Why Dogs Hide Their Bones?

To understand why your dog buries his bones, even though you feed him twice a day, you have to understand his nature. You can do this by looking at your dog's genetic heritage. Although dogs have been around for millions of years, they have only been domesticated for a few thousand years, and they spent a lot of time developing behaviors that helped them to survive. Before dogs became domesticated as our household pets, they were wild animals who hunted in packs in a manner similar to modern wolves. The advantage of hunting in packs was that they could send scouts out in many different directions to find prey, and when they cornered their prey, their sheer numbers could often bring down a much bigger animal. The problem of bringing down a buffalo, moose or other large animal though was that even a large pack might not be able to eat all of the nutrients available in the prey. And they did not want to share their hard work with birds and other scavengers. The canine instinct to hide or bury bones is also known as hoarding.
                      

Some dogs seem to hide their bones because they enjoy the activity. The digging behaviors used when hiding bones and other treats can be a good source of entertainment for dogs who are bored or need to release pent up energy. Dogs sometimes hide their bones in inappropriate places or damage yards by digging holes in which to hide their loot. Designating specific areas where hiding or digging is acceptable can help keep a dog’s natural instincts under control.

The claws and paws of dogs are well suited to digging, and over thousands of years they learned that burying the bones of their prey would reduce the possibilities of other animals taking their food away. Even though bones do not have a great deal of nutrition, the meat clinging to them and the marrow in them when the dogs cracked them open was often enough to sustain them through lean periods. Not only did burying make their bones harder for others to find, but it masked the smell and kept them out of the air and sunlight, which would speed the spoilage of the bones. When food was scarce, they could always rely on the bones to keep them fed.