In the past couple of weeks my two dogs have treed a coon in our backyard twice. We have a fenced in yard and twice now (once early in the morning and the other late at night) I've come out and the dogs have had a big old coon trapped. We have a grape vine in our yard and both times the dogs have trapped him up on one of the posts holding the vine up. Each time he has been able to leap from the vine and over the fence to safety. Our dogs primarily stay in doors and only go out for exercise and to go to the bathroom. Is this coon something that I should be worried about? Our dogs aren't very big, but they are medium sized. Cody is a 17 month old Terrier/Pinscher mix that weighs about 40 pounds on the dot. Rya is a 10 month old Shepherd mix that weighs about 45 pounds. I know that coons can be vicious but our dogs always go out together and are very protective of each other. What are the chances that this coon could really take on both of my dogs at once? Would it even try since it is out numbered? What are your thoughts? I really don't want them to get hurt. Thanks!
Should I be worried about Raccoon?
- Thread starter Verminator
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A coon will avoid conflict from a dog......usually.
I personally wouldn't be very worried. Just make sure all shots are up to date for your dogs.
A raccoon will fight like the devil if cornered or has little ones, but they are very crafty and usually find a way to "flight" rather than "fight".
(Unless of course, if the coon was diseased........then they act REALLY strange, but if they are not acting strange....then I wouldn't worry too much).
Edit: If you are bothered at all, just rent or buy a box trap......bait it with some stinky stuff like fish......catch them and relocate them to a more appropriate area. Just don't stick your fingers in there.
I personally wouldn't be very worried. Just make sure all shots are up to date for your dogs.
A raccoon will fight like the devil if cornered or has little ones, but they are very crafty and usually find a way to "flight" rather than "fight".
(Unless of course, if the coon was diseased........then they act REALLY strange, but if they are not acting strange....then I wouldn't worry too much).
Edit: If you are bothered at all, just rent or buy a box trap......bait it with some stinky stuff like fish......catch them and relocate them to a more appropriate area. Just don't stick your fingers in there.
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So long as the coon has some kind of escape route it shouldnt be a problem, a truly cornerd coon WILL fight like the devil .
I would suggest putting a bell on your dogs collars when there going outside the noise will give your coon an advanced warning and give him extra chance to get outa there.
Make sure your dogs are up to date on their rabies shots though...
while theres no evidence the coon is rabid (they will act very strange) its still best to be safe as racoons are the highest of the vector species (the most likely to be carrying)
I would suggest putting a bell on your dogs collars when there going outside the noise will give your coon an advanced warning and give him extra chance to get outa there.
Make sure your dogs are up to date on their rabies shots though...
while theres no evidence the coon is rabid (they will act very strange) its still best to be safe as racoons are the highest of the vector species (the most likely to be carrying)
T
All seven of our cockers once got tangled with a coon at once. Only one of the cockers came out a bit bloody, but MAN that coon was HUGE!
But ya, if there is a way, the coon will "flight" before it will try to "fight". You might not even hav eto buy a trap. Your local humane society might have traps that you could borrow.
But ya, if there is a way, the coon will "flight" before it will try to "fight". You might not even hav eto buy a trap. Your local humane society might have traps that you could borrow.
Raccoons don't bother me but for their distruction on garbage night. It's skunks that I hate. You can't trap them or shoot them without them stinking up your land. They stink up your dog if he messes with them, and they don't seem the least bit afraid that you are nearby. I practically dug a hole trying to run away from one late one night when Tosca wanted to go after one while we were outside. I had all I could do to drag her inside. The darned thing was way too close and didn't even flinch from its sniffing while Tosca barked. I really don't like skunks. They might even match snakes and rats in my mind of moving things I really despise.
I would still be careful. WE lost a fat 8 week old labrador puppy to a raccoon at the kennels. WE think the raccoon was looking for crumbs in the pup's food bowl and this pup went out to investigate. I never turn even my full grown lab out to chase them away from the porch. I ALWAYS GO OUT FIRST and make a ruckus, chuck a few rocks. Here we have had a few reports of rabid as well, you don't know, better to be careful.