I gave each of my dogs a "raw" recreational bone for the first time yesterday. Pet store I shop at started carrying "raw" patties and recreational bones, so when I bought kibble, I picked up two bones.

I put them in their individual crates, put the piece of bison knuckle (I think that's what it was) in their bowl, and left them to it. Dixon dove in and all I heard was the scrape, crunch and clunk of bone on the crate pan. Jake... licked it twice and then stared at me like I was crazy. I took it out, fired up the grill and seared it for a couple of seconds to see if that would make it more appetizing. He picked it up and stared at me. I finally let him out and took the bone and jake outside.

I'm washing dishes at the sink overlooking the back yard and all of a sudden realize Jake is no longer playing with the bone. I see a pile of fresh dirt, walk outside to investigate, and find the now really disgusting buried bone. He picks it up, wanders around with it, and goes to bury it someplace else.

I ended up bringing him inside and giving him a different type of treat... I don't want them to leave random bones laying around the yard (or under the yard for that matter) that they can enjoy later when I'm not supervising. Should I be worried about this? Is there anything else I can do to encourage him to actually enjoy the thing promptly, lol?

If there's another post with a similar situation I apologize for the repetition, and would appreciate a link-


Thanks,

Carolyn

Havok has an instinctual habit of burying bones and food. He will do it in his crate, or in any corner, or under any object that he can find if all else fails and has done so from the day he came home. Quinn never trys this, ever.

Some dogs do it and some don't. Those that will, will when the mood strikes. Hav will eat his meal if/when he is hungry, and if not, will attempt to bury it for later. Same with rec bones. A correction will work to stop him, but it does not change his urges and he will wander around with it in his mouth trying to decide what he should do. I will just take it away from him and put in in the fridge for the next meal or chew time.

He remembers all of his spots that he likes to bury and if he is sniffing around them, I know he is hungry. Ironically, he is not a recreational digger; only with a purpose. Quinn never digs for a purpose, but will dig for hours on end just for fun (at the beach or the river only and only when told it is OK). Hav will watch and try to catch the dirt as it flys out from behind.

It is a genetic drive, buried deep within the behavioral past of our dogs.

In the wild, many carnivores bury excess food.
In the event of large kills, a carnivore may not be able to consume the whole of the prey in one sitting. However, the carnivore must guard against the likelihood that future hunts may be less successful.

So, carnivores instinctively cache excess food.

Ultimately, what this tells YOU, the pet owner, is that the dog was not hungry at the time the bone was offered.
You can try offering the bone at a different time.
I would not re-offer a bone to a dog outside of the crate, that had already rejected it while IN the crate.

(Unless bone-stashing doesn't bother you.)

Thank you both for the responses-

I think next time I'll follow your advice Alyssa and just refrigerate until he's hungry and see how that goes. How long can a defrosted, refrigerated bone be in the frig. and still be fed? 3 days?

Thanks again-

eta: I'd rather not let him stash... the instant Dixon goes outside he will unearth Jake's bone and have at it. I don't want to test how they work that one out.

Uh... it depends on how strong your stomach is.

Dogs will happily nosh on some pretty disgusting, rancid bones, with zero ill effects.
Danke would probably eat a half-rotten bone.

I, however, cannot stomach the smell after 4-5 days of refrigeration.
2-3 days in the fridge is fine, IMO.

 Quote: Alyssa Myracle

Dogs will happily nosh on some pretty disgusting, rancid bones, with zero ill effects.
Danke would probably eat a half-rotten bone.

See? That is why I always recommend not to bury those bodies in your backyard.....