Our newest family member, my daughter Jordan and boyfriend Alex’s dog, is a splooter.
I did not know this about Carl or even that there was a term to describe his behavior until three weeks ago. Jordan and I were texting back and forth about her latest photos of “the wonder puppy” when I innocently said, as dog grandparents will, “Aw, that’s a cute pic. I’m saving it.”
I could feel Jordan beaming through the phone: “Yes, he loves to sploot.”
“What?”
She immediately sent me a link.
I had no idea that what our much-loved first child Mocha, the most wonderful Miniature Schnauzer the world has ever known, had done many years ago is now all the internet rage.
Sploot? Splooter? Splooting? Dodo.com describes it as Carl pushing either one or both back legs out behind him while his hips and stomach are flat on the ground.
On pethelpful.com, Sam Mendoran describes the behavior as an “Egyptian Sphinx” pose.
So who came up with “sploot?” Ever the researcher, I started reading up on the subject.
Again, Mendoran describes it perfectly:
“There is an entire cutesy pet language that exists just to describe the adorable and idiosyncratic behaviors of our pets. The word ‘sploot’ is an example of a pet‑based onomatopoeia that appeared on the internet one day and then entered our daily lingo because it was attached to a web‑wide sensation that became pop culture.”
Dodo.com spoke with Dr. Andrea Y. Tu, medical director at Behavior Vets in New York City, to learn if this pose is comfortable for your pet.
“That’s one of those things where some [dogs] like lying in that position. It’s not just dogs. Cats do it a lot, too,” replied Tu.
As for possible issues with a dog’s joints, “if they’re comfortable in that position, I would just leave them be,” Tu said. “It doesn’t really suggest anything positive or negative.”
While neither Teddy, our Lab, or Pip, our cat, sploots, Mocha was more than comfortable splooting anywhere at any time. When we adopted her, we lived in a Columbus apartment with an attached cement patio that got very warm in the summer.
The sassy pup would stretch her front legs and then her back legs. With all the grace of a Sphinx, she plopped her tummy right down, and the warmth of the cement must have felt good.
It also earned her a trip to the vet as the cement warmed her tummy a little too much, turning it bright pink. Instead of sunburn, Mocha got a “patio burn.”
The issue resolved itself at our first home with a big grassy yard, although it did create another one when Mocha discovered the joy of rolling in squirrel poop.
Unfortunately, there aren’t any creative words to describe that behavior.
GLANCE BOX
The National Canine Research Association of America (NCRAOA) lists other names for splooting:
1. Frogging, frog legs, or frog dogging
2. Pancaking
3. Superman
SOURCE: pethelpful.com
Karin Spicer is a member of The Dog Writers Association of America. She lives with her family and two furry pets that inspire her. She can be reached at spicerkarin@gmail.com.
About the Author