Hiding Bones

fryup

We've all heard of dogs burying bones but my dog (west highland terrier) hides them. At first he'll chew on them for about 1/2 hour or so then proceeds to hide them in the long grass at the bottom of the back lawn and just leaves them there never to return to them

is this common behaviour?

Zapperzy

Yep fairly common alright I'd say. My terrier came into the house one night with white foamy gunky stuff all round his mouth, didn't know what the hell he'd done and thought there was something wrong until I found the hole where he'd dug out the jumbobone (or whatever you call those pedigree yokes that look like bones) he'd buried there at least a few weeks (if not months) previous! :eek: I don't give him anything outside anymore unless I know he'l eat it immediately.

Any bones mine gets are given inside as I know he'd definitely bury them if given a chance outside.

Are the bones your giving him cooked or raw?

We had a Lab years ago that would "hide" his toys under dead leaves at the back of the house, and then years later (six or seven years even) when the toys were decayed and filthy, having been exposed to every weather, leaves and no leaves over them, suddenly he'd get the urge to go and get them. Even though he, and we, walked by them daily. Hiding them in the grass may be your terrier's way of burying them, and he may go back to them some time, you never know when. Dogs do odd things sometimes, if your dog is happy and healthy I wouldn't fret about his strange behaviours.

anniehoo

Zapperzy wrote: »

Yep fairly common alright I'd say

+1

fryup wrote: »

never to return to them

He mighn't return to it if he's been given loads and buried loads. But, its perfectly normal behaviour for dogs. "Save it for later" etc!

Im knackered and could go into the behaviour of why, but i know The Sweeper will explain it in far more eloquent detail than i could ...:D

fryup

Zapperzy wrote: »

Are the bones your giving him cooked or raw?

cooked, does it make a difference??

Zapperzy

fryup wrote: »

cooked, does it make a difference??

Cooked bones are quite dangerous, they become brittle when cooked and can splinter. Raw bones are much safer because they are not as brittle.

fryup

but then again they are less likely to get a tummy bug when the bones are cooked

Zapperzy

fryup wrote: »

but then again they are less likely to get a tummy bug when the bones are cooked

Iv fed raw chicken wings to my terrier for maybe a year and a half now and he's never had a tummy bug. Iv worked in a vets and had quite a few dogs in that had been given cooked bones and ended up very sick, some eventually passed the bone through after a few days on a drip but others have had to have surgery to move the bone on so the dog can pass it naturally.

Some say freezing the raw bone before giving it to the dog cuts down on the bacteria, I'm not sure if that's actually true or not but incidentally all bones my dog has had have been frozen and then defrosted and as I said has never been sick.

fryup

Zapperzy wrote: »

Iv fed raw chicken wings to my terrier for maybe a .

:eek: surely there's a danger of choking??

Zapperzy

fryup wrote: »

:eek: surely there's a danger of choking??

Nope but he's never been a dog to wolf down food anyways, still I always watch him and make sure he chews. If your dog is the type to wolf food down best to hold onto the end of the wing and make sure he nibbles and chews it before swallowing.

Graces7

Collie hides/buries anything edible she cannot manage at the time... often wee dog finds it weeks later. They seem to prefer bones that are "high" and never a tummy bug.

Raw chicken wings are fine; our 4, cats and dogs, chew and wolf them.

are you serious

When my fella buries his bones/treats and even sometimes a teddy or two he comes back in covered in muck.. Give it an hour or 2 boredom kicks in he's out the back digging it up again and he will come into the sitting room tail up and looking bold as ever and a face full of muck... Generally I think on his way in he already knows what comes next, "get out with that" he's told and he trots off with his tail held high and I presume he is thinking hah I showed him!

I think he prefers eating muck sometimes as the amount that was out in the flower box before I got him was double what it is now

dahat

fryup wrote: »

but then again they are less likely to get a tummy bug when the bones are cooked

What? tried not to laugh at this,my dogs eat meat nearly gone green and never got an upset tummy,only time they got upset tummy was on a liver overdose

fryup wrote: »

cooked, does it make a difference??

Best way to find yourself at a vet surgery,cooked bones are highly dangerous for dogs,always feed raw bones.