Cold Blooded Killers on Christmas!! GRRRRrrr!!

It was dark outside. I normally get up at about 3am, maybe 3:30. The pups wanted to go out (as usual). I let them out.

I always let the two dogs go out together, the ACD and the Aussie Shepard. They're safer that way. They usually stick together like glue (best buds).

Well, they didn't stick together this morning. The ACD has always been the most "nosey" of dogs; he needs to know whatever is going on around his house. He took off around the back of the house. Cisco, the ACD, is now deaf, so we have to watch him. Again, it was dark, and I didn't see it.

Next thing I knew I heard a dog howling for its life out back behind the house. My immediate thought was, this was a coyote...they do this often...immitating wounded dogs to draw other dogs in. They lay in wait in packs, and them jump a dog who comes to investigate. I knew Cisco was smarter than this (he's dealt with these animals for 13 years). Well, I was wrong, and I forgot...he's DEAF. So, he couldn't hear the set-up, and they set him up, the coyotes did.

The coyotes had him cornered from about 3 different angles. The only good news is..ACD's are fearless, absolutely fearless. The scream I heard was Cisco, and he got tagged on his front leg, ripping his skin open. I'm sure Cisco taught that coyote a lesson, but Cisco also got tagged on the nose by another coyote, and on the rear leg by a 3rd coyote. I am very fortunate Cisco is alive tonight! He's a tough boy, but WOW!

I know Cisco won't go down without a fight, and he's as tough as they come, but tonight we're doctoring this boy with some torn skin on his front left, a graze on his muzzle, and some other minor injuries.

Yes, he will go to our Vet on Thursday, but it's ironic...not even Christmas is spared from KILLERS!!

Cold Blooded Coyote Killers!

I've long known that coyotes "hamstring" their prey, meaning they grab them by the legs and pull them down to the ground. I've seen packs of coyotes do this with antelope and deer on our property, but I've never seen them try it with a dog. I always figured a dog was too fast for them.

I've heard for years about "City" dogs getting killed by coyotes, but our dogs are far from 'city' dogs. Our dogs are outdoor "machines" and they understand their environment. I also know coyotes "learn", they watch and learn situations.

We used to raise chickens and geese. Coyotes studied our installation, as much as it was protected from them, and they figured out what times, and what circumstances, were the best to come eat those birds. My dogs saw all of this. I figured the dogs learned. But coyotes are smarter than that.

One or two coyotes might come in to kill a chicken...but then five or six coyotes will come in to kill a dog. (with about 6-8 younger coyotes in reserve). I hate coyotes, and I'll shoot every one of them I see. The problem is...you never see them, and when you do it's usually very low light and difficult shooting...even with night vision.

My kill record with coyotes is about 2/50...and that's bad. That's how difficult they are to see and shoot...and I am a damn good shot. Yeah, I could shoot up barns and other things, but they're always in front of something you can't shoot, or they're running away on an angle you can't get them. Smart! "Wiley Coyote" wasn't called "wiley" for a reason.

3 coyote? Sounds like you can make boots, gloves a hat and even a vest! With fur to spare!

a reply to: Flyingclaydisk

a reply to: Flyingclaydisk

Where I live coyotes can become a problem every 7 years or so.

They are not stupid and actually work a pretty long range... 3-4 days between stops.

A few things I have learned...

Shooting them is a waste of your time and energy.

Find their scat, figure out their path.

These really help... set and anchor them on fresh scat. They seem to like chicken as a bait.

For a Montana twist, wolves normally will not eat a coyote unless they are pretty hungry.

But they love killing one in a trap.

Hope your furry soldiers come out OK...

a reply to: Lumenari

yes, shooting them is only a temporary solution, maybe a few days or so. I agree

You can never kill off coyotes. Attempting to thin them out only makes them stronger. I know this. BUT...it does work in a local area for a few days. Keeps their head's down.

After you live in the country for a while you learn to understand coyotes (as you likely know). Many think of them as dogs, but they are not dogs. They don't respond like dogs. Coyotes are predators, and they think like predators. They might act like dogs in a cage, but when you let them out, they act as a team.

Around here, we have coyotes take down antelope. I'm not a big fan of antelope because of what they leave behind (hint), but to watch the coyotes take these fast runners down is pretty amazing.

One coyote (or two) will chase an antelope on a full run. The are no match. BUT...2-3 other coyotes will be up front, in several dens. When the antelope darts left, or right, a bunch of coyotes show up in front. This confuses the antelope.

Now, this time of year, an antelope is usually with a young one. This pop-up tactic might scare momma, but she can run and jump, but junior hasn't learned this skill yet. So junior is confused and just runs around in a circle. BINGO...DINNER!!!

These are not dumb animals.

I've had them come after the calves, but momma cows are smarter...they don't run. They just stomp the sh!t out of them when they come into the calves, AND, when the bull shows up...well, he has no use for them. Bulls might look slow on TV, but they're fast as heck, and they'll run a coyote down and stomp it senseless (i.e. run right over it)

I never worried about the calves with coyotes, but my cows have killed many. Jack, our bull (passed now), killed way more than that. The girls don't like coyotes at all. This is why we keep the dogs away from the cows. They see them as the same thing.

Anyway, coyotes SUCK! They are evil and calculating animals who work in packs. Most people don't realize this. They think a single coyote ate their dog. What they don't realize is...it was probably several of these animals who set up a trap for their dog, most of them the dog owner never even saw.

Sad to hear about your dogs. Coyotes can be dangerous when in packs. if there is only one, they are not as agressive. I know a logger who was loading up his truck and a huge pack of about twenty coyotes were trying to get on his truck when he was loading logs from a chair on top. He was trapped up there for an hour before climbing to the top of the cab and slid into the open window of the truck. He mentioned that the big log claw did nothing to scare the coyotes when he swung it at them. He could not scare them away. It was good the drivers side window was open I guess, but if he had slipped while trying to get in, it could have been dinner time for the coyotes. I think he had put the claw by the window to help him get in, but could not quite understand how that could work because I never used one or watched one to see if it turns that way.

The log truck driver said he was never going to operate his logging truck without a gun on him anymore.

Well, glad to hear the dogs are still alive, hopefully they do not get any infection from their fight.

a reply to: Flyingclaydisk

We have a Rod and gun club across the road from us. There were lots of packs of coyotes here about five years ago and their presence of so many was scaring people around this neck of the woods.

So the club had a predator hunt by their members and they shot quite a few coyotes I guess. That year at the wild game feed there were three coyote dishes on the buffet table. Actually, coyote is good tasting but you have to cook it really well I guess, not good for burgers or steaks because of some sort of microbe it has....it has to be cooked well and for a long time I guess.

Before that two weekend hunting event there were lots of the yaps they make when in packs in the evening, after that, only a few isolated yaps occurred, They also shot a bobcat, and bobcat stew was on the wild game feed table too. I am a member, for seventy five bucks a year, I can use the club facilities, like horseshoe courts, basketball court, and the shooting range. I also used to fish for brookies in a beaver dam on the property and hunt deer on it years back. got lots of brookies out of that dam and stream and also one buck from their land....the wife will not let me shoot the ones that come in our yard and it was all right that I shot that deer, no fawns and their mothers we feed looked even remotely like that deer. If it resembled one of our pets, I would be divorced I think. We used to raise rabbits, and they had lots of bunnies and we let them out in the woods. around here. There were lots of half breed rabbits around here, still are. We released them over thirty years ago and there are still offspring of those bunnies around here, there are still spotted bunnies in the woods, they bred with the wild ones. I figured they would enjoy life for the summer than die that winter and not have any kids....I was wrong. It was the wife's idea that I went along with.

a reply to: Flyingclaydisk

Coyotes all around my place. That's one reason I completely fenced in my 2 acres around the house. That and keep my dogs off the busy rural highway out front.

a reply to: charlest2

Heh, you've never owned an ACD. A fence won't even slow an ACD down, let alone stop one. ACD's are the fastest, most agile dogs you've ever seen. I suppose a 6-7 foot fence might keep one in, but they'd figure out a way under it. You won't keep one of these dogs in if they want out.

Funny thing about our ACD, Cisco; he's afraid of his own shadow. Most timid dog I've ever known...UNTIL it comes to another animal. As a pup, he never even heard a firearm go off, yet he's absolutely terrified of guns. But put him in a pasture with the biggest, meanest, nastiest, snarling and slobbery bull who's raking the ground just wanting to kill something, anything...and Cisco will go after that animal first. Within seconds he will have that animal on the run in fear of their life. He's absolutely fearless. As a pup he got kicked by our bull, Jack, once. Sent him about 25-30 feet through the air and knocked him senseless. (I thought he was dead!) He got up, shook it off, and was 4x as pissed off at that bull. From that point on, Jack would see him coming from across the field and he would run the other direction as far as the pasture would let him go. Jack was probably one of the biggest bulls we ever had at 2,300 lbs., just a beast, but he didn't mess around with Cisco, and Cisco had his number. As noted, Jack is gone now, but Cisco still has this mentality (which isn't necessarily a good thing), so I have to keep an eye on him.

a reply to: Flyingclaydisk

I don't do blooded animals anymore. The last I had was 20 years ago and they were Boston Terriers. LOL The only dog I had that wouldn't be fenced was a Walker Bluetick mix. He would jump the 4 foot chain link at his pleasure. Before I fenced my yard, Snoopy, the Walker mix, the 2 Bostons and a pet pig I caught one winter as a wild piglet, Snoopy chased him away from the rest of the pack one day and I ran him down, would cross the highway and take their tour of the neighborhood almost every day. Late in the afternoons, here would come Snoopy back home, followed a few minutes later by the Bostons and eventually, here would come Mr. Pig back home for their evening meal. They went off one afternoon and Mr. Pig came back with his tail missing. LOL

I have done orphan and homeless dogs for the past 15 or so years now.

Mr. Pig was solid black.

a reply to: charlest2

Very cool!

Sometimes mixed breed pups are the best dogs. I bred, raised and field trained Labrador Retrievers for about 25 years. Too old for that now, at least at that level. Our dogs were all cross-trained for both upland and water (and that's a lot of work). We got the Australians (a Shepard and the ACD) when Shelby, my last Lab, was getting up there in years. Got the ACD first, but his energy level was like 10,000 on a scale of 1 to 10, so he was murder on the Lab. Had to get another pup to tire him out a little and keep him busy, hence the Australian Shepard. They worked great as a team with the cattle. Shepards work the nose and eyes, and ACD's (heelers) work the back (heels). They've been great dogs (the Shepard is under my feet as I write this...snoring, as usual). Shelby passed in '18...and I still miss that great gal, but Cisco and the Aussie have more than done their share to fill in the loss.

a reply to: Flyingclaydisk

Lost my companion in early 2016 and didn't have any dogs at the time, until January 2021. Went to Washington DC for the January 6th rally and got back home on the 8th. The very next day, on the 9th, my sister texted a picture of 2 pups that had been dropped of at her next door neighbor's house and I said I'd be right up. Born around November I think. Siblings. I think it was an act of God that provided them at that time. The Lord knew my traveling days were finished. I am single now and live on a rural highway and they were exactly what I needed for security here now. Around 90 pounds each but neither would bite anything more than a biscuit, but they sure can bark.

Much better than another wife or companion. Less demanding and they don't argue or complain at all. Two better companions could not be found. LOL

When I leave the house, they stay in the yard and when I return, they are always at the gait waiting on my return.