Frequent Why is my dog trying to hide his food? Here’s What to Do Next

Why is my dog hiding 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 Im 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.

Some dogs are simply more possessive than others, especially if they are living in a multi-pet household. They may opt to hide their prized possessions under the dirt in your backyard, tangled in the blankets on your bed, or in the crevasses of your sofa. This could be a symptom of anxiety as discussed above.

Dogs suffering from nausea-causing illnesses may attempt to “air bury” their food. They typically nudge the bowl away with their nose or try to cover it with imaginary dirt. If your pooch suddenly seems repelled by their food and has additional symptoms such as vomiting, diarrhea, lethargy or behavioral changes, it may be time for a checkup.

Burying valuable items is an instinctual throwback to the survival skills of our dogs’ wild canid ancestors. Wolves, coyotes and foxes never know when their next meal will come, so if they are lucky enough to have leftover meat after a kill, they bury it in the cool dirt to protect it from sun and scavengers. The soil acts as nature’s refrigerator, keeping food fresher longer so the animal can retrieve it later when nourishment is scarce.

Dogs often bury their most prized possessions in order to keep them safely stashed for later.

Dogs that steal and bury items belonging to family members such as shoes and television remotes, are likely trying to express their desire for more attention. Our intelligent pups learn quickly that negative attention is better than no attention at all, and just like children, they will act out when feeling neglected.

Should I be concerned if my dog is hiding food?

If your dog hides or buries food, but it otherwise happy and healthy, there should be no problem. This is especially the case when they hide treats such as bones. However, we do recommend you find food if you can and throw it away in case it becomes rotten and they try to eat it.

As you can see from the above section, there are some reasons your dog hides their food which might be cause for alarm. In these cases, the impulse behind hiding food is due to feeling insecure about food as a resource. They either feel like it will be the last food they will be given or it will be taken away from them. You will need to find the underlying cause of such insecurity and treat it.

To do so, you will need to look at other symptoms or problematic behavior. For example, dogs which have suffered trauma may be nervous around strangers or develop destructive behavior. Another example of problematic behavior is excessive barking, especially if it happens all of a sudden.

We do need to acknowledge the difference between hiding food and food aggression in dogs. While the former might be benign, becoming aggressive over their food is a sure sign of an underlying problem, even if the reasons are related.

Why Do DOGS HIDE Their FOOD? (Reasons & What to Do )