I've had bess for 6 months now, although she's 21 months old.  She's my first dog and I'm curious as to shy she hides things.  Basically she has one particulary chew stick thing, it's a big jumbo roll that you get in petshops, good for her teeth etc.  She get one of these every other week as well as the usual raw hide chews.  The thing is she will eat the raw hide chews, no problem, but with this jumbo roll she spends more time walking round with it trying to find hiding places rather than chewing it. I'm convinced she hid the last one so well that she's lost it.  I'm really curious why do dogs do this?  Is it some sort of nesting instinct?

:) I think it just a dog thing. My dog does this with toys when he finds them again he walks around looking so proud as if they are prized possession this always makes us laugh.

My Pointer hides all sorts of things belonging to us. When we find them he looks at us as if we are such clever little humans. Some times it is his laying on his bed wagging his tail and grinning that tells us he has been on the raid.
His favourite item to steal and hide is the garden door stop, a big wheat filled old cat. I put it back, he stleals it, I put it back, he steals it, I give up,  he dumps it at my feet. We can play that game ALL day.

Ditto if I shut Whistler in the compound its fine but if he has access to the garden he's back with a muddy nose before you can say knife. Jake (BC) never buries a thing.

I have three TT's and on treat night I give them all a cheese filled bone. Two of them immediately start to eat theirs but Laya, the third girl, always takes the thing upstairs and hides it in my bedroom. She then sits by it and when the other two have finished their own bones, they seek her out and she proceeds to growl and shout if they come anywhere near her. I used to give them the bones on a Friday night so I could have a bit of peace and quiet while I enjoyed my own Friday night treat. (a curry and a few glasses of red wine) but now all hell breaks loose and I end up splitting them up and not relaxing at all. Seeing as I caused it in the first place, I cant be cross, can I. Anyway, they make me laugh.!! I dont know why they do it either.

I tried to give my dog a bone, oh, and on another occasion, raw chicken wings too. These he buried in the garden, that is after throughly scanning the joint, with a shifty, sly face on....rather unpleasant actually, made me think he might not be so trustworthy!

Food items buried, the wretched cur then goes and digs them up again five minutes later, same sly face and furtive looks. Whole process repeated five minutes later, and again, and again.... finally exceedlingly muddy and revolting chicken wings crunched and golloped down. The bone.... confiscated by pack leader.... (me)!

I haven't let him have anything since as I saw rapid onset of canine OCD and a new side of his character I'd rather not know.

A week later Bess is still playing with and hiding her chew, hasn't even been nibbled at yet!

Whistler buries everything unless he is in the compound thats concrete. He then gets really frantic when Jake digs them up and eats them. Thats just dog.