How to keep coyotes out of my back yard?

[amycurl]

Remember, the animals were there first. The housing development came out to meet them.

 

[isisdave]

A coyote is not going to mess with a 60 pound dog. You have zero to be concerned about.

Well not zero. You do have to worry about mountain lions and rattlesnakes. But not a coyote.

Well, maybe not. Two weeks ago we lost our 15-pound dog to a coyote. He jumped the 5-foot fence, grabbed Mac, and jumped back. What was amazing was that the other two dogs, one weighing about 65 and the other a 90-pound mastiff/pit bull mix, were within 50 feet. I don't know if they even reacted, but the coyote was hungry enough to risk it.

We've lived there 25 years, and until recently never saw a coyote in the daytime. It's not unusual now.

 

[klpca]

Well, maybe not. Two weeks ago we lost our 15-pound dog to a coyote. He jumped the 5-foot fence, grabbed Mac, and jumped back. What was amazing was that the other two dogs, one weighing about 65 and the other a 90-pound mastiff/pit bull mix, were within 50 feet. I don't know if they even reacted, but the coyote was hungry enough to risk it.

We've lived there 25 years, and until recently never saw a coyote in the daytime. It's not unusual now.

Oh, I am so sorry! That is terrible.

It feels like something has changed in the past few years. Our community has been fully built out for probably the past 10 years so I am not sure what is causing this. We hear more coyotes at nights and see them in the neighborhood during the day. My dad lives a few hours away in the desert where there is still a ton of undeveloped space. His house sits at the end of a cul de sac so has a neighbor to the right, the golf course to the back, the main road to the neighborhood on the left and of course his street to the front. A few weeks ago he had a coyote walk across his back yard on the top of his low wall. The same week a neighbor's dog was killed by a coyote. It's crazy.

 

[CalGalTraveler]

Just saw a 80 lb deer running for his life in the open space behind our house. Behind it was a coyote but not in hot pursuit. Walking behind the coyote were 2 more coyotes who looked well fed. Deer likely went to pond to drink and surprised coyotes. It got away

 

[heathpack]

Well, maybe not. Two weeks ago we lost our 15-pound dog to a coyote. He jumped the 5-foot fence, grabbed Mac, and jumped back. What was amazing was that the other two dogs, one weighing about 65 and the other a 90-pound mastiff/pit bull mix, were within 50 feet. I don't know if they even reacted, but the coyote was hungry enough to risk it.

We've lived there 25 years, and until recently never saw a coyote in the daytime. It's not unusual now.

Aw that’s terrible to hear.

I’m not sure what you mean by your “maybe not” comment however. Your experience is completely in support of the point I have been making throughout this thread. Small dogs are snatched by coyotes commonly. Large dogs in the 65-90 pound range are left unmolested. The presence of a large dog in the yard will not prevent coyote attacks of small dogs. Remember upthread when I related the story of a coyote grabbing a *leashed* dachshund by the Head, fracturing it’s skull? A human being 4 feet away from a small dog in that example was not protection enough. Yet still it’s true that the vast majority of the time, a coyote won’t mess with an adult human. Nor a large dog.

It’s so strange to me that as a veterinarian, I see the consequences of coyote vs small dog all the time yet when I mention what I know from first hand experience, it’s a very common first instinct of people to argue or resist what I have to say. Must be some aspect of human nature that I don’t understand.

Anyway. Sorry about your little dog. I have a little dog myself and it’s tough to imagine something like that happening to her. She’s the apple of my eye and I’d love for her to be able to enjoy the yard risk free. Alas, I live in SoCal so I understand that’s just not the way things are.