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Since there is a feeling that burying bones (‘prey’) is related to prey drive, it might be interesting to compare burying behavior in breeds that typically have high prey drive (sight hounds, some guarding breeds, some herding breeds, terriers, etc.) with breeds that typically have lower prey drive.  Now there is an interesting hypothesis to test!  Maybe interview some trainers as to which breeds they consider high vs low prey drive, and then talk to owners of those breeds (you could find them at obed classes, etc.) as to how much ‘burying’ instinct they have.  (Of course, you will have to consider that most owners, if they are wise, will train their puppies not to ‘bury’ (= dig up the yard), so this natural behavior may have been ‘environmentally’ trained out of many dogs.) And maybe vets could give you info on which clients’ dogs they get the most questions about re: stopping the dogs from digging up the yard!   Good luck in your research. Nice to see a future research scientist in the making! Hang in there! Mary Alice

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<snip good advice> > (Of course, you will > have to consider that most owners, if they are wise, will train their > puppies not to ‘bury’ (= dig up the yard), so this natural behavior may > have been ‘environmentally’ trained out of many dogs.)

Also, some *do* retain it indoors to some extent. My dog used to dig in the yard and was trained out of it and/or matured out of that phase, but he still *pretends* to bury things inside! He drops his bone in a corner of the carpet, then covers it up with imaginary dirt. I think I’ve seen other posts of dogs who do this in this newsgroup. To me, that’s a pretty interesting behaviour. > Good luck in your research. Nice to see a future research scientist in > the making! Hang in there!

Ditto! — Vera Casteel                  Electrical Engineering —

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>dear newsgroup, I am doing research for my;; 8th grade science project. >The >question is "why do dogs bury bones?" Can anyone help me find sources to >answere this question. Please E-mail me with any suggestions you might >have.

Desmond Morris ‘Dogwatching’ (ISBN 0-09-181439-1) has a whole small chapter on this very question.

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> dear newsgroup, I am doing research for my;; 8th grade science project. > The > question is "why do dogs bury bones?" Can anyone help me find sources to > answere this question.

An interesting question, Drew.   Although the habit is often attributed to dogs in general, not all dogs bury bones. It is a much more common trait among wild canids, like the wolf, who dig caches in order to store surplus food for later use. Since the wolf is the dog’s ancestral progenitor, it would seem logical to begin your research on caching behavior by studying its role in wolf ecology. Several excellent books have been written on the subject of wolf behavior.  For example, you might take a look L David Mech’s book  The Wolf:  The Ecology and Behavior of an Endangered Species.  Minneapolis, MN:  Univ of Minnesota Press, 1970. In addition, Desmond Morris has written an easy to read and popular book on dog behavior that contains an informative discussion on the topic of caching: Dogwatching.  New York: Crown Publishers, Inc., 1986. For a bit more of a challenge… A fascinating study by F. H. Harrington (1981) found that captive wolves use urine to mark caches that have been emptied of food. It would be interesting (and valuable to dog behaviorists and trainers) to know whether domestic dogs exhibit similar behavior. That is, do dogs urine mark holes after they have retrieved a buried bone or food from it. Harrington FH (1981).  Urine-marking and caching behavior in the wolf. Behaviour, 76:280-288. Finally, since not all dogs are inclined to bury bones, it might be an interesting problem to determine what environmental factors (if any) are likely to increase or decrease the frequency of such behavior.  Research on this problem might help dog owners with dog’s who dig too much.   Let me know what you learn! Regards, Steve Lindsay

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dear newsgroup, I am doing research for my;; 8th grade science project. The question is "why do dogs bury bones?" Can anyone help me find sources to answere this question. Please E-mail me with any suggestions you might have. Thank you.                                                                     Sincerely, Drew Mcintyre

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l >to begin your research on caching behavior by studying its role in wolf >ecology. >Several excellent books have been written on the subject of wolf >behavior.  For example, you might take a look L David Mech’s book  The >Wolf:  The Ecology and Behavior of an Endangered Species.  Minneapolis, >MN:  Univ of Minnesota Press, 1970. >In addition, Desmond Morris has written an easy to read and popular book >on dog behavior that contains an informative discussion on the topic of >caching: Dogwatching.  New York: Crown Publishers, Inc., 1986.

There are also some interesting descriptions of caching behavior in foxes in David Macdonald’s "Running with the Fox". The book is from Facts on File Press, but I can’t seem to find my copy at the moment. Cris Waller E-mail may be posted as I see fit!

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