I was reminded recently about something that Petal used to do. We all have particular habits that make us individuals but this trait was not something I thought odd until I moved out of my parent's house.
Petal almost never ate anything immediately (unless it was pork or chicken); she'd hide it somewhere. Usually this involved burying it in the couch or finding a secluded corner to secret it. It was such an endearing habit that I'd deliberately give her treats as a kind of party trick when people were over or if I was at someone's house with her.
A lot of my parent's dogs hid treats or would take a mouthful of food and eat it somewhere in 'private' so it is an inherited trait from her extended family. I can't recall ever seeing a Puli stand at the dish and eat until they were done.
So how do you hide food when there is no dirt with which to bury it? What else but air? You'd think that burying a treat in the couch would mean pushing it into the cushions but no ... Petal was always satisfied with the air camouflage. She'd take the treat, spend a few minutes deciding the best hiding spot ( sometimes with three or four changes of location) and then push air over it with her nose. She'd lie down and stare at it until she was quite sure no one else could find it ... and then leave it exposed for anyone to pick up.
The best part was if you picked it up after it was 'hidden' and say "What's this Petal?". Poor Petal, she'd spent all that time carefully hiding it and she'd look at you like "How on EARTH did you see that???" She'd take the treat again and repeat the process but with more intense searching for a better spot.
I recall a camping trip once when we gave Petal her dinner and she took a few pieces of food, scratched a hole in the dirt, nosed the dirt back over the food and - I'm anthropomorphizing here - looked aghast "Where's the food????" I have a witness to this and he can vouch for her reaction. She stopped, stared, and started looking for the food again like she couldn't imagine where it had gone. It was priceless. Some squirrel in the middle of winter would have hit the jackpot.
Petal would also only eat part of her dinner and bury the rest with air. This actually involved her scooping air from the floor with her nose and lifting it over the side of the dish onto the food. If there was another dog around the burying was very intense and went on for some time. Sometimes if she was lucky there would be something to bury the food with like a blanket or a rug but often air would have to suffice. At night she'd get her bedtime treat and if she didn't want to eat it right away it ended up somewhere buried in the comforter, if she forgot about it til the next night I'd re-treat her with the same one til she eventually ate it. She had a pretty good memory though and would sometimes take the 'new' treat and try to find the old treat she knew was stored away somewhere.
Halo quickly learned the habit of Petal 'hiding' food and would just wait til Petal left the treat and snap it up. Now of course the Ridgebacks don't save anything for later, every single treat is gone practically before you knew you had it. Petal was a rainy day girl and I guess it doesn't hurt to have a snack stored away, hidden by air, covered in lint behind the couch ... just in case.
Petal almost never ate anything immediately (unless it was pork or chicken); she'd hide it somewhere. Usually this involved burying it in the couch or finding a secluded corner to secret it. It was such an endearing habit that I'd deliberately give her treats as a kind of party trick when people were over or if I was at someone's house with her.
A lot of my parent's dogs hid treats or would take a mouthful of food and eat it somewhere in 'private' so it is an inherited trait from her extended family. I can't recall ever seeing a Puli stand at the dish and eat until they were done.
So how do you hide food when there is no dirt with which to bury it? What else but air? You'd think that burying a treat in the couch would mean pushing it into the cushions but no ... Petal was always satisfied with the air camouflage. She'd take the treat, spend a few minutes deciding the best hiding spot ( sometimes with three or four changes of location) and then push air over it with her nose. She'd lie down and stare at it until she was quite sure no one else could find it ... and then leave it exposed for anyone to pick up.The best part was if you picked it up after it was 'hidden' and say "What's this Petal?". Poor Petal, she'd spent all that time carefully hiding it and she'd look at you like "How on EARTH did you see that???" She'd take the treat again and repeat the process but with more intense searching for a better spot.
I recall a camping trip once when we gave Petal her dinner and she took a few pieces of food, scratched a hole in the dirt, nosed the dirt back over the food and - I'm anthropomorphizing here - looked aghast "Where's the food????" I have a witness to this and he can vouch for her reaction. She stopped, stared, and started looking for the food again like she couldn't imagine where it had gone. It was priceless. Some squirrel in the middle of winter would have hit the jackpot.
Petal would also only eat part of her dinner and bury the rest with air. This actually involved her scooping air from the floor with her nose and lifting it over the side of the dish onto the food. If there was another dog around the burying was very intense and went on for some time. Sometimes if she was lucky there would be something to bury the food with like a blanket or a rug but often air would have to suffice. At night she'd get her bedtime treat and if she didn't want to eat it right away it ended up somewhere buried in the comforter, if she forgot about it til the next night I'd re-treat her with the same one til she eventually ate it. She had a pretty good memory though and would sometimes take the 'new' treat and try to find the old treat she knew was stored away somewhere.Halo quickly learned the habit of Petal 'hiding' food and would just wait til Petal left the treat and snap it up. Now of course the Ridgebacks don't save anything for later, every single treat is gone practically before you knew you had it. Petal was a rainy day girl and I guess it doesn't hurt to have a snack stored away, hidden by air, covered in lint behind the couch ... just in case.
1 comment:
My in-laws jack russell does the same thing! Hilarious to watch and if you catch her "hiding" a treat and comment on what she is doing that spot is compromised and she has to find a new hiding place.
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