Our Shiba did that too! We figured out it was when she had to poop and wanted to eat the treat badly, but didn’t have room in her belly for it. So she would cry and walk around with it. We would take it away, take her out for a walk, she would poop and then upon returning, we give it to her and she eats it!

What a lucky shiba! 😀 Merry Christmas Cali!

My Shiba is the same way. If I give him a high priority chew or food item that he cannot finish quickly, he will get stressed and run around trying to hide it. He did that even when he was an only dog. It is an instinct with him, which I call the “bury bone” syndrome. 😀

Dogs bury food, chew bones, toys and prey. This behavior was once key to the survival of dogs’ wild ancestors because it allowed them to leave food safely concealed and then return to eat it later.
~~[WebMD]

Like you, I put my dog in his crate, where he feels safe and protected. In this way, he can finish his chew at his leisure. If he doesn’t finish it, then he lets me have it back and I keep it safe for him. Setting up a routine also helps with my Shiba. For example, if he knows that he always gets access to his chew in his crate at night, then he is more relaxed about it.
http://shibashake.com/dog/stop-food-aggression-stop-resource-guarding/comment-page-2#comment-684965

Ok, I couldn’t let it. I gave Suzu the bone again. He acted like befor, so I took it from him. A few minutes later I gave it again but kept holding the bone on one side. Then Suzu started likking it at tried to bite some tissue of. Then I layed it on the ground still holding it and Suzu layed down still chewing on it. Carefully I let loose then and he continued chewing on it.
It was like he had to learn. Did he miss mommies lecture about how to tear a prey and eat it together with his shiba familly?

Maybe the cage for Bodhi feels like the only save place to eat his treat without the threat of another predator that could take his treat away? Like could happen in nature with a prey. Than it is a question of life or death, no food no survival. Suzu gets upset when I give him the bone. He wants to take it to a save place in the house. I don’t allow him because I don’t want the greasy thing on my marble floor. So to be honnest, the bone is no fun for him like it should be. And also not for me. It should be fun to give your dog a treat. It is frustrating for both of us so I let the bone where it is now, in a paper bag in the garage. Maybe I try again later.

Hi Kevin,
I have a almost 10 months old shiba boy called Suzu. He has a kind of simular behaviour. When I give Suzu a spesial treat, like a dryed and smoked bone or dried pig ear, he will do the same. He runs around in our backyard while whining. He wants to take it in the house to hide it in his cage. When that doesn’t work out for him he will burry it in the garden by shoveling soil on it with his nose. I think shibas are so close to nature that they feel like saving food for worse times.

Recently we took in another Shiba, Duke. Duke is 11 months old and we are dog sitting for the foreseeable future. Duke loves toys. Mostly softballs and baseballs. He loves to tear the cover off, or drop them down the stairs so that he can fetch them and bring them back up.

Bodhi now decided he wants to play with his toys out of jealousy. The pups get along pretty well, despite Duke annoying Bodhi from time to time with puppy antics. They wear each other out very well with wrestling and sprinting laps around the back yard, weaving slalom courses in between the trees.

I’ve never tried interactive food toys, as I am a little worried about stained furniture and carpets. Maybe I’ll give some of these a try. Dogs, just like people, could always be happier.

Another thing that is interesting about Bodhi is his strange behavior with treats. He will not eat a treat that is hard or crunchy unless he is in is cage. He will run around the house, holding it in his mouth looking to bury it while whining. If I break it up into little bits he will eat it. Otherwise, in order to eat a whole treat he must be in his cage. Any thoughts on this?