Tag Archives: coyotes

How to Protect Your Pets From Predators

httpv://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tFW4w-61hic
This is a video of a coyote “playing” with a family dog. Notice that the coyote keeps running into the bushes. Coyotes travel in packs and will play with a dog, luring the dog into the bushes where the rest of the pack is. Once in the bushes, the coyotes will kill and devour the dog.

by Lisa J. Lehr

Most of us living in Nevada County moved here because we like the rural environment. Rural environments include wildlife, and that, for the most part, is a plus; however, most of us also share our lives with beloved pets, and clashes between wildlife and pets often end in heartache for the pet owner.

Coyotes are a particularly ubiquitous wild critter here in Nevada County, and pets falling prey to coyotes is a far too common occurrence. The consolation—if there is any—is that, compared to a car accident, dog attack, or abduction by a person with evil intentions, death by coyote is quick and, as far as we know, relatively suffering-free. Coyotes kill to eat, and they do it efficiently.

Still, it is heartbreaking to lose a cherished pet, and it is our responsibility to take care of them.

Coyotes are difficult to eradicate. They are becoming alarmingly unafraid of humans, with daytime sightings becoming more frequent. Trapping and relocating coyotes is not as good an idea as it may sound, as any young coyotes orphaned by this process will seek easy prey—e.g., our pets.

They can be frightened, so if you see one, try shaking a noisemaker (like a can full of hardware) or throwing things at it. Fire a Super Soaker (high-powered toy water gun) filled with water or vinegar.

More often, though, we don’t see them lurking around our property, as they are naturally nocturnal. The key to keeping coyotes away from your home (and your pets, your children, and you) is to eliminate all that attracts coyotes—mainly food. Coyotes are generalists, meaning they’ll eat just about anything.

With that in mind:

  • Keep your cats and small dogs indoors at night; your medium and large dogs, too. Coyotes hunting in packs can take down a fairly big animal.
  • Rabbits, chickens, etc. that are kept outdoors need protection: strong fencing with a top, and/or a small enclosure inside it that they can hide in.
  • Don’t let your pets’ food become coyote bait. Cats are best fed indoors, and dogs should be fed only what they will eat all at once, with no leftovers.
  • Be careful with your bird feeders. Place them close to your house, and clean up spills. Do not feed squirrels, deer, or other wildlife. Any naturalist will tell you that birds are the only wild critters we should feed.
  • Put garden compost in enclosed bins, and gather your ripe fruits and vegetables immediately.
  • If your cats wear bells on their collars, take them off. The same bells that supposedly alert birds to your cats’ presence also betray their whereabouts to coyotes. (Once you’ve cleaned up the birdseed, you’ll have fewer birds within your cats’ reach, anyway.) One final consideration: cats who wear bells learn to be stealthier hunters, which leaves us with no reason that cats should ever wear bells.
  • Besides food, coyotes are attracted to potential partners. An unneutered male dog will be attracted to a female coyote; a male coyote will be attracted to an unspayed female dog; both scenarios spell trouble. Spay and neuter your pets.
  • Mothballs and ammonia around your property may repel coyotes, as will a motion-sensitive light.
  • Consider a fence. The type of fencing will need to be one that deters climbing and is in accordance with the CC&Rs of your neighborhood; at least six feet tall and extending six inches below ground. Some clever person has invented a “roll fence”; it has a rolling piece at the top, which keeps your cats from climbing out, or any uninvited guests from climbing in. As they try to grasp the top bar, it rolls. Wild critters stay out, tame ones in, and you and your pets live happily ever after.

Coyotes will always be among us, but we don’t have to live in fear for our pets’ lives. Our best bet is to make them feel so unwelcome in civilization that they’ll pack up their families and move back to the wilderness.

Lisa J. Lehr is a writer and copywriter as well as animal lover living in Grass Valley. She can help you promote your business with a full range of online and offline marketing pieces. A member of Empire Toastmasters, she’s available to speak to your business or professional group. Visit her website www.justrightcopy.com for more information, opt in for a message series, and receive a free Marketing Guide.

Coyotes in Paradise – Watch Your Pets In Nevada County!

by Lisa J. Lehr

Most of us living in Nevada County moved here because we like the rural environment. Rural environments include wildlife, and that, for the most part, is a plus; however, most of us also share our lives with beloved pets, and clashes between wildlife and pets often end in heartache for the pet owner.

Coyotes are a particularly ubiquitous wild critter here in Nevada County, and pets falling prey to coyotes is a far too common occurrence. The consolation—if there is any—is that, compared to a car accident, dog attack, or abduction by a person with evil intentions, death by coyote is quick and, as far as we know, relatively suffering-free. Coyotes kill to eat, and they do it efficiently.

Still, it is heartbreaking to lose a cherished pet, and it is our responsibility to take care of them.

Coyotes are difficult to eradicate. They are becoming alarmingly unafraid of humans, with daytime sightings becoming more frequent. Trapping and relocating coyotes is not as good an idea as it may sound, as any young coyotes orphaned by this process will seek easy prey—e.g., our pets.

They can be frightened, so if you see one, try shaking a noisemaker (like a can full of hardware) or throwing things at it. Fire a Super Soaker (high-powered toy water gun) filled with water or vinegar.

More often, though, we don’t see them lurking around our property, as they are naturally nocturnal. The key to keeping coyotes away from your home (and your pets, your children, and you) is to eliminate all that attracts coyotes—mainly food. Coyotes are generalists, meaning they’ll eat just about anything.

With that in mind:

·         Keep your cats and small dogs indoors at night; your medium and large dogs, too. Coyotes hunting in packs can take down a fairly big animal.

·         Rabbits, chickens, etc. that are kept outdoors need protection: strong fencing with a top, and/or a small enclosure inside it that they can hide in.

·         Don’t let your pets’ food become coyote bait. Cats are best fed indoors, and dogs should be fed only what they will eat all at once, with no leftovers.

·         Be careful with your birdfeeders. Place them close to your house, and clean up spills. Do not feed squirrels, deer, or other wildlife. Any naturalist will tell you that birds are the only wild critters we should feed.

·         Put garden compost in enclosed bins, and gather your ripe fruits and vegetables immediately. Continue reading Coyotes in Paradise – Watch Your Pets In Nevada County!

Taylor Mitchell, Singer-Songwriter Killed by Coyotes

Taylor Mitchell
Taylor Mitchell

In a very unusual accordance, Canadian folk singer Taylor Mitchell, 19, was killed by coyotes in a national park in Nova Scotia, according to a park spokesman.

Taylor Mitchell, 19, was at the beginning of the Skyline Trail in Cape Breton Highlands National Park on Tuesday afternoon when she was attacked, according to Chip Bird, the Parks Canada field unit superintendent for Cape Breton.

Bird said hikers saw the coyotes attacking Mitchell and called 911. She was airlifted to a hospital in Halifax, where she died about 12 hours later, he said.

For those of you who have been reading my blog, I wrote about my dog, Angel, being attacked by coyotes.  This happened sometime ago when I let her out of my backyard. When she did not come back right away, I started calling her and she finally came up the stairs all bloody, with torn flesh and puncture wounds, completely wiped out. After a visit to the vet and a routine of antibiotics she recovered completely.

This led me to a little research about coyotes and it is indeed rare for coyotes to kill anyone. The last recorded killing of a human by coyotes was in Los Angeles, when an 8 year old girl was killed in 1980. However, coyotes carry all kinds of diseases, including rabies. So don’t feed them, they become used to human beings, resulting in future attacks of humans. Here are some more facts about coyotes:

A typical coyote attack to a sheep or goat is to bite the throat just behind the jaw and below the ear, causing death from suffocation and shock.

Coyotes have justifiably a huge fear of humans. Usually coyote attacks on people occur when a coyote has become comfortable around people, often as a result of people feeding them. (Living With California Coyotes (pdf); National Wildlife Federation)

In the rare event that a coyote attacks you or someone near you, yell at the coyote to make it back off. Don’t run away since a coyote can outrun you (unless you can run faster than 30 mph!). (Los Altos Town Crier 7/24/96; Coyote Fact Sheet)

Dog Dreams and Angel

I love dogs and dogs do dream. Angel my pit bull dreams like the dog in this YouTube video all the time.  Sometimes I think she is having a dream about the experience she had when coyotes attacked her.

httpv://youtu.be/xBoRilB7lRY
 

I normally let Angel out in the morning, fix my breakfast, watch the news and wait for Angel to come back upstairs. I usually give her a pigs ear as a treat, fresh water and she’s ready to start the day.  That morning she did not come back in her usual time frame.  So worried, I called her several times, no response. I started down the stairs, when all of the sudden, she hobbled up, blooded, with skin torn and puncture wounds all over her.

Panicked, I picked her up, getting blood all over me and took her to the vet. The vet confirmed that she had been attacked by coyotes and said she was lucky to get away from them, since they usually work in pairs. The vet sewed up her torn skin, gave her anti-biotics and she made a full recovery.  I must say she it took her several weeks to get back to herself, which is probably quicker than my recovery if I had been attacked by coyotes!

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