Wild relatives of the dog often bury their food. They may have killed an animal that is too big to eat all at once, or may have killed several animals when they were plentiful. Wolves and fox will bury this food to preserve and protect it from being found by other animals who would want to eat it. This is called caching or hoarding their food.

Domestic dogs still carry this hoarding trait. They will bury a bone or toy in the yard, or even under a blanket, as a way of saving and protecting it. But our dogs seldom experience the extreme hunger that encourages them to find it again, so many times, these buried treasures are forgotten.