the street to watch another dog retrieve a ball that his dad throws. LOL! No go!

When I give him a chew stick or something else, no hiding or burying for him! He eats it and looks for more!

 

[Val]

Our "younger" lab mix, Lilly (she's lab, rotty and coon hound- best description is she looks like a black cow), is a rescue dog- was found at 6 wks old with a broken leg in a trash bag by the side of the road. She is terribly afraid of EVERYTHING and is just ever so completely neurotic. When she gets a toy she walks around and whines until she hides it. Then she sits where it is hidden and whines until we give it to her again. After a day or so, she will finally settle down to eat it. The dog is a nervous wreck with a new toy!

Part of her problem may be our older lab/pointer mix, Merry Puppy (she was, well, a very merry puppy and the name stuck). She picked up a bad habit from our golden (we lost him about 3 years ago to cancer, that's how we got Lilly). She will gather all the new toys/chew bones and LAY on them. She will chew on one, but will lay on all the others. When Lilly looks for her chew toy, she looks oblivious and kinda cocks her head when Lilly whines like she was saying "What toy!?!". We then have to roll her off of the toys (she is, well, a square lab rather than a rectangle lab) and give Lilly back her toy. Not sure it helps with Lilly's neuroses!

Santa brought new chew toys and new squeaky balls (What was Santa thinking!)....so its been a whiny week around here!

 

[JerseyJanice]

Hey, we got some dog lovers on this thread!

Max was so cute when we had a snow storm a few weeks ago. The snow covered all his backyard toys. (Max has indoor and outdoor toys since the outdoor ones get so dirty.) He kept going out back to find and dig out his toys from under the snow. What a great game it was for him! He had such a good time out there before the snow melted.

Beth, I've got to borrow a digital camera or something to get some photos of Max on-line. With his shiny fur and soulful eyes, he is one very handsome puppy!

He looks like your regular black lab except he's stockier, and his face is shorter and rounder. One person told me that he looks a lot like the English version of the labrador breed. I looked it up, and it's true. He could pass for a British lab. My fancy mutt!

 

[Serena]

Awww,
My Maxie doesn't hide them, but she won't take them until we throw them for her.

But you should see her, when my dd's doggie was here last weekend, Maxie got the toy and threw it for him.

 

[Cindy B]

Our Lab does take toys, and sometimes she just likes to "kill" them right there and then. She will take it and chew and chew and chew until there is nothing left!

She is like that with rawhides.. just chews them up in one sitting!


But she doesn't hide anything, but If I tell her to "get a toy", she will run and get one! She likes to carry and chew sticks outside though.

So far I haven't had any dead birds or squirells yet! (She's also 12 years old, so I'd be very suprised)

The poodle I have is very sweet, but he doesn't hide anything either...