Border Collies are a breed that is a great family pet. You’ll find them quite intelligent, athletic, and easy to train. You may have faced a situation where you gave your Border Collie something and found your pooch burying it.
So, do you know why does your Border Collie Bury her things? Well, Border Collies think it is safe to hide their favorite toys and possessions so that they can enjoy it in the future. Sometimes this behavior is instinctual whereas sometimes, other factors like stress, anxiety, boredom, health issues can also trigger it.
As an owner, it should be your duty to find out the exact reason for your Border Collie to keep hiding things. In most cases, burning things can be only an innocent game that your pooch plays but oftentimes, there can be other serious issues as well. Once you figure out the exact reason behind your puppy’s behavior, you should deal with it accordingly.
Related Topic: Why Does Your Chihuahua Bury Everything?
Do Border Collies Like To Hide Their Things?
Your Border Collie likes hiding his/her things for a variety of reasons. The reasons can range from natural instincts to underlying stresses. Like most other dogs. Your Border Collie too wants to hide things instinctually in order to hoard or guard their food and possessions.
You may often end up finding your pooch’s things hidden under your bed or under the sofa or in the backyard. And you need to know that this is your puppy’s nature and not naughtiness. But oftentimes, the habit of hiding can become problematic since your puppy may end up hiding some precious items.
If you want to stop such behavior from your Border Collie you need to figure out the exact reason behind your pooch’s behavior. And you can take measures accordingly to stop your Border Collie from hiding things.
10 Interesting Facts: Why Does Your Border Collie Bury His/Her Things?
Your Border Collie may just love to bury things. Or sometimes, there can be other reasons to trigger such annoying behavior from your pooch.
#1 Border Collie’s Natural Instinct
Like most other dogs, it can be your Border Collie’s natural instinct to bury his/her things. Your puppy does it because he has an instinct to hoard or guards his food and possessions.
Most dogs out there don’t know when they are going to score their next meal and try to store some. Thus, this has become something instinctual to your Border Collie to bury everything he finds precious. Or he wants to save those things for the future.
#2 Your Border Collie Is Saving Up For Later
Your Border Collie may bury or hide some items to save for late. Just like how you use a safe to put your valuable things, your pooch too uses burying a method to save things up for later.
Your Border Collie dog is smarter than you think and you may often find him keeping his most treasured toys or treats somewhere safe. Because your pooch wants to consume those treats later or play with the toys at a later time, he wants to safeguard them.
#3 Your Border Collie Has Underlying Health Issue
Sometimes, underlying health issues can cause your dog to keep hiding things. For example, overfeeding, boredom or teething can make your Border Collie adopt this annoying behavior.
Your Border Collie Puppy Is Dealing With Teething
When your Border Collie is 4 to 6 months old, he/she is likely to start teething. IN this time, your furry friend eats less as he has slightly swollen gums and gum pains occasionally.
So, if you give any treat or toy to him at this time, he can’t enjoy it properly and can only hide/bury it so that he can use it later.
#4 Your Border Collie Is Seeking Your Attention
Oftentimes, your Border Collie may steal and bury things of yours just to get your attention. Because your furry Collie can get bored very easily and if you do not give her much time, she is more likely to do things to catch your eye.
Even if it is something harmful because your puppy can’t really differentiate between good and bad mischiefs.
But you can always teach your puppy that you don’t encourage such behavior from her and your intelligent pup will surely be able to catch on. And try to spend some more time with her so that she isn’t left bored enough to cause some disastrous thing.
#5 Your Border Collie Is Showing Some Possessiveness
Sometimes, your Border Collie can become more possessive about the things he/she loves. And your pooch can choose to hide his prized possessions under something he wants to.
You are likely to find your puppy burying or hiding his favorite things in a hole in your backyard, under the blankets on your bed, or in the small spaces of your sofa.
Possessiveness can also come if your Border Collie is anxious or excessively nervous. In such a case, your puppy is likely to become more aggressive about his/her possessions and want to guard against them. If you face such issues, you should seek the advice of an expert canine trainer or behaviorist.
Related Reading: Why Do Huskies Bury Their Things?
#6 You Are Giving Them Too Much (food, treats etc.)
Overfeeding can often make your puppy not be able to complete everything. If you give your Border Collie too much food or treats, he can’t finish them off at a time and can only save for later. That’s why giving too much is not a good idea.
Whether you choose commercial diets or prefer homemade foods for your pup, you should determine the exact amount you need to feed your dog. If you can’t determine the amount, you should ask your Vet about it.
#7 Your Border Collie Thinks It Is A Game
Many times, your Border Collie may hide or bury things because of considering this as a game. Your pooch wants to hide something you treasure and wants you to find it. He thinks it’s the same thing like when you play fetch with him.
If your pooch doesn’t get enough exercise or doesn’t get to play often, he may become bored. Thus, it’s not surprising that you will see him hiding things considering it as a game.
#8 Your Border Collie is dealing with Boredom
Your Border Collie needs ways to release his energy and avoid monotony. If you do not provide him with opportunities to play or exercise, your puppy is more likely to become bored.
And being bored may end up making your puppy steal things as a fun game to seek your attention. While doing so, he may hide some valuable items as well which can harm you.
Also, you should allow your puppy to have enough exercise and play so that he can release his energy and not become bored. Boredom can make your Border Collie quite sad and leave her depressed as well. So, you should be careful regarding this.
Symptoms Of Boredoms In Your Border Collie Dog
- A bored puppy may show the following symptoms:
- You find your dog barking a lot.
- You see that your puppy is messing things up like turning the trash can upside down or making the home messy.
- Your pooch may chew on things that he shouldn’t and end up destroying things.
- Your puppy can even escape home out of boredom.
- If your puppy becomes too bored lately, you find him greeting
- you or others in a hyper manner.
#9 Your Border Collie is dealing with Anxiety
If your Border Collie is dealing with anxiety and stress then you may find him bury items. This is because burying can calm your pooch to some extent as digging is a self-soothing behavior.
When your dog doesn’t feel safe at the place you feed him, he may want to bury his food somewhere else so that he can eat it later comfortably. Especially, if you have more than 1 dog at your home, this behavior may be something very common if you notice properly.
What you can do is to make sure your pooch feels safe and is not stressed. If you still can’t find any changes, you should seek advice from your Vet and behavior professionals.
Symptoms of Anxiety In Your Border Collie Dog
- An anxious or stressed Border Collie can show many symptoms which can make you understand about her anxiety.
- Your dog intends to be barking or howling when you are not at home or if there is a stranger he becomes more anxious.
- You find your pooch panting and pacing excessively even if the weather is not that hot.
- You find your puppy shivering even if the weather is not too cold.
- Your puppy may run away from you and cower himself at a corner due to facing anxiety.
- You may find your dog digging a lot in the backyard or similar places more often.
- Your puppy tends to escape the yard a lot even if you call her back to home. Sometimes, your pooch can even try to escape your house and go outside.
- Lately, you see that your pooch is destroying furniture or other things in your home by scratching or chewing.
- Anxiety can cause your dog to do self harm by excessive licking or chewing.
#10 Your Border Collie is dealing with Nausea / Inappetence
If your Border Collie is dealing with nausea or inappetence he may try to bury his food more often. This is because your pooch is repulsed by the smell of food and wants to cover it with something. There can also be additional symptoms like vomiting, diarrhea, lethargy or behavioral changes and it’s better if you take your pooch for a checkup.
Sometimes, your pooch can just become a picky eater and has problems with adjusting to a new diet. This may also encourage your dog’s behavior of burying food or treats.
Symptoms of Nausea/Inappetence In Your Border Collie Dog
- Dogs usually show the following symptoms when they have nausea or inappetence:
- There are lesions in the oral cavity of your dog.
- There can be swelling around the face or jaw.
- Your dog tends to be vomiting.
- Your pooch can face diarrhea due to nausea.
- You hear gut sounds from your pup.
- Your puppy suffers from abdominal pain.
- Your pooch loses weight.
Related Reading: Do Beagles Like To Hide Everything?
Why Do Border Collies Bury Their Bones?
Border Collies bury their bones following their natural instinct to keep their valued things safe. You can take it as that your pooch simply wants these items to be protected and burying is the best method he can find out there.
And you may be surprised to know that your Border Collie always remembers exactly where he buried the bones. And your pooch’s keen sense of smell allows him to find it easily. Unless the bones are buried too deep, your pooch can detect the buried bones from underneath the yard or dirt.
How To Stop Border Collie From Burying Bones
As your Border Collie worries about the scarcity of an item and hence buries it somewhere, what you can do is to give him things in smaller amounts. Or you can just keep the bones away from your pooch and make them scarce.
If your dog has too many bones, he won’t be able to use all of them and would want to bury them. So, just give him enough that he can finish at a time. This will help you prevent your pooch from digging into the backyard or your garden to hide bones.
Why Do Border Collies Bury Their Toys?
Border Collies burying toys has something to do with their urge to protect their precious items. If your pooch loves some toys more than others, he would definitely want to safeguard those. And it’s just like how their ancestors used to protect their foods from others.
Your Border Collie’s burying things is totally normal and natural. And if you have multiple animals at your house, this is more likely to happen. Because your dog is always concerned about his favorite possessions.
But if you find your pooch being excessive about this, you should not encourage him at all. Try seeking advice from professionals if you can’t encourage some positive behavior from him.
How to Stop Border Collie From Hiding Toys?
There are a few things you can do to stop your Border Collie from hiding his toys. Such as:
First of all, do not yell at your pooch and your puppy won’t be able to even understand why he is getting reprimanded. Because burning is something instinctual from him.
If your dog is taking valuable items to hide, do not chase them because it will only encourage them to bury more. Just make your puppy realize that you are not happy about this. You can teach your puppy that you are unhappy if he keeps hiding his toys and rewards him once he brings them back.
Train your puppy properly and command when you want him to leave something. Make your puppy go through the commands several times each day so that your puppy learns them properly.
Always keep your valuable items out of reach. You can put the items like keys, remote controls, phones in a basket and put them at a certain height.
Use positive reinforcement by giving treats or praises to your pooch when he brings back his toys from his hiding place. Once your puppy realizes that you are happy with him bringing his toys back, he will stop hiding his toys.
Why Do Border Collies Bury Their Foods And Treats?
Burying food and treats is an instinctive behavior for your Border Collie. Naturally, your pooch wants to keep his foods and treats safe and wants to bury them. Especially the extra food you give him probably goes to some underground place where your pooch wants to hide it and enjoy it at a later time.
How To Stop Your Border Collie From Hiding Food
Build your trust because if your puppy doesn’t trust you enough, he tends to keep hiding foods and objects somewhere else. Once your pooch realizes that he can trust you, he’ll definitely stop hiding his food.
Once in a while, ignore hiding and do not remove the hidden ones. When your pooch finds the presence of real food again, he will stop hiding foods.
Reduce Opportunity for your puppy to steal things. What you can do is to keep doors of closets, cabinets, storage areas closed. Maintain safe areas for items that you can’t keep behind the doors. If there is something that your dog hides regularly, keep those things out of reach of your puppy.
Use smells that make your pooch repulsed on objects and places that you want your dog to avoid. Find out which object your puppy mostly tries to hide and spray the smell there. The tastes and scents will prevent your dog from grabbing something. This technique is quite useful for sport-specific urination issues as well.
Reward System is a good way to teach your dog which behaviors you encourage and which you don’t. Make your pooch sit and wait for a treat several times and praise him when he learns to obey your commands. If you find your pooch stealing, ask your pooch to sit and return it back. Afterward, give him a treat.
Tips To Stop Your Border Collie From Burying Things?
You can schedule small walks, playtime, and positive teachings that can help your Border Collie release his energy and avoid boredom.
Give some fun toys to your pooch when you are not around. Thus, he can play with these even if you can’t be with him. Select toys that your puppy likes more.
You can convert your pooch’s burying into some fun indoor game. You give something to your pooch and tell him to hide it. Then allow him to find it again. By doing this, your dog’s intention to bury things outside will reduce a lot.
Get your puppy’s attention when you catch him doing some mischief. Tell him to stop using the commands and reward him once he listens to you.
You can limit your dog’s access to his toys so that he becomes more interested in the toys. By limiting the amount, you can stop your puppy’s urge to bury his treasures. Because excess things will only make your pooch save them for later.
Border Collie’s Behavior Related Questions:
Do Border Collies Like Hide And Seek?
Like most other puppies out there, your Border collie too loves a game of hide and seek. Thus, if you find your puppy hiding a lot lately, you can consider it as an innocent behavior that makes him feel good.
But as an owner, you still should take caution and proper measures if you find anything unusual with your pooch’s behavior. Because, sometimes, it can be some health issues or other serious issues causing your pooch to behave so.
Many times, your Border Collie may hide out of fear or anxiety, or sometimes, he can even be afraid of certain things in the house. If you do not deal with them accordingly, these things can leave your puppy traumatized for some time. So, you should check if your puppy is hiding just to play or if it’s hiding for some other reason.
Related Reading: Why Do Border Collies Hide Themselves?
Over To You
Which fact has helped you the best? Which fact/facts were you already aware of and which one is new to you? Which technique have you applied already?
Which technique do you want to try next to stop your Border Collie from burying everything? Have I missed anything important?
Do you think that I should cover some additional topics? Please share the article if you have liked it. Please put your questions and feedback in the comment section below.
Further Reading:
Border Collie’s Others Behavior Problem
Related Topics:
1. Why Do Border Collies Lick Themselves?
2. Why Do Border Collies Run In Circles?
3. Why Does My Border Collie Tend To Run Away?
4. Why Do Border Collies Follow The Owner Everywhere?
