# Puppy hiding bones/toys?



## AJT (Jun 20, 2012)

While I clean up around the house I would uncover a number of toys hidden in different places all over. I've seen my 16 week old GSD puppy place her bones/toys in flower pots (she just drops them in and walks away) to hiding them between the seat cushions of the couch. Once I even found one stuck between the wall and my pillow. Now I'm not sure if I should be putting them back in her toy box or leave it be since it seems to be a natural instinct for her. I've previously had two male dogs (cocker spaniel and a chocolate lab) who never displayed this type of behavior when they were together under the same house. 

My puppy Ava is the only dog/animal in the house right now. She has plenty of toys and bones that we put in a box in the corner of our house when we have to clean up when her toys are everywhere. I don't take away her toys when she is playing with them and put it out of her reach. The only time I handle her toys is when we play but I always throw it at a distance for her to chase after. I also have been handling her toys but give it back to her after pretending to check it out for a minute or two.

So can anyone give me insight to this? I'm not mad or anything, just curious or any suggestions if this is an underlying problem and ways to correct it. Plus I don't want to one day find a dead critter hidden in the corner of the house or keep giving her new toys when some go missing (it gets expensive!)

Thoughts? Thanks!


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## Milkshakes00 (Jun 28, 2012)

I'm not too knowledgeable, but I'd assume she's hiding them to make sure others can't get them..

In my mind, if I was on the lower end of a litter, and I got a toy, after I was done playing with it, I'd hide it to make sure none of the other littermates could get it, haha.


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## AJT (Jun 20, 2012)

Hmmm, ok that makes sense since she is the runt of the litter. She has been with me since I picked her up at 8 weeks and is the only animal in the house. I figured that at this point with no one else vying for her toys/bones she would feel comfortable enough to not hide it. Not only is she hiding her stuff all over the house but also in the backyard. Just frustrating because I knows toys are missing and I can't find them and than she looks at me with eyes that say, "I don't have anything to play with".


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## Nikitta (Nov 10, 2011)

My dads english bulldogs hid stuff. They had an older leather couch they kept in the basement. When I moved out they gave it to me for furniture. It had a rip in it which Dad fixed with one of those leather repair kits. After a time the rip started to reopen. I could never sit right where the rip was because it felt uncomfortable in that spot. When the rip reopened I reached in and pulled out a dog chew toy. LOL


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## doggiedad (Dec 2, 2007)

i don't think it should be frustrating because a dog
hides a toy or bone. if your dog is hiding things and you
can't find them she's done her job. 



AJT said:


> Hmmm, ok that makes sense since she is the runt of the litter. She has been with me since I picked her up at 8 weeks and is the only animal in the house. I figured that at this point with no one else vying for her toys/bones she would feel comfortable enough to not hide it. Not only is she hiding her stuff all over the house but also in the backyard.
> 
> >>>> Just frustrating because I knows toys are missing and I can't find them <<<<<
> 
> and than she looks at me with eyes that say, "I don't have anything to play with".


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## llombardo (Dec 11, 2011)

I have toys everywhere....when I try to put them away they are back out before I turn around. I gave up I find toys in the cushions, under the couch, in the planter, in the bathtub, under my pillows in bed, and the newest spot today is the water bowl I seen her playing with it and then it was gone, I gave it a few minutes, looked for it and couldn't find it. I just happened to walk past the water bowl and there it was.


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## krystyne73 (Oct 13, 2010)

My pup does this too. What makes it worse is that the cat goes and steals the toys from where the puppy hid them....viscous circle.


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## llombardo (Dec 11, 2011)

krystyne73 said:


> My pup does this too. What makes it worse is that the cat goes and steals the toys from where the puppy hid them....viscous circle.


Oh the cats are the worst...they all work together in my house


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## katdog5911 (Sep 24, 2011)

Stella hides things all the time. And if she sees you watching she will rehide it. Unfortunately if it is a bone, my other dog generally finds it and eats it!


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## AJT (Jun 20, 2012)

Haha ok, I'm not alone. Just curious because this is the first time I am raising a female pup. I've only had males before who have never hid their toys (or perhaps they hid it so well I couldn't find it!). I thought maybe it was a girl thing considering she is an only child but it probably is her natural instinct to hide things anyway since she was the baby of her litter and I remember her sisters use to pick on her...


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## AJT (Jun 20, 2012)

katdog5911 said:


> Stella hides things all the time. And if she sees you watching she will rehide it. Unfortunately if it is a bone, my other dog generally finds it and eats it!


That is hilarious! Ava will give me a sidelong glance as I watch her and you can see her debating in her head whether or not to commit to said hiding place or find a new one...


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## Lilie (Feb 3, 2010)

Hondo hid things in my flower pots as a youngster. He wasn't the runt of the litter, in fact he was the largest of his litter. We have four dogs, he stopped doing it as he grew older.


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## tsfarling (Oct 13, 2012)

*hiding toys and bones*

I know this is an older thread but it helped answer some questions for me. My 14 week old GSD is starting to hide things. She has a new bone that she chewed on for about 2 hours last night and then went for a bathroom break. When she came in she grabbed the bone and started walking around the house whining loudly! I was like, what in the world, and then realized she was looking to go back outside to hide it. I didn't want to encourage outdoor hiding because she hasn't started digging yet and I'd rather she didnt begin so I watched her go around the house several times until she finally settled with putting it by a door, in the hallway, in plain sight. Haha! I love her to pieces.


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