Coyotes in the yard

Coyotes kill dogs of all sizes when they can. They even try to lure big dogs out in the woods and gang up on them. My grandparents lost a big lab mix, an australian shepherd, and a kelpie to coyotes in the woods of eastern washington (these were killed singly at different times). They won’t let small dogs out at night. They have two full brother akitas that roam thier property now. These dogs are probably 130 lbs each, damn mean, and never leave each others side. I can’t imagine how many coyotes it would take to bring down that pair, but that’s what it took at their place. Coyotes are not to be triffled with. I also have many neighbors where I live now and worry about single coyotes more than groups. Before I had my big dog, I still didnt let my pugs out at night. Old habits…

Jean
We have a sheep farm in Maine and live every day with coyotes in our back yard. Most of how we manage our flock has to do with keeping the coyotes from having the opportunity to get a lamb. I can say with a lot of confidence that you have had coyotes for some time and you are now merely aware of it because of the snow. My experience with coyotes is very much not similar to Countrymouse’s. We use LGDs to guard our flock and have NEVER EVER had a dog vs. coyote encounter. The local pack knows that they can get a chicken or cat down the road and it is not worth getting injured when there is an easier meal in the neighborhood. Coyotes’ are opportunists if they can get a meal easier than by fighting a dog, they are going there. They evolved to have a very strong self preservation mechanism. In more developed areas there are a lot of places for scavengers to get a safe meal than fighting another dog, do you have neighbors with chickens? As long as they are not loosing birds you are most likely safe. I am not saying that they cannot be fierce, a couple towns over a horse was injured so bad that it had to be put down because it was being chased by a pack of coyotes. This incident was in the end of the winter and it was in a very rural area where there was not a lot of human presence; the game wardens said that the pack was very large and probably had social complications from a large number of male members which created the casing frenzy. Your dogs are probably the best tool you have to let those coyotes know that “this is my space”. Walk the property with your dogs, let them put there sent all over the place. A barking dog advertises to the local pack that “hey I am here and I see you”, if one of your dogs is outside and is barking a lot at night get your spot light out and investigate. You said you live in an area with houses? Spend a little time outside at night and see if you can hear any of the local dogs barking, you may even hear the local pack communicating. Notice where they are each night, you will be able to tell when the group is typically in your area. We are very rural here so our pack has a huge range, we will hear them off in the distance for several weeks and then we will have a lot of activity for a few days and then they are gone again. We have a rule: if we can see them in the pastures we shoot them, at least shoot at them. We like the coyotes that are timid and are only heard; the bold ones that we see need to go. This is why I do not feel trapping helps since you could take a timid one just as easy as a bold one. We will always have coyotes, our job is to teach the pack that our farm is not a safe place for them to go.
Billy

Wild dogs hate electric fence. I have had great luck keeping them from chickens with only an electric fence. A friend who has a sheep farm with sometimes over 300 head has never lost a lamb that she knows of in 20+ years. Her philosophy is simple, good fences make good neighbors. She has a hot 4 or 5 strand perimeter fence around all pasture areas and cross fences with electronet. She permits hunters to shot deer, but not coyotes. She believes that the local dog population knows their place on the correct side of the fences and have no problematic habits. If hunters kill them a pushy coyote may take on her farm as new territory and become a problem.

Anna mule should keep them at bay.

@Countymouse 39163 wrote:

That said, I still wouldnt want one of my pugs in the backyard with a coyote.

I think this is good sound advice 🙂

I hate to add a negative note here, but for quite a few years the electronets did a fine job of keeping coyotes away from our lambs. Then a couple years ago in the fall we lost ten 60 pound lambs to a pack of coyotes in a single night. The nets were all up and energized. They must have jumped over them to get in with the flock. We thought maybe the pups were being trained to hunt, since some of the dead lambs were not eaten. Now we have a guard llama who seems to be doing the job of keeping them safe. Bob

We’ve lived for over 20yrs with coyotes within 25 – 50 yards of our house and sheep/goats/dogs and chickens have all lived without a single incident and our fencing is not very good. Worst thing they did was teach our dogs how to howl!