I apparently can't take my doggies scouting anymore

[Bowmanmike]

So if you guys remember,I got two Parson Russell terriers,a tad bigger than jack russells,they weigh about 25 pounds. Tough little dogs,I love them.
Today we went to scout a new to us piece of state land and I have the doggies of the leash,they are good about staying within 50 yds or so.
In June they got attacked by a doe,that was pretty wild.
The woods looked deery and were fairly high stem count in spots. We got almost to the top of a hill and the doggies made it up before me.
Pretty quickly I heard the older one yelp,that is generally not good. Either she is chasing something or being chased. The younger came flying back towards me and I still hadn't crested the hill. The other dog yelped again but appeared a few seconds later full speed towards me. I half expected a deer chasing her but this time it was a big coyote! He got pretty close,maybe 15 yds or so but ran past me keeping an eye on my dog who also ran past me...luckily I got her to turn around,because there is no way I catch up to her or a coyote.
I can't believe she almost ended up as coyote food,what is going on in these woods this year? She came out alright but has a small gash on her rump,good thing the coyote didn't get a better hold of her.
Good thing we humans are the size we are or the woods might be a scary place for us.

 

[Loopwing]

I was checking cameras about 8 years ago. I heard a blow and saw a doe bounding in a zig zag fashion "towards" me. I stood up beside the tree because I realized she wasn't blowing at me. All of the sudden this spotted fawn ran directly at the tree I was behind. As it ran past we locked eyes and it was full of fear, that is when the coyote crested the hill. I jumped out and hollered. The coyote threw on the brakes and slid about 20 feet in the leaves. It stopped about 10 feet from me and took off the other direction. From that day, I never go in the woods without a gun, usually a shotgun. I didn't have that one that day because small game was in season and I hadn't bought my hunting license yet.

 

[TK161BOONER]

Sorry about what happened, was your dog bitten by the coyote? If so has your dogs had their rabies vaccination? That would be a concern also.

 

[LoadedLimbs]

So if you guys remember,I got two Parson Russell terriers,a tad bigger than jack russells,they weigh about 25 pounds. Tough little dogs,I love them.
Today we went to scout a new to us piece of state land and I have the doggies of the leash,they are good about staying within 50 yds or so.
In June they got attacked by a doe,that was pretty wild.
The woods looked deery and were fairly high stem count in spots. We got almost to the top of a hill and the doggies made it up before me.
Pretty quickly I heard the older one yelp,that is generally not good. Either she is chasing something or being chased. The younger came flying back towards me and I still hadn't crested the hill. The other dog yelped again but appeared a few seconds later full speed towards me. I half expected a deer chasing her but this time it was a big coyote! He got pretty close,maybe 15 yds or so but ran past me keeping an eye on my dog who also ran past me...luckily I got her to turn around,because there is no way I catch up to her or a coyote.
I can't believe she almost ended up as coyote food,what is going on in these woods this year? She came out alright but has a small gash on her rump,good thing the coyote didn't get a better hold of her.
Good thing we humans are the size we are or the woods might be a scary place for us.

A coyote ambushed and tried to snatch my brother’s little (leashed!) dog while they were out for a walk on a trail near his house. My brother picked up his dog and hollered at the coyote, but the coyote didn’t disappear right away - he trailed them for a bit, only leaving when they got back in the open closer to the house.

They are such fast and effective killers that a small domestic dog doesn’t have much of a chance … you are very lucky with how things turned out!

 

[Jtaylor]

My parents small dogs get stalked by coyotes at their place frequently but they have a secure fenced lawn to keep their dogs in and coyotes out. Fur prices are low around here and generally I don't think as many people hunt them leaving them unchecked or more than likely unafraid of human or domestic dog presence.
We've noticed if I bring my big dogs out and they mark in the area and run around, it'll be free of coyotes for quite some time.

 

[Nosaj]

I had one of mine get into a porcupine while I was out this morning. Luckily he didn't get it bad. His first time and he decided it was nothing to mess with which is a relief. I'm glad he isn't the type that gets mad and wants revenge.

 

[Andrew920]

I have 2 labs that for some reason hate deer. They go ballistic when deer come anywhere near our house. Consequently my flowers are the only ones in the area that survive, and I’m not allowed to take the dogs out in the woods.
Glad yours were ok!

 

[Bowmanmike]

Sorry about what happened, was your dog bitten by the coyote? If so has your dogs had their rabies vaccination? That would be a concern also.

It just barely broke the skin. The doggie is up on her rabies vaccination and that coyote looked very healthy,I doubt it had rabies. I washed the the scratch and put antibiotic cream on it,I think she will be fine. I wish I had seen how the affair started,if the dogs chased the coyote or if it was the opposite. And now I wonder if there were more than one coyote too.
Hunting the edge of ridges is very effective because one stays hidden until you go over the edge. Not the first time I have seen coyotes do that,but usually my dogs are not involved. I like doing the same when still hunting for deer,got a doe from the ground that way last year.

 

[boyne bowhunter]

The wife and I spent the weekend remote camping on state land in earlier this summer. While we were driving out on Sunday afternoon the wife sees "a dog" in the road about 150yds in front of us. It beelines off the road but I still see it in time to know it was a coyote. When we get to the exact spot where we saw it there was an old, pretty age hobbled beagle standing right there too. Now we're about a mile from the nearest house in any direction and this old beagle can barely walk, he just kind of gimps around. I get out and go check his collar for some contact info and call the number on it. The lady that answers is from one of the houses down the road and is ecstatic that we found her dog Winchester. Apparently Winchester wandered off two days prior and he hadn't been seen since. We arrange to meet at the paved road intersection and they were both pretty happy to be reunited. All I could say to my wife is that if we had been 3 minutes later old Winchester would have been coyote chow.

 

[BowhunterXC]

@Bowmanmike
I recommend never going into the woods, unarmed.
I never did, when I had a dog or any other time, for that matter. You just never know what you're going to run into and there you are with no way to defend yourself and in your case your dogs.

My Carrie Anne was a small Maltese female and she was a squirrel hunting monster. I made sure she was within my shooting range, for her protection, as she only weighed about 8 lbs. She lived a good life of 16 years, but passed away last October.

 

[boyne bowhunter]

A coyote ambushed and tried to snatch my brother’s little (leashed!) dog while they were out for a walk on a trail near his house. My brother picked up his dog and hollered at the coyote, but the coyote didn’t disappear right away - he trailed them for a bit, only leaving when they got back in the open closer to the house.

They are such fast and effective killers that a small domestic dog doesn’t have much of a chance … you are very lucky with how things turned out!

This reminded me of another yote story. 18 years ago (I know how long because I know the age of the kid at the time and he's 21 now) a hunting buddy of mine had daddy duty but wanted to get a tree stand up on the weekend. He did what any hunter with daddy duty would do, he took his toddler with him to hang the stand. He was up in the tree hanging the stand and his three year old son was fussing and whining at the base of the tree, bored and wanting to do anything other than wait for dad while he was in the tree. Suddenly my buddy caught a movement out about 50 yards away and in come two yotes sneaking in on the whining youngster. My buddy said he started hollering but those yotes didn't pay any attention to him, they were focused on the source of that squealing racket. Starting to panic a bit my buddy started down his sticks and when he was halfway to the ground he jumped the rest of the way. That was enough and yotes finally broke off but they circled around for a bit to see if they could get another chance. He's sure that if he hadn't caught the motion of them coming the situation would have ended much differently.

 

[Bowmanmike]

This reminded me of another yote story. 18 years ago (I know how long because I know the age of the kid at the time and he's 21 now) a hunting buddy of mine had daddy duty but wanted to get a tree stand up on the weekend. He did what any hunter with daddy duty would do, he took his toddler with him to hang the stand. He was up in the tree hanging the stand and his three year old son was fussing and whining at the base of the tree, bored and wanting to do anything other than wait for dad while he was in the tree. Suddenly my buddy caught a movement out about 50 yards away and in come two yotes sneaking in on the whining youngster. My buddy said he started hollering but those yotes didn't pay any attention to him, they were focused on the source of that squealing racket. Starting to panic a bit my buddy started down his sticks and when he was halfway to the ground he jumped the rest of the way. That was enough and yotes finally broke off but they circled around for a bit to see if they could get another chance. He's sure that if he hadn't caught the motion of them coming the situation would have ended much differently.

That is super scary,wow.
I really don't mind coyotes around,they are part of the ecosystem. I never considered them a threat to my critters until today. We have sheep too but they have never been bothered.
I suppose I will gmhave to be more mindful in the future...

 

[BowhunterXC]

@boyne bowhunter @Bowmanmike
Coyotes are opportunists and will take down anything that's wounded (sounds like it's wounded) or weak. However they're not above trying their luck at a healthy animal, if there's more than one of them.

As far as coyote having a place in the ecosystem....dead and on the ground is where they belong! I never give a coyote a free pass and the rest of the wildlife are better off for it. I can remember when Ohio didn't have coyotes and I didn't miss them back then and I certainly wouldn't miss them if they were gone forever, now.

I shot this one, while it was stalking my dog in my backyard. The only good coyote, is a dead coyote.

 

[boyne bowhunter]

@boyne bowhunter @Bowmanmike
Coyotes are opportunists and will take down anything that's wounded (sounds like it's wounded) or weak. However they're not above trying their luck at a healthy animal, if there's more than one of them.

As far as coyote having a place in the ecosystem....dead and on the ground is where they belong! I never give a coyote a free pass and the rest of the wildlife are better off for it. I can remember when Ohio didn't have coyotes and I didn't miss them back then and I certainly wouldn't miss them if they were gone forever, now.

I shot this one, while it was stalking my dog in my backyard. The only good coyote, is a dead coyote.
View attachment 88754

Yeah, the issue here is that they are at the top of their wildlife food chain. Without human intervention the only thing that limits them is disease or overpopulation (essentially eliminating their naturally available food sources). I too will take a shot at any coyote I see in range. I've been known to shoot them at first light on opening day of rifle season, not because I hate them as much as I believe we need to take appropriate measures to limit their population as well as maintain their fear of humans. Between the elimination of the bounties and drop in fur demand there's just not enough pressure to keep them in check and/or naturally afraid of people.

Locally here they have all but wiped out the once extremely plentiful snowshoe hare population and are getting increasingly acclimated to human presence as they move to hunting in more urban environments where there is a plentiful supply of easy meals (aka small pets). It's not uncommon to hear them howling in the morning in residential neighborhoods now. I believe it is a trend that is going to increase until unfortunately attacks on children playing in backyards become more frequent. There's a reason our ancestors placed a bounty on these critters.

 

[MattMan81]

30 years ago it was pretty rare in Southern Michigan to hear or see one. Now sit most any night and you will hear them. The owners of the property I hunt had a trail cam out more for surveillance than deer. I check it if I have time. I was amazed at the number of night photos with coyotes harassing the deer. But only to see more deer walk by 30 minutes later. I took one last year the end of November in the afternoon. I keep thinking I should try and get some more. I know you can never get them all. But like @boyne bowhunter says. You gotta try to keep em in check I think.

 

[boyne bowhunter]

30 years ago it was pretty rare in Southern Michigan to hear or see one. Now sit most any night and you will hear them. The owners of the property I hunt had a trail cam out more for surveillance than deer. I check it if I have time. I was amazed at the number of night photos with coyotes harassing the deer. But only to see more deer walk by 30 minutes later. I took one last year the end of November in the afternoon. I keep thinking I should try and get some more. I know you can never get them all. But like @boyne bowhunter says. You gotta try to keep em in check I think.

First time I ever heard a coyote close up in person was 1984 when I moved to the upper peninsula. I had been hunting steadily in northern lower Michigan for more than 10 years at that time. We never had them here in northern lower Michigan in those days. I got out of my truck to head into the woods that morning and those yotes started howling and it sent a chill down my spine. Even though I was headed away from them I seriously considered going back to the truck to wait for daylight. Now I've become so used to them that I don't even hesitate to walk toward them in the dark anymore. I must admit, I love hearing the howls, I think it's a cool ambiance in the woods at night. I tell everyone that probably my greatest disappointment in moving to a hard shell camper from the popup is that I can't hear them as clear at night when I'm tucked in. I used to really enjoy laying there listening to them yapping at night.

 

[Bowmanmike]

Hunting does not do much to control the coyote population. If you kill the alpha female the family group will break up and more offspring is the result.
Unless everybody starts shooting coyotes, but even that won't do a lot because so much land is off limits to hunting. I think they are here to stay and available food sources are the only limiting factor for them.

 

[BowhunterXC]

Hunting does not do much to control the coyote population.

That depends on how much you want to dedicate yourself to hunting coyotes and eliminating them.
These guys are brothers and managed to pile up 21 coyotes, in 2 nights of hunting. Of course, they have be best of equipment...thermal, suppressed ARs, electronic calls, etc., but it can be done.

 

[Iron_llama]

@Bowmanmike looks like you've got a 'yote calling spot. I've got a hankerin' for a trapper-style coyote hat, complete with tail, like the Old Trapper Jerky mascot. Bonus points if I arrow it from a saddle.

 

[BackSpasm]

That depends on how much you want to dedicate yourself to hunting coyotes and eliminating them.
These guys are brothers and managed to pile up 21 coyotes, in 2 nights of hunting. Of course, they have be best of equipment...thermal, suppressed ARs, electronic calls, etc., but it can be done.
View attachment 88840
View attachment 88841

The problem with this is that the data shows new coyotes move in rapidly and nearby open territory triggers increased litter size in neighboring females. You just buy yourself a few weeks at best I think. Best bet seems to be trapping and shooting them when fawns are drop in and new. I will lob an arrow at one but short of poisoned bait piles or landscape wide pressure I think the populations are largely unalterable