Chewing, digging, jumping
Why does my dog bury bones and toys in the garden?
Last updated 23 September 2026 · How we write and check this
Short answer
Burying food and prized objects is an old survival habit for saving a resource to return to later, even though a well fed pet dog has no real need to hoard. Many dogs still do it with a favorite chew or toy simply because the instinct never fully disappeared.
A leftover survival instinct
Wild canines bury extra food when a kill is bigger than they can eat in one sitting, protecting it from other animals until they are hungry again. Domestic dogs keep the instinct even though their bowl is refilled reliably every day.
Why it shows up with toys too
Some dogs extend the same behavior to a favorite toy or chew, burying it after playing rather than eating from it, treating a prized possession much like a valuable piece of food that is worth protecting.
Living with it
Burying is not a problem to fix unless the digging itself is damaging the lawn or garden beds, in which case redirecting to a sanctioned dig patch, as with any other digging, works just as well here.
Key takeaways
- Burying is a leftover survival instinct for protecting extra food from other animals.
- Some dogs extend the behavior to toys and chews, not only food.
- It rarely needs correcting unless the digging itself is damaging your garden.