John M. took this photo at the first dig of the day. The dogs were certain there was a groundhog home, but it was buried deep and had not moved for a few days due to the weather.
At this time of year, the groundhogs will wall themselves in behind a dirt barrier, and their heart rates and body temperature will start to drop from 80 beats a minute a minute, and a body temperature of 98 degrees, to as low as 5 beats a minute and a body temperature of just 38 degrees.
Locating a groundhog underground when they go dormant and have walled themselves off in a side tunnel with as much as a foot of dirt between them and the main pipe, is a very hard task for a dog. I have worked groundhog in the snow, and in December, January and February, so it can be done, but I think when that happens it's often because a groundhog has come out of torpor to go topside to defecate. They will still do that every once in a while, even in deep winter.
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3 comments:
I am super excited to get out and dig over my own terrier. She's just 7 months old now, so in the next few weeks I will be trapping a squirrel to see how she fares.
This coming summer I will be headed down to VA for a wedding, and I'd love to have her meet your seasoned vets!
A dumb question from someone who doesn't do earth dogs. Why don't you just wait until they come out of the hole?
My first dog, a rescue Labrador, was a ground hog maniac. Her record was 18 kills in one day, a spring day in State College PA. No training. It was a sport she made up, and which got encouraged cause local farmers approved. The hogs are so easy to catch when they come out super hungry in the spring. Why take the trouble to dig them out in winter? Or is it just that many dogs love digging and it's fun to give them a purpose for what they love to do?
The average groundhog spends 90 percent of his time underground and has four or five holes. They have terrific eyesight and very good hearing. The chance of catching one above ground is very low, which is why they are prolific and are rarely caught by dogs, coyotes, bob cats, and hawks.
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