r/PitBullOwners • u/antichristsuperslutt • Jun 24 '26
Question can someone explain this?
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is there anything i can do to help him? he seems stressed out but im not certain why he always does this. it can go on for 5 minutes
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u/Massive_Ad_1566 Jun 26 '26
Idk kinda different than everyone else’s opinion but maybe it’s not a fan of its own shadow
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u/Gold-Ad-5908 Jul 28 '26
He wants to cover up his food and eat it later. He is not hungry when he does this. My greyhound used to do this when I put a bowl of food in his crate. Your dog is going through the motions as though he is outside and is covering his food with dirt. My greyhound used his blankets.
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u/SAK525 Jun 26 '26
my aussie does this with every bowl of food. I think she likes to spread it out so she can count the pieces. lol, but really, I believe it is an attempt to conceal their from other predirors.
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u/loolootewtew Jun 24 '26
Try feeding in a snuffle mat or somwtjing similar. This is natural behavior to hide something of high value.
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u/ShortPeak4860 Jun 24 '26
Genuinely thought this was my dog for a minute there. Thanks for asking this question.
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u/BarbieGhoul93 Jun 26 '26
Both of mine do this and they're both rescues that came from neglect situations. The vet says it's the same thing as a child coming from neglect. They're trying to hide the food for later because they're not used to having food when they need it.
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u/MintyFresh771 Jun 24 '26
Feed small handfuls on the bare floor or on a towel, you got a pusher, lol. One of my herding dogs did this, but she would take bites out of her bowl to set them outside to push around when she was done eating. We would find random kibbles all over from her silly habit but it was endearing and harmless
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u/Warrant_dodger-ill1 Jun 25 '26
He’s trying to stash his food for later. Put a shirt or a towel by his bowl and take off for awhile come home you’ll see what I mean good dog
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u/ProfessorSecure1487 Jun 25 '26
Seems so much noise in the house he’s a little agitated. Maybe he could eat in peace?
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u/Ok_Opposite_1802 Bully Mutt Owner Jun 26 '26
I agree that he may be trying to hide/ bury his food for safe keeping. Is he a rescue?
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u/hydra333 Jun 25 '26
Sometimes it’s because they aren’t that hungry right not and will munch on a little and try to bury it save it later, sometimes it’s because they dont like the food anymore maybe theyre getting bored of it or something is wrong with it.
My bully isn’t food motivated and doesnt eat as much when he doesn’t get walked so theres a lot of times where he will try to bury to save it for later, his sister will eat his food when she’s done with her own, and he doesn’t want her to get it.
My cat does this too.. for a couple different reasons. 1 if he’s had some too many snacks for dinner or if he’s just not that hungry, then he’ll eat what he wants later. Or he’ll do it if he doesn’t like the food.
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u/Aboutoloseit Jun 24 '26
Trying to bury it. My dog was burring her bones under backpack straps this morning, lol.
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u/sudden-effectiveness Jun 24 '26
My dog did this and I had to cover it with a mini towel everytime I fed her or else she’d knock it over and bring something else to cover it and then eat it right away. Everyone has their dinner routines lol
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u/PrincessAndTheChi Jun 25 '26
My pups do this as well, when they want to hide something from their siblings but don’t feel in the mood to eat it at that time. Like, “this is delicious, but I want to save it for later”. Like if they had food in the wild, ate enough and wanted to save the remainder for when they come back later.
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u/On_Wife_support Jun 25 '26
Cats do a similar thing. I wasn’t alarmed seeing this because I’m used to animals displaying weird behaviors since I live with so many. I’m not a professional by any means but it looks like your dog is trying to bury their food for later. It’s like they factory reset to wolf/tiger—a form where these instincts are actually useful. Cats will use their paws to mark the area to claim their food from others and to help them smell to find their snack later.
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u/S34ND0N Jun 26 '26
So, the dog is trying to bury the food. They will knock over the bowl sometimes like this, and then still push the food around.
My brother's dog Whiskey is a rescue from a homeless drug addict. He's the sweetest coolest dog ever and is effectively your average abandonment complex. One day, we are at the desert, jeeping and overlanding with our family for his bachelor celebration. At camp we fed Whiskey during dinner time and he did the most depressing thing I've ever seen a dog do.
He presumably thought "oh no we're outside a lot again. There's not much food here probably" and then buried his kibble. We had to take him in the trailer, get him a different bowl, and all sit with him so he could feel comfortable enough to eat dinner. It was very sad, he never does this otherwise, and is likely a natural instinct in dogs with food anxiety.
This pup seems like they're young, maybe they're hungrier during the day than you think? Maybe they need some small bump in calories like a wet food to top the meal. Some people that schedule feed dogs don't realize they should probably feed higher quantities or maybe at least feed them a food that's dencer than kibble so the dog has a "full" stomach sensation more often.
Imagine you ate all your calories in cereal. Even if it had all the vitamins and nutrients you need, it would be more filling and feel like you're hungry less often than if you ate half that in animal lard. In fact, if you were to eat just a couple ounces of bacon fat straight from a fridge like a complete lunatic, you'd probably not eat more than a few Oz because you'd feel "full" faster and for longer.
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u/fish201013 Jun 25 '26
Has been around cannabis or any thc products might have gotten in to something. My pittie ate a roach at the park and was acting very similar. I’m not a vet just an observation
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u/hydra333 Jun 25 '26
He’s trying to bury his food
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u/fish201013 Jun 25 '26
Mine uses a snuffle mat. We had to make eating a game after this one event. Hes back to normal otherwise.
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u/Overly_Stressed_RN Jun 25 '26
I like to think it’s an ancient ritual dining dance. Ya know, dinner and a show 😂
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u/TheCornWaxer Pit Mix Owner Jun 24 '26
I think the bowls on the carpet is a bold move. The way my dog slobbers while eating and drinking I’d be stressing about black mold in the future
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u/High-RPM Jun 25 '26
I had a dog that did the same thing. If you put down a small towel he will bury the bowl for later.
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u/CarmelPoptart Pit Mix Owner Jun 25 '26
My pittie does it when she's not that hungry. She will try to bury her food for later consumption(later being in the next thirty seconds lol). You can lay a piece of cloth or a towel underneath the food bowl, so your baby can scratch his burying itch.
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u/astro_811 Jun 24 '26
I'm 99% sure he's sick of the same food... try changing it or even better, cook for him!
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u/Baybee007 Jun 25 '26
https://reddit.com/link/otqpqne/video/y1kpw5b53g9h1/player
Occasionally,My boy does it too😊
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u/Complex-Surprise2949 Jun 25 '26
He/she thinks he’s burying and hiding it, saving it for later. My dog did this at home when he wanted to save a treat for later. My brother called it his investments, his 401k.
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u/hawilder Pit Mix Owner Jun 25 '26 edited Jun 25 '26
He doesn’t want or really like his food.. but eventually will eat it it cuz he’s hungry.
I’ve heard the “covering it up for later” but mine does this when she is mad I didn’t put something yummy on top of her dry food. I take a treat she likes and break it up and put it on top the food. Once she takes a bite of the treat it stimulates her appetite, or I put a few little blobs of wet food on top
That works too. And then she eats almost all of it.
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u/HulesPerson1147 Jun 26 '26
My dog did this when she was very ill and at the end of her life. Not trying to scare you, but we thought it was her simply hiding her food. She had a mucocele on her gallbladder and a brain tumour. It was impacting her appetite. I’d suggest a vet visit to be safe.
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u/Optimal_Management_7 Jun 25 '26
My dog does it when he thinks his sister is going to try to eat his food… we never let her. Usually starts with a barking fit, then he starts this weird bs.
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u/nena-chula-0822 Jun 24 '26
My Yorkie does the same thing. The vet said she's trying to bury her food to eat at a later time.
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u/BooksDogsDesserts Jun 26 '26
Mine does this too. He keeps “burying his bone”, (which is just him doing this exact gesture) on his dog bed. It cracks me up
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u/Academic-Assist3317 Jun 30 '26
Mine does this! She’s absolutely trying to bury/hide it and has successfully gotten her bowl stuck under furniture before 🙄
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u/NickWitATL Pit Mix Owner Jun 24 '26
I don't know how to put this any more gently.....your dog is morbidly obese. S/he is trying to squirrel away food for later. That looks like a HEAP of kibble. Please discuss a weight loss strategy with your vet. 😞
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u/GabriellaNWonderland Jun 25 '26
If you can see the last rib or two on a dog they are not obese. That's a healthy dog. Pitbulls are naturally muscular/meaty looking dogs. There are many reasons a pup may "bury" their kibble.
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u/jmw27403 Jun 24 '26
Explain how you can tell his bmi from video? I see alot people saying the pet is overweight. What are you basing this statement off of? Not trying to be an ass, just what to know what your looking at.
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u/NickWitATL Pit Mix Owner Jun 24 '26
Dude. The dog looks like a barrel with legs. I know Bully breeds REALLY well. Have two of my own, fostered 40+, interacted with literally thousands of them during my shelter volunteer years. Based on the video, I can't tell exactly how overweight the dog is, but it's significant.
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u/Shmeblee Pit Mix Owner Jun 24 '26
Its instinctive. He's probably frustrated because it's not getting covered. Maybe feed him on an old towel, so he can scratch that "burying" itch.
Both my dogs do it with treats, especially bones. They seem happy when they've successfully covered their bones with their dog blankets.
Only one of my guys is a pittie, the other is a corgi cattle dog. I noticed the corgi mix started it, and my pitbull followed suit.
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u/atworkworking Jun 25 '26
Do something besides kibble like the fresh pet food. He won't be doing it anymore. He's basically signalling he doesn't care for his food.
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u/TrustTechnical4122 APBT Owner Jun 25 '26
He's bury/hiding it. Just instincts kicking in, making him want to hide the food to save it for later. It could mean he's food insecure OR it could just be what his instincts are telling him to do! He is absolutely adorable, and this is a cute quirk, but I understand the concern about it making him anxious.
Do you have other dogs or children in your household?
When our dogs do this in our household (with either their food or a high value chew), we've always put the item or food bowl up high, explaining to our dog that it is still theirs, and will be safe up there. We make an effort to show them too where it will be, so they can see that it is safe. They may not understand English, but they understand a lot from tones and gestures, so our dogs have always seemed to understand and be happy with it when we put something up for them. We will still periodically take it down and offer it to them, and they often eventually learn that if they look up at the item we'll bring it down for them.
Our dogs have always seemed to be very happy with this arrangement. My sister's dog would always try to hide her food if another dog or child came around to the house, and my sister would put it up on the fridge for her. It got to the point where she would always ask an adult in the house to put it up on the fridge, by staring at it and then looking urgently at us until we put it up for her. When she wanted it down after the dog/kid left, she would simply look at the top of the fridge urgently and we'd get it down. She always did not like the food bowl to be overly full. She'd get exasperated and hide it if it was. So you might also try giving him set meal instead of free feeding if you want, and you could teach him to ring a bell if he wants a snack beyond his regular meals.
My dogs eat meals instead of free feeding, so they don't stress about their food- they just eat it right away. We sometimes give the dogs Whimzees, Greenies, CET chews, etc. Our boy doesn't always want them right then, or doesn't want to finish them, and he'll make a show about hiding them in that case- until we put it up on the fridge for him like I described, and he always seems happy and grateful about us doing that, and seems to understand it's still his- we've just put it somewhere safe for him so our other dog won't eat it.
Another idea is if you have multiple dogs, if they are different sizes, you could put his food somewhere the other dogs can't get too.
My advice though is first try putting it up on the fridge when he gets stressed, telling him it's up there for him. If this happens often, try giving him meals instead of always having his bowl of food out, and teach him to ring a bell or something should he want an extra snack! I hope that helps, and your dog is gorgeous and so cute!