Do dogs have secrets?

A wonderful column dealt with the question of whether dogs can keep secrets. Anyone who thinks dogs can't is mistaken! The clever animals don't like to show their hand.

The buried bone

There is, for example, the dog that has buried its bone in the garden. For a long time it carried it around, until finally no one was looking. Then it quickly buried the precious piece. Its instinct tells it: could come in quite handy for bad times! 🙂 And anyone who plans ahead surely won't give anything away. Above all not the pantry, should the human get the idea of looking for the bone. If the human asks the dog to help with the search – well then, it's their own fault. The dog runs everywhere and points out all sorts of things – just not its bone hideout. It would be silly to do that, and it isn't silly – it's its secret!

When the dog runs off

Then the example when the dog runs off. Secretly it sneaks back into the house later. All attempts to find out where it was fail – it can't tell you where it was anyway. From a human perspective, the dog might think: does he really believe I'll tell him about my date? Better to put on an innocent look that says: “I have no idea what you want.” I was only round the corner. And how could you prove anything else against the dog? Well, it's unlikely that such trains of thought even take place in the dog – but either way, it's its secret!

The vanished sock

Sometimes things disappear mysteriously. The sock, for example – it wasn't eaten by the washing machine, because it hadn't even gone in yet. Or the lighter that was just lying on the table. Now it's gone and doesn't turn up again either. Until the human wants to air out the dog cushion one day – and lo and behold: sock and lighter are lying underneath! The dog didn't give that away – the human found out by chance. Regardless of its intention – it's its secret!

A treat? But I haven't had one yet!

Then the successful trick with the forgotten treat. You take it out, the phone rings and the treat lies there, so forgotten! Forgotten indeed – not by the dog. It grabs it, swallows it down and waits on exactly the spot where it was when the phone rang. What is it waiting for? Well, for you to finally hand over the treat. As if you'd forgotten – no one needs to know that one is already in its belly – that's its secret too!

So, how was that again? Dogs can't keep secrets? I think they can!