Why Does My Dog Put Stuff Under The Couch?

You’ve probably seen your dog hide items under the couch and this must have left you wondering; why does my dog put stuff under the couch?

You shower them with their favorite toys and treat and the next thing you notice them missing. They then magically re-appear only for you to find a lot of other stuff hidden under your couch. Why exactly is your dog doing this?

Read on to understand:

• Why dogs hide stuff under the couch
• Key reasons why they tend to do this
• How to stop them from hiding things under the couch
• And many more…

Why Does my Dog Put Stuff Under the Couch?

Dogs put stuff under the couch due to their hiding/hoarding instincts acquired from their canine ancestors. Other reasons include anxiety, when seeking attention, boredom, or when they like the scent of the item. Another reason why they do this could be because you are encouraging the behavior.

Because there are a number of reasons for this, it’s important to get a better understanding of the main reason why they are doing this.

We will now jump deep into each of the reasons why dogs hide stuff under the couch.

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7 Reasons Why Dogs Hide Things Under The Couch

There are 7 key reasons why dogs will hide things under the couch. Let’s look at each of the reasons in detail now.

1. Boredom

When your pooch is feeling bored and has nothing to stimulate them, they may end up trying to find ways to stimulate themselves.

This may range from whining, chewing stuff, humping, destroying things around the house or some may end up hiding stuff under the couch.

They may end up hiding their toys, bones and so much more.

2. Anxiety

Dogs may also hide stuff under the couch due to anxiety. This may be a behavior mostly triggered in a multi-pet environment. Bad experiences from the past could trigger them to start hiding stuff away from other animals in the household.

If they consider under the couch as their safe spot, they’ll be seen hiding things there more often and later on easily accessing them.

3. Attention

Dog’s are always looking for ways to seek attention from their owners. If they are not humping things around the house, they will be seen hiding things in the house.

If they are not getting enough of their daily walk to burn the extra energy in them, your doggo may end up trying to do so much more as a means to get your attention.

Being intelligent pets, dogs also understand the need for negative attention; as it helps with getting their owners paying close attention to them.

4. Ancestry Instincts

Domesticated dogs acquired their hoarding instincts from their ancestors – the wolves. Due to food scarcity, whenever there is surplus killing, wolves will be observed hiding the surplus.

Dogs also would bury or hide stuff to save it for later. The same applies to their toys. They will hide them in a safe place to prevent other animals from accessing them. Allowing them the opportunity to use them in the future.

5. Overprotective

Some dogs are super possessive. They’ll want to ensure no other member of the family gets hold of their favorite treats or toys.

They’ll hide things in places they consider safe and only accessible to them, even if this means hiding it under the couch.

Overprotectiveness in dogs could also be a sign of anxiety in dogs. Especially, if this comes with other signs such as whining, trembling, or excessive licking.

6. They Like the Scent

Dogs sense of smell is strong and they rely on them to inspect their environment as well as their surrounding. When it comes to scents, they also have some sort of preference.

This could be in the form of scents from their owners, their favorite treats, or their favorite toys. They’ll then proceed to try and protect these items as much as possible so they don’t lose them.

They may end up hiding these items under the couch as a means to reserve them for their future use.

Due to separation anxiety, they may also hide some items that contain scents that remind them of their owners. Giving them comfort and security.

7. You Are Encouraging the Behaviour

It could be that you are actually encouraging the behavior. This could come in as a surprise but, when you offer them treats to come out of hiding or to stop hiding their toys under the couch.

You are actually encouraging them to continue with this same behavior. This is because they know they’ll get some reward for doing this.

Also Read: Why Do Dogs Drag Their Butts (Six Reasons Why)

How Do I Stop my Dog From Hiding Stuff Under the Couch?

Now that we know some of the main reasons why they hide stuff under your couch, let’s now look at some of the ways to stop them from continuing with this behavior.

Below are some of the ways to stop your dog from hiding stuff under the couch:

• Teaching them the right behaviour: Dog trainers will always use some commands as a means to teach doggos a new trick. This is always followed by treats being handed over to them. You could also use the same approach to teach them some good behaviour.
• Limiting Access to Their Favourite Items: If you notice them putting their favourite items under the couch, you could decide to block them from accessing their favourite items, preventing them from this behaviour.
• Rotating their Toys: When you offer extra toys to them, your doggo won’t get bored and won’t engage to their hoarding behaviour as they’ll have the opportunity to shift to the other one incase of anything. Rotating may also prevent them hiding the favourite ones since you’ll be helping them shift from one to the other.
• Safely Locking them in a Room: Before taking this action, you need to first dog-proof the room. This is a solution to employ when you have no one to leave your doggo to. You should consider including their chew toys to keep them entertained.
• Getting a Dog Trainer: If all the above options fail, consider getting a dog trainer to help with modifying your fur baby behaviour. The dog trainer, will employ both positive and negative reinforcement to change such a behavior.

Conclusion

Dogs will hide things under the couch due to their hoading instincts inherited from their wolves ancestors. They may also do this due to other reasons such as anxiety, boredom or when trying to seek your attention.

You should get an understanding of the main reason why this is happening and identify the best of option to take to control the situation.

What other strange behaviors have you seen from your pooch? Share your feedback with us in the comment section below.

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