# Coyotes



## Vzrunner (Apr 8, 2013)

Have any of you come across with Coyotes when you walking with your Vizsla? 

Its been a couple times when coyotes get kind of close to Niko but only for a few seconds and then they go away and take some distance. 

I always tell Niko to sit (next to me) and he observe the coyotes but he want to go chase them.

What should I do to let him know coyotes dont want to play but eat him? (1 year and 10 months)

Thanks for the advice.


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## texasred (Jan 29, 2012)

With my dogs I tell them Leave It, and go in the opposites direction.
If one was interested in chasing a Coyote, they would get a nick from the ecollar. 
You may see one coyote, but there are normally others close by.
A dog doesn't stand a chance against a pack.
A good many of them just watch, but a lot depends on how hungry they are.


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## redbirddog (Apr 23, 2010)

http://redbirddog.blogspot.com/2010/01/coming-up-to-coyote-pack-during-evening.html

http://redbirddog.blogspot.com/2011/07/young-coyote-teaches-vizsla.html

The coyotes now know Bailey and Chloe in the areas we hike. They finally leave each other alone. The worst time is spring when the female coyotes might be protecting their dens.

Merry Christmas
RBD


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## R E McCraith (Nov 24, 2011)

coyotes are a major problem in KY - the state did go to a open season on all of them - you have 2 train your V 2 avoid this deadly threat !! that is why recall is the most important command you teach - PIKE & I live in the country - we hunt in the wilds - out r front door - I have a gun on me - they do not fear your V - they better fear YOU !!!


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## Vzrunner (Apr 8, 2013)

Thanks everyone for the advice. Now understand not to get close to coyotes. Didn't known they will attack. when they look so innocent walking around. But now I know so just need to be more carefully and ready for any situation. Thanks again .


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## sniper john (Jun 17, 2010)

One of the types of hunting my older V Blaze was trained to do in the last years before she was retired was as a Coyote decoy dog. I have trapped and predator called for well over 30 years. My grandfather partially made his living hunting coyotes with sight hounds in western Oklahoma starting in the early 1950s. I hunted with scent hounds for several years myself. I have never considered Coyotes a danger to any of the hunting dogs I have owned be it brit, lab, redbone, walkers, or vizslas. Many night hunts I would have one or two curious coyotes follow along from a distance. I usually considered them a sign of good luck and only cussed them if I had green hounds that wanted to chase them. I have had Coyotes visit or follow from a safe distance on bird hunts with my Vizslas both in Texas and Colorado on a few occasions. As mentioned, I just tell the dogs to leave it or grunt a noise of displeasure if they showed interest, then just ignore the yote. A large area north of Dallas that I used to trap and call, Coyotes were definitely a danger to pet cats and very small dogs from the stories I got talking to landowners of the properties I trapped, but we are talking nothing larger than a small cat. I have never killed or trapped a Coyote in Texas that would weigh more than my Vizslas. Unless with pups, which can be almost as large as the adults, I have never encountered more than two Coyotes in the same area. They will kill large animals if the opportunity is there, like any predator focusing on the sick, young, and old, and they are any Sheep's nightmare. But they are natures survivalist and not going to risk initiating a head on attack with another predator that will fight back unless put in a defensive or desperate situation. 

After a set of events that started with me shooting a Coyote that I incorrectly thought was going to take down my Vizsla during a Spring Turkey hunt, sharing the story, then learning of the trained decoys dogs in west Texas to Wyoming from a friend and receiving some raw footage of some decoy dog hunts from him, having a dog I could trust to follow my direction, and adapting the wide open western hunting to a more close range pasture and field type hunting where I can take control if need be, and with a more passive engagement of my dog with the coyotes. I began taking Blaze on all predator hunts and trained as we went until what I wanted fell into place. It was some of the most exciting hunting I have done. Coyotes were never encountered outside of mated pairs. Never would the pair engage my dog together. It is more of a "dances with wolves" kind of thing. To the dog it is a playful game of tolling. To the Coyote, it is curiosity, wanting to play with another coyote(to a coyote a dog is another coyote), to run off the transient coyote it thinks is hunting it's territory, or wanting to steal for itself whatever animal it thinks the dog has killed(The coyotes are located with a coyote howler call and called in with rabbit, bird, or fawn distress calls combined with some coyote yips). All the Coyotes ever do is show some teeth now and then, make some noise mostly some barks or yips, and nip at my dog's haunches during short chases back and forth. And sometimes it was nothing more than playing. Often Blaze would have the Coyote within a few feet of me, My dog is whistled in and cleared behind me before the kill shot. And usually the second coyote could then be worked in as well. Most of the time the Coyote would be so focused on my dog that I could probably do jumping jacks and the coyote would not notice, thus sometimes I would never let my dog leave from heel. Unfortunately just about the time Blaze had her newest type of hunting figured out, she went blind from a tick disease she caught during a western Oklahoma Goose hunt and subsequently had to be retired. Unfortunately I took those hunts for granted expecting to be doing it much longer than I did and did not take many pictures. With Different plans for my young V Dash, I currently have no intentions of training him for this kind of hunting, but I will probably let him sit with me during some hunts. 

So my advice from my observations after many years of trapping and hunting them, as long as your dog is obedience trained and not going to run down and try to attack a coyote, your in no danger, just ignore them. A Coyote is going to have to be cornered by your dog or put in a defensive position defending a pup for that to even be a problem if that did happen. And I can assure you after hours and nights of following green hounds running trash Coyotes, no Vizsla is ever going to catch a coyote unless the coyote is sick or injured. They might run your Vizsla to death though. Once a pair of Coyotes took turns running one of my hounds for 6 hours. 

Decoy Dog hunting
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IEGm-xGWyaE

Coyote that followed us all morning during a Sage Grouse hunt on Arapaho NWR a few years ago. 




























It was always annoying when Blaze insisted on doing the calling. She was not very good at it. But she was a heck of a good shot with the AR.


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## charliecoyot (Nov 26, 2012)

Completely agree with Sniper John - great pix btw!

I grew up in South Dakota - home of the University of South Dakota Coyotes!

If left alone - Coyotes are generally - hyper curious and incredibly resourceful.

Once saw a Malamute and Siberian Husky corner a coyote on a hike. 2 other coyotes stood about 150 yards away and watched. We were finally able to call off the Malamute and Siberian.

Really wish we had that on video - it was fascinating.

Merry Christmas everyone! And, an outstanding 2015!


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## texasred (Jan 29, 2012)

While I agree with John on most points, I still believe our smaller bred vizslas are at a borderline weight, especial when young. Lucy was 3 1/2 before she ever reached 40 lbs.
We've had friends lose Beagles to coyotes, but never lost one of their Cur dogs to them on the same property. Keep in mind the Beagles weren't over 25 lbs.
I've never actively hunted coyotes, but have shot a few. 
If they were out on prairie land, I've left them alone. If they were in ranchers pastures, I will take them out if given the chance. If ranchers start losing young to coyotes, they put donkeys in the pastures. I fear donkeys more than I would ever fear a coyote when running bird dogs.

As always a good recall on your pup will keep them from getting in trouble most days.


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## tknafox2 (Apr 2, 2013)

We have many Coyotes in the High Sierra's where we go to Mammoth Lakes. It is not a good Idea to let the dogs out to run free, for fear of being eaten. Kind'a a sure thing if the dog is under 60 lbs. Even Pearl at 110 lbs... she was out one AM just at dawn when she began a warning off bark, like I had never heard. With a flash light, I could see two adult Coyotes sizing her up, and not backing down a bit. She really let them have what for, and then decided retreat was a more logical choice. The Yote's I am sure would have given her a go, if they could have figured out what they would do with her once down. They will often send out a pup to engage a dog in play, which takes them further and further away from camp, or home. Once in they have frolicked close enough to the pack, the rest is history (dinner). 
Very, very crafty animals... my brother ( in Apple Valley) even had his bitch ( mutt) get pregnant by a coyote. Oh Joy!


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## sniper john (Jun 17, 2010)

The stories about a coyote leading a dog away to be eaten by a waiting pack is a wives tale. Coyotes just don't have that kind of ability to reason and work out planned attacks. There are several subspecies of Coyotes, some bigger than others , and there is going to be the occasional exceptional animal, as well as some with wolf or dog in their genes, but anywhere in the country they are still going to be under 40 pounds, 45 at most for an adult almost all of the time. I have killed several dozens of them over the years and they just don't get as big as the campfire talk makes them to be and a healthy winter coat will make them look many more pounds than they really are as well. Again there are exceptions, desperate, diseased, hungry where a pair of Coyotes may have to eat anything they can get, but Coyotes purposely hunting other canines for food would be way out of character for them unless the dog was already dead. There are much easier things for them to eat. Like other hounds running trash, I have no doubt many a beagle has been lost to a Coyote, but I seriously doubt to be eaten. More like ran in huge circles across the countryside until lost, just like they will do a trash chasing coonhound, but the beagle assumed killed by the Coyote by the owner when it did not return and could not be found. I feel most "attacks" by Coyotes are misunderstood, much like the false charge a black bear did on me while hunting in Colorado. It had no intention of attacking me, but I am sure anyone uninformed as to what a false charge is, would go home thinking they just escaped certain death.


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## marathonman (Jan 15, 2013)

Wife had a close encounter with a couple coyotes on her hike this morning with our two V's. Our two year old boy Jasper is 65lbs, so I don't worry as much about him, but we have a 7 month old pup Ruby who is 25-30lbs. This morning on the hike, Ruby was suddenly running back into sight at full tilt from over a hill with Jasper right next to her and two coyotes full in chase and focused on her. Ruby was obviously scared, but Jasper wasn't showing much concern. One coyote was only about 10 feet behind Ruby. Luckily Ruby is fast and made a bee line right back to my wife who scooped up the skidding pup. The coyote stopped about 10 feet away with Jasper in between looking back at it. After quite a bit of yelling from my wife, the coyotes backed off, but still trailed her for a little while. 
Luckily things turned out okay and Ruby had the sense to book it back to my wife. I hope that if things would have gotten worse, Jasper would have stepped in to save his little sister, but you just don't know.


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## texasred (Jan 29, 2012)

You wouldn't want to have to count on Jasper, but some males can be quite protective over the females. A dog the other day was doing a little to much sniffing on June's rear. She gave a small yip, and a air nip to let it know she had enough. That's all it took for Cash to run to her aid. He was standing tall, broad chested, with hackles up. I called both my dogs to me so it didn't go any farther, but I could tell Cash was ready for a fight.
June bosses him so much at home, you would think he would make her fend for herself.


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## hobbsy1010 (Jun 4, 2011)

^^^^^^^
Same


Same with our two!!

Companion guarding, very different indoors to outdoors.

She's boss in the house, he's in charge when we are out!

Hobbsy


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