Prairie dog and Clark in 1804. Lewis described it in more detail in 1806, calling it the "barking squirrel". On average, these stout-bodied rodents will grow to be between long, including the short tail, and weigh between . Sexual dimorphism in body mass in the prairie dog varies 105 to 136% between the sexes. Among the species, black-tailed prairie dogs tend to be the least sexually dimorphic, and white-tailed prairie dogs tend to be the most sexually dimorphic. Sexual dimorphism peaks during weaning, when the females lose weight and the males start eating more, and is at its lowest when the females
Black-tailed prairie dog coccinea") and Russian thistle ("Salsola kali") are preferred during late summer and fall, but are sought out during every season. During winter, plains prickly pear ("Opuntia polyacantha"), Russian thistle, and underground roots are preferred. Shrubs such as rabbitbrush ("Chrysothamnus" spp.), winterfat ("Krascheninnikovia lanata"), saltbush ("Atriplex" spp.), and sagebrush ("Artemisia" spp.) are also commonly eaten. Water, which is generally not available on the short-grass prairie, is obtained from vegetation such as plains prickly pear. Koford estimated one black-tailed prairie dog eats about 7 lb (3 kg) of herbage per month during summer. Cutworms, grasshoppers, and old or fresh American bison scat