Why would a dog "gather"

Whispered

Hey, for as long as we have had him, Harley has been a gatherer.

As a pup he would bring in leaves, twigs, muck etc and make a relatively neat pile on the kitchen floor.

He robs from the kitchen and brings them outside, I got a fright today to find a steak knife on the decking :eek:. He usually takes things over the space of a a few hours when he's in and out and puts them on the patio for us to find. Not hidden. This would be anything we leave out, unless it's edible. Paper, cutlery, towels, dishes.

He likes to keep his toys together too and will go from his crate to the sitting room with them to put them all in one place.

He does not guard his little piles, or seem overly bothered with them once the "gathering" is done and it seems to be the process more than the items he likes.

It's not a problem at all (actually handy to have a dog that cleans up after itself :pac:) but I was wondering if there is some throwback to his origins or just a personality quirk.

SophiaF

What breed is he? Is he one of the retrieving breeds/gun dogs?
I used to know a springer that did a similar thing, she used to collect all of the cuttings the farrier left from horses hooves on our yard. She would make a pile in the corner, very neat, and then she would cover them with a little bit of hay. She never went back to them and she didn't care when i tidied them up either.

Whispered

He's a staffordshire lab cross as far as we know. Maybe it's the lab in him.

Thats so cute, covering them with hay.

TooManyDogs

I have a springer x and she does it too. Mainly with her own toys but my slippers, socks or j-clothes get included too! Mind you, my girl has other 'autistic' type traits too which has earned her the name locally of 'Mad Ellie'!!!

OxfordComma

We've a Golden Retriever and he's always doing this. He brings all his things outside - any toys, blankets, even his basket - and leaves them all in the same area in the garden! He'll also bring out any items of clothing or towels that he can find. If he's in the house he'll gather everything into a pile. If he finds something new, he generally carries it around the room first as if he's showing it off to us! I assume it's some sort of "retrieving" instinct certain dog breeds have, and if your dog is a lab cross that'd probably explain it! I think it's a really cute behaviour. None of the other dogs we've ever had have done this.

Vel

Our greyhound is always swiping the baby's toys, my shoes etc. and gathering them on her bed! Doesn't guard them either and is happy for you to remove them. Its a strange one but as she does it the theory of it being a retriever thing to do doesn't apply!

Graces7

Our collie tidies her space; noses any bits of leaf or twig that have found their way in ( she sleeps in the closed in porch) into a corner.She sometimes buries her food there too.

spur

Our collie tends to take things like socks, slippers, sandals and at times underwear! :eek: He's a rescue dog and started this with the socks the day we brought him home. I'd never seen a dog do this before past the age of about 6 months - have had loads of collies.

Our theory at the time is that he was insecure and that he needed to have something of ours with him. What added weight to this theory for a while is he'd often pick up some of clothes during the night and lie down with them and proceed to lick them until they were soaking - thought us not to let anything we needed to wear again next day within his reach!!! He'll never take anythign that's freshly laundered!

We have him 15+ months now and he still does it - alot less and now it really seems to be for fun. He had eaten most of his brush and will chase it for hours around the floor. He has a few socks still, but now he tends to try to tease us with them to get us to play with him. He's 3 now and I think he's going to be like this forever!

He also used by bury any large bit of food he was given - bones I could understand, but if he was given a crust of bread, off he'd go and bury it. We reckoned it was because he'd been hungry in the past and was saving it up. He's much better now and can be persuaded to eat most things when he's given them - he was pitiful, standing there with something in his mouth crying to be left out to bury it - and most of our garden is landscaped, so he was even more pitiful running around crying as he tried to bury it!

My last dog - a collie, used to have a big branch as a pup and carried it everywhere - trice the width of himself and no matter how often it was "lost" on him, he found it - the exact same one. He also had a blankie - piece of old doll's clothes and again went everywhere. He stayed at that until he was about 6 months and never again did anything like that - wasn't a fetcher or a hoarder at all.

lrushe

I think its instinctive to bring high value things back to a 'den' area for safe keeping. Brook (a Rottie) will steal clothes pegs, brush heads, garden ornaments etc. and hide them in her kennel, I think there is also an element of knowing they are forbidden items which makes her want to hid them. Every couple of days I will take out her blankets and shake them out and all manner of things will come flying out

morganafay

My Cavalier I had when I was a kid used to do this. Maybe it's the spaniel in her ancestry!

She found loads of toys around the garden that we had lost and put them in a pile, with her own toys, bones and crow feathers she found when I walked her.

She had access to the whole garden and our Springer didn't so she'd leave the toys just where he couldn't get them but almost could! It was fair enough because he ruined any toys he got, but she didn't have to tease him by leaving them just out of his reach!

And one of the Cavs I have now will just hide potatoes and bits of bread in the shed, but I think that's just because she has nowhere to dig to bury them!

boxercreations

My dog always took shoes - not to chew but he'd gather them in my bed (or the spare room),along with something belonging to the baby, tea towels, tee shirts etc - nothing was ever spoiled or protected - just like he used to lie amongst them when we weren't there.
He was a rescue dog and I was his third "mom" in 3 years - so I think it was just insecurity.

doggiewalker00

My cav has a fetish for smelly socks(the smellier the better,shes quite fusy,she prefers cotton:rolleyes:) and underwear,she picks them up and brings them downstairs to her bed.

its actually one of her favourite games,you get a big load of washing,and scatter them alround upstairs.and shell go up and down the stairs quite happily and put them on her bed.then when shes done shell dig and make herself comfortable,lies down and lets out a big moan,and go to sleep

neelyohara

My sisters Viszla does this. Gathers all her her toys and treats, puts them into her bed and then lies on them... she looks so bloody uncomfortable but if she's happy....

sionnaic

My collie cross also loves smelly socks and undies. He gets into the laundry basket if he can get past the stair gate......with embarassing results! He's presented a pair of my boyfriend's boxers to my mother and gone to greet the pizza delivery guy with a pair of my knickers dangling proudly from his teeth....oh the mortification...

dezzyd

He's presented a pair of my boyfriend's boxers to my mother and gone to greet the pizza delivery guy with a pair of my knickers dangling proudly from his teeth....oh the mortification...[/QUOTE]
:D

My lab has a thing about teddy bears, at any given time he could have anything up to 20 teddys in his bed. He is very protective of them also, other dogs are not let near them ever. Whenever he is outside he will come in every now and then and check on them before heading back out. He even grooms them!

shanagarry

My grandad's cocker spaniel used to do this all the time - everything he could get hold of would end up in his bed. Like the other posters above, he would never damage them or mind them being taken back. It got to the stage that if something was missing, it was one of the first places you would look. He had the car keys one day!

The funniest was when he used to steal my dad's torch, which was one of those big old ones where a big rectangular battery screwed into the base. It was hilarious to watch him struggling to get it into his bed. Wellies were another funny favourite - they would be gone in a flash if you dumped them at the door.

FoxyVixen

My lab has a thing about teddy bears, at any given time he could have anything up to 20 teddys in his bed. He is very protective of them also, other dogs are not let near them ever. Whenever he is outside he will come in every now and then and check on them before heading back out. He even grooms them!

Haha, that's so cute, sounds like he's "fathering" the teddies.

My American Akita is forever picking up things and carrying them around proudly with her chest sticking out showing them off to anyone who'll look at her. Anything that's on the ground gets picked up, her favourite seems to be teabags. No problem giving them up, she'll just find something else to carry!!

houndsoflove

In female dogs they can go through a "pseudo pregnancy" (a false pregnancy) where they will start to gather items and make a nest

mymo

I wish my two would gather things, mine seem to do the opposite! :rolleyes:
They do bring us stuff when we come in, mainly socks, the tea towel(if they can get it), washing up sponges(if they're within reach), knickers too, or on rainy days something from the clothes horse. One day one of them brought me a spoon, they drop the stuff in odd places too, The bigger fella has dropped stuff in the washing machine and dishwasher when the door is open, and he once left a pair of knickers on the door step when I was unloading the car, the postman knocked with a parcel and there they were at his feet:eek:, Its really funny when he tries to pick up something big like a t shirt or a pair of jeans, he bundles it up so carefully to fit in his mouth, then wags his tail when he walks around the house.