Dog Training Full Advice

Mmm ... tennis-ball soup!

Yeah yeah, gross ... I know. Cmon, theyre dogs! My question is "Why?"

Is it to give the balls a wash? Thats certainly the most common description of the behavior that I hear tossed around at dog parks.

Monkey dips it, but never lets it go

Maybe - but they certainly dont seem to mind using water thats less than sparkling clean! Also, they dont swish the balls around, but most often just drop them in and then either hover over them, plucking them out when any other dog comes near, or just trot away and leave them there to soak.

Could it be a remnant of food-preparation behavior, behavior designed to soak and soften food before eating it?

I know my dogs prefer their kibble soaked in a splash of water, adding a sort of gravy to their meal. However I doubt this, because dogs descended from carnivores - wolves - and Ive never heard of soaking meat as a means of preparing it to eat.

Turtle seems proud of his achievement.

A theory that makes a more sense to me is that

they are doing what is called "caching". Non-domesticated animals such as cheetahs, squirrels, and wolves cache the remains of their meal after theyve eater their fill, normally by burying it or stashing it in a tree. Caching a slab of meat underwater could serve two simultaneous purposes: if the water is cold, it could preserve the meat for a short period of time by acting as a makeshift refrigerator; and at the same time it could hide the scent of the meat, keeping it from being tracked and eaten by nearby prey. This explanation makes more sense of the way dogs at dog parks hover over the water bowl after dropping the ingredients into their soup.

Im hoping that using the scientific technical terminology will make my theory sound more legit. :)

Anyone have any other ideas or thoughts?

Or at least a dry towel I can borrow?