safer without our dogs?

Hello

I live in an area swarmed by eastern coyotes. Some of them are HUGE and very wolf like. ANyways the woods near my house have many trails in them and for years and years I have been using those woods with my friend for hiking exercising. We have heard the wild dogs and seen them a few times everything seems to be okay tho, seem to be at peace with each other.

ANyways Recently I have been hearing a lot of trouble in those woods and it seems like dogs are the reason why. I always thought large dogs are good to have around you as a detterant but how wrong I was! IT seems people who have dogs with them are usually the one who have trouble with these large coyote/wolves.

Just last week my friends parents were walking in the exact same trail me and my friend have walked a thousand times. They were with their german shepherd though and the dog was attacked by 2 eastern coyote/wolves. IT was a hell of a struggle and extremly scary. Their dog is a tough working line GSD so he did not back down but the owners had to get in the middle with sticks. THey are convinced if they werent there, their loved german shepherd would of been torn up.

Over the years I have heard so many stories of agressive encounters between people and these wild coyotes and EVERY bad encounter involves having a dog with them.

Now im starting to think the only reason we have no had a bad/scary encounter is because we NEVER have a dog with us! As shocking as it is, it seems when dogs are with us they just piss other animals off and provoke them to attack, I also think its we humans that wild animals are afraid of and NOT our dogs

The coyotes see the dogs a trespassers in their territory. I agree, do not take the dogs with you. But just to be safe, I would find a new place to hike.

Originally Posted by eburgess

The coyotes see the dogs a trespassers in their territory. I agree, do not take the dogs with you. But just to be safe, I would find a new place to hike.

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I agree!!!! Yikes!

Not only would you probably be safer leaving them at home, but also your dogs, you dont want them hurt and getting rabies or some other disease.

You are correct, you are, in a sense, safer, without your dogs; simply because they are canine...wolves and coyotes are of the same type of family, so they veiw a dog as a possible threat to their territory. They attack the dog, not the human, because they are still afraid of humans, but the dog is threatening to them, especially if it puts up a fight. If a dog doesn't stand and try to fight, the wildlife 'usually' lets them alone.

In the same breath, I have never gone on a hike without a dog yet...I know that wild animals may veiw them as a threat, but there are also some looney people out there too, and I tend to walk alone alot. Course, I don't live in the country anymore, and when I did, the wolf population left me and my dogs alone.

Perhaps the 'food population' is down in your area, further provoking attacks on people's dogs. When there is plenty to eat, most packs leave any wild life, dogs, and humans; including passers through alone. But when their staple diets are down, they will aggressively defend their territory, simply out of means of 'survival'-wolves will even eat dogs if they are 'that desperate'.

Was the dog on leash when the attack occurred?