This is more of a Vet advice question than one for the Straight Dope, but here goes…I’ve got two big dogs, a rottweiller and a mutt. The Rotti is definitely the dominant of the two, so when I periodically give them each a rawhide bone, I give the mutt his in his cage in a different area of my aparment so he can eat in peace. (The rotti thinks all food, bones, etc, should be hers) Well, the problem is, the mutt never eats the bones, he just “burries” them under my shoes and some clothes. He never goes back for them. They just sit there. Can anyone guess why he does this? Should I bother even giving him the bones, or should I just recylce the ones that he’s burried?
My Cocker is the dominant one. He wants all of whatever is available but won’t chew it. He just piles it up and hordes it. I eventually take the stuff away and distribute it amoungst the other dogs. I wouldn’t leave one out of the distribution though, sounds like a fight waiting to happen.
And check out the mutts teeth.
A bad tooth will make them not want to chew.
And not chewing will give them yucky teeth that will need much more frequent cleaning.
For what it is worth to you, I would let the hybrid continue to bury them, because your dog is a “digger”. I had a Cairn Terrier who would take her chews and other treats and hid them and save them for later. She would leave my bed at night and go and eat them in the dark. It is very natural for some dogs to pretend they are burying bones.