Pronking or Stotting?

This is a back-blip because Denise and I have been in Florence for a few days celebrating having been married for 25 years (and together for 27).

I caught this picture of Tallulah on Monday before we left.

We were taking a walk through a field of rape which had grown very high. Sometimes when she's in very tall grass or undergrowth like this she starts pronking or stotting, which is a very startling gait in which she bounces skyward with all four feet off the ground at once. Gazelles such as Springbok exhibit this behaviour sometimes when startled by predators but I've hardly ever seen a dog do it, apart from Tally. I know the picture is not a great one but I was so pleased to capture the image because you can only do so by anticipation and luck.

Apparently the term "Pronking" comes from English - a derivative of "Prancing," whereas the alternative term is Stotting which is Scots (as in "stotting a ball on a wall" or "getting stotting." - the wonders of Wikipaedia).

I want to thank all of you who liked my picture on Sunday 25th - it briefly went into the spotlight - a first for me - so thanks again.