Why Do Dogs Hide Food? - Reasons For Burying And Covering Food

A dog hiding their food is a relatively common occurrence. A dog burying their bone in the backyard is perhaps one of the most famous traits in terms of hiding food. It is important to know that, for the most part, dogs hiding food is a normal behavioral trait. It is part of the canine instinct and is related to their wild ancestors who had to fend for themselves without the help of a human family.

However, a dog excessively hiding their food or becoming insecure about it can be worrying in the minority of cases. The most common reasons for a dog hiding their food include:

• Protect the food from others: one of the most common reasons why a dog thinks it necessary to hide their food is protection. Although we may feed all of our animals properly, dogs can worry that they have competition. If they leave their food sitting out, it is understandable another animal in the home may try to take it for themselves. Hiding it is their way of preventing this from happening. It happens most often in homes with multiple animals, especially if they are not sufficiently supervised. In these cases, the dog may also eat their food too quickly as they fear it will be taken away.
• They value it more: it may be more common for your dog to hide treats than other types of food. This is because they view the treats as special and want to keep them safe. This is why they often bury bones since they are not everyday food items.
• Inappropriate environment: if the environment in which your dog eats is, in anyway, inappropriate for them, they may hide their food out of stress. They do not feel secure in this area and, therefore, want to take it somewhere more secure. This happens when we place their food bowl in a noisy part of the home or somewhere there is a lot of foot traffic. It may be common for the dog to take the food to their bed since they see this as a safe haven. Different dogs have different needs to others, something we explore in our article on why does my dog only eat when I'm around?
• Inadequate diet: when the dog does not have proper nutrition, the dog may feel hungry. By hiding food in a different place or covering it over, they may be signalling to you they need more. It may not be the amount of daily food your dog is receiving. The nutritional composition of their food depends on their age and health status. For example, dogs with kidney disease will need a special diet to help reduce damage done to the body.
• Negative past experiences: when a dog has been neglected or traumatized in the past, it is often in the form of being denied food. This is the case with cats which have been abandoned. They may hide food because they have developed the habit out of necessity.
• Play or boredom: finally, your dog may hide or bury the food simply because they are entertaining themselves. Also, if your dog spends a lot of time alone or does not do enough daily activity, boredom may be leading to this hiding food behavior.