Coyotes

[Doberluv]

I think I mentioned that supervision of the beagle would be prudent and that coyotes were unpredictable. I hoped that would be inferred that it wouldn't be good to "count" on domestic dogs scaring off coyotes necessarily. Mine did on those occassions, where the coyotes still must have had some relative fear of humans and likely made an association between humans and domestic dogs. When Bonnie ran the group of coyotes off my pasture, I was standing on my porch. When she ran after them on our ride, there I was, on my horse, yelling at her to come back. So, no doubt, my Wagnerian voice played a part in making them run.

I'm no stranger to living in wilderness areas and semi wilderness areas, where the coyotes are more (to varying degrees) habituated to humans and domestic dogs, therefore becoming less wary. I've been living in one of the last pristine wilderness areas of the U.S. for the last 9 + years. I'm just stating what I've seen. When there is one coyote, it doesn't necessarily mean that there's a pack waiting in the wings. Sometimes yes. Absolutely. They're cunning and obviously superbly adept at survival.

Coyotes hunt in packs, true. But not regularly. They subsist off of small animals a great deal of the time, from my understanding. When they're going after larger prey, like game, they group up.

So, from my observations, I've seen a variety of situations with dogs and coyotes. In fact, such a mix that that right there would never allow me to count on any one behavior from them. I certainly didn't mean to impart that idea when I re-counted some of my coyote stories. I would supervise the beagles, like I stated, as I supervise my Chihuahuas. They'd be mere dental flossing scraps for a coyote.

 

[Renee750il]

You're living in a rare environment, Carrie -- pristine wilderness. The rest of us are living in more habitated areas where the coyotes are adapted. Your experiences are remarkably atypical in the world as it is now. If we dealt with coyotes the way you have, our dogs would be GONE.

 

[Doberluv]

But Renee...you didn't read my post carefully. I am living in that kind of environment now, but I lived in a semi-rural area for years....before I moved to Idaho. It was a clear-cut, 200 acre plat of 5 and a few 10 acre lots, 13 miles east of Everett, Wa and about 28 miles north east of Seattle. Before that I lived in a more developed neighborhood in the outskirts of Everett, a large city, a little on the countrish side, but lots of smaller lots. I have no doubt that in more congested areas, if coyotes are encroached on and they adapt to living in that environment, that they lose most of their fear of humans due to habituation. They get bolder. I understand that. And no, I would not count on dogs running off coyotes. I'm just telling what I saw happen. I didn't count on Jose` running off a black bear twice on my property either. He did it. But I am not "counting" on him to do that job. LOL.

 

[Renee750il]

But Renee...you didn't read my post carefully. I am living in that kind of environment now, but I lived in a semi-rural area for years....before I moved to Idaho. It was a clear-cut, 200 acre plat of 5 and a few 10 acre lots, 13 miles east of Everett, Wa and about 28 miles north east of Seattle. Before that I lived in a more developed neighborhood in the outskirts of Everett, a large city, a little on the countrish side, but lots of smaller lots. I have no doubt that in more congested areas, if coyotes are encroached on and they adapt to living in that environment, that they lose most of their fear of humans due to habituation. They get bolder. I understand that. And no, I would not count on dogs running off coyotes. I'm just telling what I saw happen. I didn't count on Jose` running off a black bear twice on my property either. He did it. But I am not "counting" on him to do that job. LOL.

I should have used the quote feature when I replied earlier, as your original post was shorter I replied pre-edit.

 

[Pops2]

also in areas where coyotes are hunted hard w/ dogs they are less inclined to prey on them. so if in some areas they've had bad experiences by jumping on a bear dog pack they may have the same attitude about avoiding dogs. that is also the reason why the red wolves in NC haven't been a problem for dog hunters because they are similar size & similar numbers so it's an ugly fight when they run into each other. i know some bear & deer doggers that have had good runs on coyote (much to their chagrin) and in those areas coyotes are not a threat to larger dogs. 10 min down the road where dogging isn't legal they will eat dogs in their own yard. so there really is no universal cookie cutter description of exactly how they will behave. this is where most educational sources fail. they pick a behavioral description based on a specific localized population & then teach that that is how they all are.

 

[HayleyMarie]

I guess when I posted I was stating experiances living in a very remote area where coyotes are not becoming domesticated because of the enviroment. And not as a heavily populated area where yodes' are becoming more dometicated. In the 20 years plus I have lived on my farm we have NEVER had an issue with coyotes taking away a dog or any other animal our our property. My situation is much like what Carrie posted.

Although we have lots of coyotes in my area and I hear them everynight yipping away in my field I never really considered them a problem. Now that pesky fox on the other hand , but I find having a big dog is a deterrent in my situation and enviroment. My parents bought Emme with the thought of keeping the yodes' away as Badger was gone and not abe to do his job anymore. And she is doing her job.

Shadow my first Bouve was a fantastic coyote hunter and I have seen her take down a couple same as Badger in his younger years. Like pops says as well it probably helps when coyotes are hunted with dogs.

My parents allowed my brother and I when we were 5 and 6 to explore the fields and forest as much as we like as long as Shadow or Badger was with us because they knew there was no way a coyote was getting between us. Sure I've seen yode's follow us as children from a far distance, I think more because of curiosity than anything but shadow always took care of that if they came any closer.


My situation that I grew up with though, is probably alot different to what other people experiance when it comes to the outdoors, nature and wild animals including the coyote.

 

[Renee750il]

also in areas where coyotes are hunted hard w/ dogs they are less inclined to prey on them. so if in some areas they've had bad experiences by jumping on a bear dog pack they may have the same attitude about avoiding dogs. that is also the reason why the red wolves in NC haven't been a problem for dog hunters because they are similar size & similar numbers so it's an ugly fight when they run into each other. i know some bear & deer doggers that have had good runs on coyote (much to their chagrin) and in those areas coyotes are not a threat to larger dogs. 10 min down the road where dogging isn't legal they will eat dogs in their own yard. so there really is no universal cookie cutter description of exactly how they will behave. this is where most educational sources fail. they pick a behavioral description based on a specific localized population & then teach that that is how they all are.

I completely agree with you.

I've also observed that they seem to have a areal instinct for which dogs could be a real threat and which ones are "soft," regardless of size or breed.

They were terrified of the grrrls -- I've seen packs scatter to the four winds when they came up the hill with Bimmer, howling, and even in pairs gave Bimmer a wide berth, where they would stalk larger dogs than him singly or in pairs.

Bimmer's got just enough wolf in him to hate yotes with a passion, and thankfully, along with that came the wisdom not to get suckered in to following too far on his own.

I do think the fact that all of mine love the hunt and kill makes some subtle difference in them that the coyotes sense, and those coyotes know that if they get hurt, it's over for them, so they would go to seek less hazardous hunting grounds.

There are a pair of bitches that have paired up with a big red dog here in town. They've paraded through my neighborhood several times, insolently disregarding people and eyeballing dogs, even Tallulah when I've been out walking her, but they run like Hell if I've got Kharma out on a leash. They seem to have cut this neighborhood out of their territory now. I haven't seen them here in months, but I've seen them in other areas. The idiot ACOs can't figure out why they can't catch "those two skinny GSDs."

 

[Laurelin]

Yes coyotes will absolutely prey on beagle sized dogs or larger! My next door neighbor's golden retriever was seriously hurt by coyotes while inside her fence. This was a 70+ lb dog in good health! There were at least three coyotes in the fence and more in the woods outside it. On my other forum there have been dogs ranging from a papillon to a pair of pit bulls that have been seriously injured by coyotes while in their own yard. And of course poor Susie and Nonnie were owned by someone that used to be on this forum. They were beagles and were baited out by coyotes and killed.

The yotes here are big and they're smart. I would NEVER take the chance. They cut through our backyard very frequently. I see them at least once a month and who knows how many times they're out there that I DON'T see them.

We never ever ever let our crew outside without supervision where we live. I wouldn't even if I had a 70 lb dog either. Definitely supervise your beagles at all times.

 

[~Jessie~]

Definitely supervise your beagles while they're outside.

One of the moderators on my chi forum had her chihuahua snatched right in front of her by a coyote :yikes:

 

[skittledoo]

Wow Jessie.... that would have been AWFUL to witness. My stupid uncle got irritated with his cat one day and threw the cat outside and said the coyotes could have her. Sadly enough... no sooner did he throw her outside she got snatched up by one.

 

[Doberluv]

also in areas where coyotes are hunted hard w/ dogs they are less inclined to prey on them. so if in some areas they've had bad experiences by jumping on a bear dog pack they may have the same attitude about avoiding dogs. that is also the reason why the red wolves in NC haven't been a problem for dog hunters because they are similar size & similar numbers so it's an ugly fight when they run into each other. i know some bear & deer doggers that have had good runs on coyote (much to their chagrin) and in those areas coyotes are not a threat to larger dogs. 10 min down the road where dogging isn't legal they will eat dogs in their own yard. so there really is no universal cookie cutter description of exactly how they will behave. this is where most educational sources fail. they pick a behavioral description based on a specific localized population & then teach that that is how they all are.

I absolutely agree with this. Coyotes are the epitome of adaptability. They're one of the most opportunistic animals, along with dogs. And they adapt very quickly to whatever stumbling blocks come their way. That's why they're such a successful animal. I rarely see a coyote where I live now. I hear them off in the distance most of the time when I do hear them...sometimes as close as my pasture. A few times I have heard them very close though. Once, at night, I could swear they were somewhere on my driveway or parking area. (which is large.) So, you better believe it, I supervise my dogs like a hawk. When they go out to potty at night, I'm right on top of them and tell them to hurry the hell up. I get a little nervous anyhow at night. There might be a bear or cougar hanging around for all I know....or a moose! :yikes:

 

[~Jessie~]

Wow Jessie.... that would have been AWFUL to witness. My stupid uncle got irritated with his cat one day and threw the cat outside and said the coyotes could have her. Sadly enough... no sooner did he throw her outside she got snatched up by one.

That's awful. Did your uncle regret putting her outside?

I just went back through her posts and this is what it said:

It was only yesterday, Roxy went out to potty with my 14 year old daughter, the 2 coyote's came out of no where and grabbed her. I ran through the woods chasing them I never caught up.
She was so special and so sweet, such a funny personality. She made me so happy every day. She slept with me every night and was with me every day everywhere, she was to be 6 in June. I can't beleive shes gone. I can't stop crying, I wasn't able to help her. I to, will see her over Rainbow Bridge. Now she is there with her Momma, Carmen. My heart hurts so bad, like it is going to break in two. Kay

I can't imagine ever going through something like this.

 

[Doberluv]

It would be the worst. That is so sad. I heard of someone who had his hand on the door handle, just about to open the sliding glass door to let his dog in from going potty....and just at that moment, a coyote snatched the pet and ran off. That is just horrifying!

 

[skittledoo]

That's awful. Did your uncle regret putting her outside?

sadly no. I don't think the man should EVER have animals. The whole time my cousin was growing up he kept bringing her home kittens and puppies and then would always find a reason to get rid of them. I wouldn't trust him with my dog without me right there. He actually really likes Bamm... but he is bipolar and when he has his episodes I've seen him take it out on his own animals and there's absolutely NO way I'd ever let him near Bamm like that. He'd find out pretty quickly how much punch this little gal can throw HAHA.

That's really really sad about the Chi... breaks my heart that they had to witness that.

 

[Pops2]

I completely agree with you.

I've also observed that they seem to have a areal instinct for which dogs could be a real threat and which ones are "soft," regardless of size or breed.

definitely something to that. not all little dogs are fair game. i know a fella in IA that has 3 pats, 1pitXpat & an older but still game jrtXfox (and super old foxy that is retired). the smallest terrier is a 14# pat gyp that has killed 20# coons. the pitXpat 28# & the bigger male pats 21 & 27 # have all pulled yotes out of holes & brush piles by locking jaws and muscling them out. so even w/o the stags & foxhounds backing them (which are usually kenneled anyway), any average size coyote entering his yard is going to have a REAL BAD DAY.
but since they dog them hard yotes don't screw w/ dogs where he lives.

 

[shazbot]

I'm not even sure supervision is 100% effective. When I lived in NorCal, there were stories in the local paper about coyotes attacking dogs on leash while the ower was walking them.

 

[Pomp]

I've been out of town the last two weeks, so I'm just reading all the responses now. I started the thread.

So other than supervision of the dogs, what can be done to protect against coyotes? There have been no other sightings since I started the thread, but I'm still freaked out.

The only other thing I've read about is throwing wolf urine around the perimeter of the yard.

 

[Renee750il]

I've heard of people urinating around the perimeter and having a deterrent effect -- but that's only going to be where the coyotes are still afraid of people.

They're scary smart. A trapper I know says he's had them uncover his traps and move them out of the way -- and that's after he's gone through all of the boiling them in walnut hulls, then burying them for awhile, frequenting the area where he's going to put them to get the animals used to his scent being there with a free meal . . . At one site he found tracks all around leading to a pile of his traps -- and they'd even dug up the anchors.

 

[HayleyMarie]

You can try and put up lights around your place that are motion activated. That might scare them away of they are not too used to living with humans.

 

[Kat09Tails]

I find lead properly applied has always solved my yote issues. If lead is not an option rubber shot also usually sends them packing.