# Close call with coyotes.



## Pepper311 (Sep 11, 2011)

I live in the High Sierra mountains of Lake Tahoe. It's wild out here. Seeing bears is just a part of everyday life. Coyotes eating small dogs is just something that happens we all know it does. We all try and live with the wildlife, not keep it away.*

My house is in the prime location for wildlife. We have a huge open meadow *with a little seasonal pond and woods all around. There is a mountain a short walk away. Due to this nice location we have to share it with a pack of coyotes. They live in the woods right by my house.*I see them just about everyday.

I take my dog on a walk everyday before work. We go out to the meadow and she runs while I scan for coyotes. When I see one I call her to me and she is fine. Today I took her for a long run by while I biked. On the way back home we stopped at the dog park because I saw a few dogs cookie knew. So she ran around with the other dogs and back on the bike home threw a little patch of woods near my hood. This time I let her off leash. *I tried to keep up on my mountains bike. Before I could see it cookie saw a coyote. I yelled NO NO! It was too late she was already in the "red zone" before I even saw the stupid coyote.*

She took off I kept yelling "COME COOKIE!" I saw a man watching the whole thing. In the meadow. I biked up to him and asked where they went he was in a better place to see what happen. So I kept yelling.*

I stood with the guy talking about coyotes for a little bit. Waiting and wishing for my dog to come back. About 5 min later. Way off in the distance I see what looks like it could be my dog. I start calling. Sure enough the dogs comes running. *It was cookie. As I am calling I hear the coyote pack go off. They are making all kinds of sounds. That means my dog chased the little coyote all the way or close enough to the pack to get them excited. Cookie came running right to me. I gave her a big hug lots of praise. That was too close. The guy I was standing with was also happy to see she came back. Cookie got lucky for sure. I also think that her speed and smarts helped her out. 

What the coyotes do is they will lead a dog back to the pack. Then the pack will sometimes kill it. So hearing the sound of many coyotes crying was scary. *I think cookie came close to meeting the pack. As soon as cookie saw or smelled the other coyotes she turned and booked it back to me. She is fast and smart. The coyotes are smart too. They don't want to work too hard for food. Cookie being fast and young was not worth it for the coyotes. They don't risk getting hurt. Also it's spring time lots of baby animals and bunnies around.*

A few years ago our dog meatball the Pitbull would escape with his girl friend dog that lived next door. She was a ridge back. Sometimes they would be missing for days. The bastards always came back. I don't know how they did it. We lived near a camp ground and my husband was walking threw with meatball. A person asked "is that your dog" He said "yes why". The man then told my husband " we are happy to see he is alive. The other day we saw him running with 5 coyotes chasing him". Could meatball have taught cookie a thing or too about coyotes?*

I don't know but I hope that cookies run in with the pack was enough to scare her from chasing after coyotes again. It had to have scared her. I know I need to keep cookie on a leash from now on till I have her trained not to chase. This was too close. What a way to start the day.*


----------



## Anitsisqua (Mar 25, 2012)

I'm so glad your dog is okay!

We have coyotes around here, too. They ate my neighbor's Cocker Spaniel. Stupid woman called animal control and told them our other neighbor's Border Collie did it. I feel bad that her dog was killed, but a Cocker Spaniel left out alone at night has no means of defending itself from coyotes. Poor thing.


----------



## Stosh (Jun 26, 2010)

What a story! We have coyotes here too but Stosh is completely uninterested. Sometimes he'll pay attention to their howls but most of the thing he ignores them. He must know better. Glad your dog is ok and let's hope she's 'scared straight'


----------



## llombardo (Dec 11, 2011)

I have a coyote that is very curious about my golden retriever...he actually comes right up to the patio window and looks in my house...the golden retriever has decided that he don't like the coyote and barks/growls, but the coyote doesn't leave until he sees me.


----------



## NancyJ (Jun 15, 2003)

Thank you for the reminder! Coyotes are year round here and trapping is legal as is shooting without a license. Our working dogs who are often searching in rural areas are at risk.

Glad is was only a close call. I had to recall my dogs off of some unidentified animals lately. We know coyotes live back there and it was probaby what it was. Grim who is normally very good and never chases deer was on a mission! A few moments of terror for me. I wonder if taking a blank pistol would be good? Gunshots don't bother my dogs but might a coyote.

This is a good article with an internal link to a file I am going to print and put in my pack for how to remove a trap. Also taking wire cutters from here on out.
http://www.dfw.state.or.us/wildlife/docs/dogs_and_trapping.pdf


----------



## Courtney (Feb 12, 2010)

We have a pack that runs in the wetlands that back our property. I hear them at night because it's been warmer and have left our bedroom window open. Rusty has perked up a few times to listen, then goes back to sleep.

We do have to mindful of them. Several years ago the next county over there was a report where a pack actually attacked a GSD in the yard, they all went after his groin area My MIL has a minature German Schnauzer that was being stalked by one when she was working in her garden, he was hiding behind their pines watching, when she stood up he took off.


----------



## LARHAGE (Jul 24, 2006)

We have a horrible time with them, in February one of the Corgi's in our group of trail riders was attacked, but luckily one of the guys had a high powered pellet gun, that Coyote will be hurting for a long time.


----------



## jprice103 (Feb 16, 2011)

We don't have anything like that around here (being right next to Philadelphia) but all the more reason to really start working on Cheyenne's recall!


----------



## 1sttimeforgsd (Jul 29, 2010)

Wow, glad there was a happy ending.


----------



## JakodaCD OA (May 14, 2000)

scarey for sure I have alot of coyotes around here. My yard is fenced but they have no problem checking out the fence line.

I have huge fields across the street from me, masi and i are in there alot, have seen them during the day, they are pretty bold for sure. Masi ignores them, but I usually leash her up when I see one anyway.


----------



## wyominggrandma (Jan 2, 2011)

Just make sure the dogs are vaccinated and up to date always for rabies...


----------



## lorihd (Nov 30, 2011)

glad everything is o.k. tell me how big is a coyote? I know we must have some, once my daughter told me that a really big fox was chasing one of our chickens (that was years ago) and she chased it away. we live in very rural area in nj, there is a preserve around us with thousands of acres, but ive never seen one. i know we have bears here, but pretty scarey when something has the potential to kill your dog


----------



## NancyJ (Jun 15, 2003)

Typically 35-40lbs
Our state DNR says up to about 60
I know someone who shot an 80lb male on a farm -- (coulda been a coydog or a big coyote)
Pretty sure the Eastern Coyotes are bigger than their Western Cousins


----------



## KentuckyGSDLover (Nov 17, 2011)

I actually had to fire two shotgun shots in the air tonight before I took the dogs out because I had coyotes howling very close to the house and I never take them out at night without a spotlight to look for eyeshine and scare them off with. They'll kill a small dog for food and a large dog over territory. The kennels I'm putting up are going to have a welder wire predator panel on the top, too.


----------



## KentuckyGSDLover (Nov 17, 2011)

jocoyn said:


> Typically 35-40lbs
> Our state DNR says up to about 60
> I know someone who shot an 80lb male on a farm -- (coulda been a coydog or a big coyote)
> Pretty sure the Eastern Coyotes are bigger than their Western Cousins


Eastern coyotes are larger. The ones around here are a good 50 pounds and I've seen a few males that were downright huge. Coy-dogs are extremely rare (coyotes kill dogs, rarely mate with them); however, DNA is showing what wildlife biologists suspected for years - that the eastern coyote has wolf DNA; hence their size. In fact, they very much resemble the "red wolf" that was once abundant in the eastern U.S.


----------

