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Wonderful Wednesday: Splooting

The other day, V took a picture of a squirrel splooting on our deck.

What is SPLOOTING you may ask?  Splooting is when a four-legged animal kicks out one or both back legs behind its body.

In general, there is no cause for alarm. It could be just a stretch for the hips. But because of the terrible heat caused by climate change, many squirrels are splooting all over the place. This usually means they are trying to cool their body temperature by exposing their bellies to a cooler surface like grass. When humans are hot, sweating cools us down. But animals that can’t sweat have to resort to other behaviors to cool off. Dogs pant. Birds dunk themselves in water. And squirrels sploot. 

I have had many dogs and cats that sploot.

Here is Bearnard splooting (with one of my socks-LOL).

According to the internet, there are various types of sploots: a one-legged sploot, a side sploot, and a full sploot.

Here is Louise in a classic sploot with one leg remaining beneath her body and the other leg kicked out.

Charles was a big splooter (I couldn’t find a picture, sorry). I thought it was mostly a thing that little male dogs did. But now I know even cats sploot.

Do you sploot? Show us your pictures!

Just another DogDaz morning at the zoo ❤

 
7 Comments

Posted by on July 24, 2024 in Dogs

 

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Monday Mischief: Saving Squirrels

So we were having tree work done. It was way past time to trim back the big trees which needed to be cleaned up, so they could breathe, as well as, be less of a danger to the house. But, in doing that, the wonderful tree climbers discovered and cut down a squirrel nest.

That evening, the owner of the tree company, bless his heart, tried to reunite the babies with their mom. But it was late and dark, and a storm had come through, so she never came.

The next morning at sunrise, we tried again, but she just wasn’t coming. Even with a tape recording of baby squirrel sounds playing loudly. So now, Rocky and Rockette, are going to live on a nice 14-acre farm after they a bottle feed for a few weeks.

Thank you tree people for caring enough to try and save the babies. And thank you, Tim Ballard, for teaching your teams about wildlife rescue. If you are in the Annapolis area, try Ballard Tree Service.

What kind of mischief did you get into today?

Just another DogDaz morning at the zoo ❤

 
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Posted by on August 24, 2020 in Animals

 

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Black and White Sunday: Milky Toes & Sun Flowers (Redux)

On a beautiful 70° in the middle of January, I thought I would revisit a summer post. – Enjoy your Sunday! 

7.31.16Louise stands at the edge of the deck for the longest time. I guess she is surveying her territory. On the other side of the pool is a busy bird feeder and there is always a lot of activity going on. This is a really good vantage point from which to see if the villainous squirrels are stupid enough to come into the area. I feel sorry for the squirrels in our yard because when I let the dogs out – zoom, zoom, zoom – they know just where the squirrels are going to be and they run them up the trees, fences, and power lines.

I love this shot because it really shows off Louise’s milky rear toes. The nails are white in those spots and black everywhere else. These are truly the DOGDAZ of summer.

Have a wonderful black and white Sunday!

Just another DogDaz morning at the zoo ❤

 
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Posted by on January 12, 2020 in Dogs

 

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Black and White Sunday: Milky Toes & Sun Flowers

7.31.16Louise stands at the edge of the deck for the longest time. I guess she is surveying her territory. On the other side of the pool is a busy bird feeder and there is always a lot of activity going on. This is a really good vantage point from which to see if the villainous squirrels are stupid enough to come into the area. I feel sorry for the squirrels in our yard because when I let the dogs out – zoom, zoom, zoom – they know just where the squirrels are going to be and they run them up the trees, fences, and power lines.

I love this shot because it really shows off Louise’s milky rear toes. The nails are white in those spots and black everywhere else.These are truly the DOGDAZ of summer.

Have a wonderful black and white Sunday!

nolasugar_bwbadge_pm

This is part of the Black and White Sunday Blog Hop. Thanks to Dachshund Nola and Sugar for hosting.

Just another DogDaz morning at the zoo ❤

 
9 Comments

Posted by on July 31, 2016 in Dogs

 

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