Does anyone else's cavalier do this?

Hi, I was just wondering if cavaliers typically do this pointer stance? Very often, when we are out in the yard, Sasha will freeze in this position, with tail straight out back and leg bent like the picture below (taken from http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pointer_(dog)

What does it mean? Has she picked up on a bird or something? (Sorry, but this is our first dog!).

My first 17 years of life -- I spent with a german shorthair pointer. A couple of my cavaliers will do this. But most don't stop and point, they just try to catch the prey themselves.

Yes, Prince does this when he sees a bird in the garden

To of my cavaliers stand like that

For a lot of dogs, they will stop like this if they freeze and pay attention to something. Jaspar lifts one paw when he is sitting too,if he is really closely paying attention to me (eg waiting to start an agility course for example). In pointers and other breeds the instinct to freeze and 'point; is bred into them for hunting. I'd guess with cavaliers there may be something genetically predisposed still in the blood or else just a bit of coincidence that the stance looks like they are pointing when mostly they are just very interested in something. Jaspar freezes if I am about to throw something for him too, for example!

Here's more info on why dogs point -- basically in hunting breeds, trainers simply develop a natural instinct that has been enhanced by breeding for dogs that tend to freeze and point.

http://www.dobbsdogs.com/library/retrievers/rj27.html

http://www.ehow.com/video_2324542_how-hunting-dogs-point-bird.html

My tri color, Bailey, points at birds and butterflies in our yard. We have two bradford pear trees in our backyard and there's a nest in one of them and Bailey will go to the tree and point up at it. My dad calls him "bird dog" whenever he sees him pointing.

Karlin, interesting video!

I agree that Sasha is probably just frozen in that position while paying attention to something, as she is certainly not patient enough to wait for me to flush out a bird!!

It looks very cute though.. she looks like a little hunter!:lotsaluv:

Very interesting that other cavaliers on this site do the same thing.

My girl does this all the time in the yard. Especially when she is concentrating on a June Bug, fly, or moth that is nearby. It's pretty funny actually, but must be instinctual.