mbc1963 Posted June 12, 2009 Report Share Posted June 12, 2009 This happened where I walk Buddy 1 - 2 times a week: http://www.newburyportnews.com/punews/loca..._161224636.html It's the best dog-walking spot in the world: just hundreds of acres of abandoned fields, and the only people who go there are rare dog-walkers. There are no issues with leashing or stupid dogs and owners. It's been like a very-well-kept-secret, a sanctuary. I've run into this woman with her four labs before. Darn it. Now I have to leave or get a gun, apparently. I saw one coyote there, once, with Buddy. It took Buddy and me a minute to figure out that this wasn't a dog, and the coyote a minute to figure out that Buddy wasn't a coyote. Then they both got spooked and the coyote ran off. Mary Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tommy Coyote Posted June 12, 2009 Report Share Posted June 12, 2009 A huge brown german shepherd? That dowsn't sound like coyotes - they only weight 40 pounds or so. That sounds like a wolf. But I doubt wolves would surround a person and four dogs like that. Maybe it was actually a dog pack of some kind. Or maybe she was just so scared they seemed that big. We have an area kind of like that pretty close to me. I quit walking there. I got afraid of mountain lions. Don't ask me why. We supposedly don't have mountain lions around here but one morning I just got completely spooked while I was over there and I just brought the dogs in. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
powerfulgazelle Posted June 12, 2009 Report Share Posted June 12, 2009 A huge brown german shepherd? That dowsn't sound like coyotes - they only weight 40 pounds or so. That sounds like a wolf. But I doubt wolves would surround a person and four dogs like that. Maybe it was actually a dog pack of some kind. Or maybe she was just so scared they seemed that big. In the last 10 years or so, our local coyote population has gotten larger and more well established. Where sightings of individuals used to be reported from time to time, now folks are reporting small groups. In addition, the individuals I see are bigger...the ones we used to see barely looked like the same animal I had seen in CO..ours were tiny little scruffy looking things, almost more like overgrown foxes. Now they are big, hale, hardy things. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NCStarkey Posted June 12, 2009 Report Share Posted June 12, 2009 Hello everyone, It certainly sounds like a scary situation, but there are several "facts" in the article that do seem a bit odd. However, if I were Ms. Burke (the person who was "chased" by coyotes), I think that I would be equally concerned that the newspaper published my home address. Regards, nancy Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
juliepoudrier Posted June 12, 2009 Report Share Posted June 12, 2009 I think that I would be equally concerned that the newspaper published my home address. Regards, nancy Exactly what I was thinking as I read the article. J. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dal & Mad's Mom Posted June 12, 2009 Report Share Posted June 12, 2009 The coyote's in Pa look like 40lb german shepards. I'm not sure if they integrated with dogs but, I have gone out talking to a lost dog near my yard only to discover its' one. I know there were enough of them here that trappers set up during the winter to reduce the pop. During the summer they have a den about 300 yards from my house and you can hear them calling at night. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Anda Posted June 12, 2009 Report Share Posted June 12, 2009 The coyotes here in Denver metro area look like malnurished and mangy GSDs And there have been many incidents when they atacked dogs and even dog owners. I don't venture far at dusk (I sleep tightly at dawn ), there are warning signs like this one on our trails - in the middle of the Tech Center. (sorry for the huge size, but the sign wasn't readable at medium size) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Soda-pop Posted June 12, 2009 Report Share Posted June 12, 2009 Yeah the ones out here are about 40lbs, though they are not one lick afraid of people. I had a stand off with about 7 of them over one of my dogs--they waited for her to make a mistake-she was in a down stay between me and the coyotes while I went to go get her-- so they could (I assume) eat her. Scary stuff. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ThunderHill Posted June 12, 2009 Report Share Posted June 12, 2009 A neighboring farmer I occasionally buy hay and firewood from has told me that he shoots a couple of coyotes every year on his land, and that over the past decade they've gone from being little scruffy things to great big things, 40 pounds and up. I saw one not too far from my house (about 3 years ago) that I mistook at first glance for a badly bred, dirty Malinois gone astray/feral. (Apologies to both coyotes and Malinois for my mistake.) It was that big. It was wary but it didn't bolt; once I stopped (to give it a careful look) it left when it was darned well ready. I don't know if we're getting cross breeding with dogs in my area or not. I read a popular science article a while back which claimed research says that coy-dog pups aren't as efficient instinctual predators as pure coyotes. They can learn successful predatory behavior, it's just not as hard-wired as it is for pure coyotes. So the pure coyotes may just be out-surviving any mixes. One symptom of coyotes taking up residence seems to be a sudden disappearance of local foxes, I guess the coyotes out-compete them for resources. I used to hear them kyi at night once in a while at my old place, nothing so far at the new place but I also see a fox working my fence lines many evenings so this may just be a hole in the local coyote range. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ms.DaisyDuke Posted June 12, 2009 Report Share Posted June 12, 2009 Man, that freaks me out! Back home they were smaller but out here in the prairies they are an easy 50lb animal. Some are small, but for the most part, they are pretty big. I've only seen them in their winter coat which is white, but I think it the summer they could resemble a shepherd, easily! GET A GUN MARY!!!!!! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nancy Posted June 12, 2009 Report Share Posted June 12, 2009 And that's not out on the prairie or wilderness. That's a rather densely populated part of eastern Massachusetts! We used to have packs of feral dogs in the area when we lived near the Hudson River. People would come for the summer, from NYC, and get a "dog for the kids". But they didn't want to take said dog home to the city. So they'd leave it, happily assuming that the dog would be fine on it's own, based on the idea that dogs are really animals that we take care of for a while. Lovely people. Kids got intimidated and even attacked waiting for the school bus. But it was clear that these were different types of dogs. If they all look alike, you kind of assume it's a different situation. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ImWithAlice Posted June 12, 2009 Report Share Posted June 12, 2009 There's always the possibility that they are coyote/dog crossbreeds. We have tons of coyotes here, I hear them at night sometimes sounding like they're right outside my window. When Alice is out, she does a great job of keeping them away, sometime driving off more than one at a time (wish she would drive sheep that well). They are wary of humans and very afraid of the dogs. We also have a fair amount of cougars in the area. They feed of the local elk herd mostly. Bear too. Both are much rarer sightings than the coyotes. I'm thinking dog/coyote crosses because they are more likely to not fear humans or dogs. They also tend to pack more than coyotes, at least the coyotes we have out here. No matter what they are, you've got a preditor out there that doesn't show the normal fear of humans and moves in a pack. Dangerous situation. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jimmyd65 Posted June 12, 2009 Report Share Posted June 12, 2009 None in my area but we hunt them in NE Pennsylvania. The season is open during deer season. I've taken a few and they are not so big at all. 25-40 at best. Suggest carring a walking stick or something to deter if your paths cross... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
desertranger Posted June 12, 2009 Report Share Posted June 12, 2009 Coyotes in the desert are a diff breed. 35-40lbs qith very large ears. Even with the droght it is rare to see more than one at a tim eunles it;s a family unit with pups. Coyote puppies are so cute. I digress. Recently there has been a spate fo small pets being taken with some by coyotes. However there has also been an upswing in the number of feral dog packs. Most are house dogs that have been turned loose or runaways that have made the adaptation to the desert. It use to be we could hunt the wild dogs but this entire are is no mostly national and state parks and conservation areas so hunting is not permitted anymore. There have been no reports of coyote packs going after people here and that is really against the nature of the animals here. Yet there are the occasional single coyote and lion attacks reported. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kajarrel Posted June 12, 2009 Report Share Posted June 12, 2009 None in my area but we hunt them in NE Pennsylvania. The season is open during deer season. I don't let hunters take my coyote (although we do allow certain people to hunt deer and turkey). The reason is that the coyote on my and the adjointing properties have not killed lambs/sheep (knock on wood - this has been the case for almost 15 years). My neighbor has actually seen a coyote jumb over his electronet fence to get a mouse right next to grazing ewes/lambs and then jump out again. And I've moved my sheep from one temp fence to another with coyote in the same field (my dogs just ignored them and did their jobs). I'm not naive enough to think that they will never kill my sheep, but would rather take care of rogue coyote rather than create a "gap" for them by killing off my coyote that have been "well behaved." We also have fox hunting in this area (no kill) which may also keep the coyote a little more fearful of man. Kim Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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