A coyote attacked a woman and bit her arm just last year in the Denver area. She was walking a dog, I believe.

My inlaws had their JRT attacked by a coyote only 100 yrds from their house. The poor little thing managed to make it back to the house and they took him in to be treated.
He ended up passing away despite the care though when he managed to get the collar off and rip the wound open.

The whole thing was very tragic, and we were incredibly careful with the little kids after that.

Packs of coyotes are known to lure dogs into their circle and ambush them here in So Cal. We've had some attack children. They should be kept in the back of your mind as much as Mountain Lions here, IMO.

 Quote: Cathy Goessman

 Quote: Scott Garrett

Coyotes are nothing to be afraid of because they have a natural fear of humans and will run away from you.

Not entirely true. Some urban populations have lost their fear of humans and will attack small dogs.

This is especially true of Eastern coyote. Usually their victims are small dogs who are off leash, but over the last year I have heard of two of attacks on big dogs! One was a female Lab at the park, and the other was an American Bulldog in his yard. Both dogs survived but needed many stitches.

Many Eastern coyotes are actually hybrids, since they will mate with wolves or domestic dogs. Because of this there are occasionally ones that will be more aggressive.

We had pack of 3 coyotes here that cornored a medium size dog on the back porch & were about to attack when the owner heard the noise & walked out there & chased them off. Another (most likey the same pack)was after a pit bull that was out in his kennel & the owner walked out when he heard the noise....the coyotes were trying to climb up on & get into the 6' high kennel & get the pit bull. This was 100+ lb dog. These were both around 6:30 or so in the morning. One was a few streets away & the other about 1 mile away. I have alot of woods behind my house up & down my street & the immediate area. I have seen some coyotes in the woods behind my home, along with foxes, turkeys & various other wildlife. My neighbor saw one walking down the street on the sidewalk at 2pm a few months ago. I saw one out in the woods behind my house a couple of weeks ago around 7pm. Gotta admit, they kinda creep me out. We have always seen them when riding our horses out on the trails in the woods. They would usually keep their distance & run off. I do think that they are getting very bold & desensitized to people. I live in a very subburban neighborhood with 1/3 acre lots. Not the country in the least.

There have now been reports of a mountian lion in the area the last couple of weeks. Don't know how reliable these reports have been. I live in CT. Sure hope that they are wrong.

 Quote: cathy goessman

 Quote: scott garrett

Coyotes are nothing to be afraid of because they have a natural fear of humans and will run away from you.

Not entirely true. Some urban populations have lost their fear of humans and will attack small dogs.

Aye. Hence the sentence that followed that one.

A confident attitude will do a lot for scaring off a creature that's timid by nature. I have seen a few coyotes in my time, too, along with a lot of loose and aggressive ghetto dogs. I always carry a pvc walking "stick" and a (legal length) tactical folding knife on me when I'm walking my dog.

We have a BAD coyote problem here. Its an ongoing war with farmers that is getting more and more heated. While I was deer hunting this season, we saw a pack of coyotes come through the field, chasing something. They were HUGE, and all different colors. One was jet black! I heard, like Lauren, that they are mixing with dogs and wolves. Whatever kind of mixes they are, they are killing LOTS of dogs, cats, and livestock. Every time the fire sirens go off at night, they all raise a fit and start howling from every direction! Its freaky!

Anyone that could train a dog in livestock protection could be a millionaire here. Or if you want to become a coyote-sniper or something! I've never seen so much hate for an animal before. I don't mind them IMO. They are the only predator we have around here with the potential to help keep the deer population under control. And we need that, considering there's so many deer around here, I'm surprised they aren't down on my patio right now having a little deer-party with a keg in my hot tub!

 Quote: Jessica Pedicord

Anyone that could train a dog in livestock protection could be a millionaire here.

Makes me wonder if the east coast will see a trend toward people breeding dogs like rottwielers and presas to work in their original jobs.

Maybe we should start a kennel. We would be rich!

 Quote: Lauren Jeffery

 Quote: Jessica Pedicord

Anyone that could train a dog in livestock protection could be a millionaire here.

Makes me wonder if the east coast will see a trend toward people breeding dogs like rottwielers and presas to work in their original jobs.

Maybe we should start a kennel. We would be rich!

Somewhere I read or heard German Shepherds were pretty good at that sort of work

 Quote: lauren jeffery

 Quote: jessica pedicord

Anyone that could train a dog in livestock protection could be a millionaire here.

Makes me wonder if the east coast will see a trend toward people breeding dogs like rottwielers and presas to work in their original jobs.

Maybe we should start a kennel. We would be rich!

Canaan Dog. They're supposed to do it naturally. Though, I'd absolutely love to see rotties returned to what they used to be.

There was quite a bit of coyote hate in my area about 15 years ago, complete with about a dozen different "kill coyotes" stickers.

From my recent research I've read that wild dogs mixed with domestic dogs are far more likely to show aggression towards a human. The "coydog" was actually one of the various breeds I looked up. And, of course, anything in a pack is going to be more bold than a handful.