Now I eat my words, and what now?!

Poppy does not have a rock solid recall when dealing with wildlife or someone SUPER SPECIAL, like my 88 yr old neighbor Jeanette. She is also very strong.

Coyotes can be dangerous, but even bunnies can be dangerous too!

Our yard is not fenced, patio homes so no fencing between. We live about 1/2 a block frrom one of the busiest roads in town. Poppy is ALWAYS LEASHED when outside at home.

Yesterday I was putting her out on her long tie out line, with her gentle leader attached, a bunny came around the corner....all bets were off. Poppy ran, jerking the 25' line, wrapping the line around my big toe and pulling me to the ground. She pulled the line out of my hands despite my death grip. I got up and she was gone. I ran through the yards towards our busy street, running between the giant spruce trees and out to the front. Yelling all the way. A neighbor in the cul de sac pointed in the opposite direction and said there she is, by your house. I ran back and got 2 doors away when Jeanette came outside. Poppy ran directly to Jeanette, her favorite person in the universe.

It took a half an hour for my heart to stop pounding. Poppy enjoyed the run and The magical Dr. Gil, my chiropractor, worked on me.

Life is never dull for me and Poppy.

When I fell I had the presence of mind to curl up and roll, rather than risk further damaging my shoulders by catching myself with my arms. I narrowly avoided slamming into the concrete patio and landed in grass. My mid back is sore, my neck is sore, my big toe is sore and the arch of my foot is strained. It could have been so much worse....and worst of all, Poppy could have been in serious danger had she reached the road.

I do not walk her in the neighborhood in the evening because I can not control her when bunnies appear.....even though she has a gentle leader on. I can not risk further injuries to my neck and shoulder.

Poppy walks on loose lead EVERYWHERE, unless bunnies are involved. I shudder to think what would happen with coyotes or bear. We have many of those here.

We go in the car to a park with trails where I can walk her without fear of bunnies. She is calm and on a loose leash. With coyotes, who are very very wylie and very dangerous, she would view them as playmates. Coyotes here are bold and unafraid. They WILL approach people and pets even when they are on leash.

We are back in training for reactivity on leash....her safety and mine are at risk.

I have a new " hook up to the tie out line" proceedured at home, to keep both of us safe. I am very fortunate to have not broken body parts.

Also fortunate that the "crazy one", Poppy, is none the worse for her escapade.

Dr. Gil, as usual, has me on the mend too.

Jen and Sage, I hope you take walks on leash in the future and stay very very safe. Coyotes are not to be messed with.

Stay safe out there, everyone!

A previous coyote thread had me thinking I would have to make a spiked outfit for Francis, the little boston terrier, who lives with Click and her family. I even looked up an image to copy. I do leather work, so it would not be a complicated task to make this. For everyones' ammusement, here is that protective garment.

So scary! Have you thought about using a long line or a retractable leash? That would let you give Sage more freedom without going leash-less.

And yeah, you can teach a 3-year-old dog pretty much anything. I once knew someone who trained emergency recall using a really loud whistle. They just taught it by giving their dog a jackpot reward every time they blew the whistle. So they always had this whistle around their neck when they were with the dog, and at random times they'd blow the whistle and then give the dog a bunch of his favorite treat. After a while that dog would BOOK IT when he heard that whistle.

With really high-drive dogs, though, a recall doesn't always work unless you catch them before they have a chance to react, no matter how well you've trained it. So it's best to pair it with training your dog to always stay within a certain distance or line of sight that allows you to spot critters before he does.

I also knew a woman with hunting dogs once who used a shock collar as an emergency backup. She'd lost a previous dog because it chased a deer into a road and got hit by a car. So after that, all her dogs wore shock collars when working in the field. If they blew recall, she could give them a strong shock that would shake them away from anything dangerous. She still did a ton of recall training, but it was peace of mind for her since the dogs had to be off-leash in order to do their work. I'm not a big fan of shock training, but I get it in a situation like that.

Just reading this thread stirred up my anxieties! :afraid:

What about Bear Repellent or Stun Gun Batons or tasers if a loose dog/coyote/bear or even a criminal trying to steal your dog gets too close or you have to intervene to save your dog?

I see some here:

https://www.thehomesecuritysuperstore.com/self-defense-stun-guns-dog-repelling-stun-guns-sub=166

https://www.tbotech.com/animal-repellents.htm

Viking Queen: I love that leather harness with spikes! It looks like it gives some neck protection, which the aggressive dogs go after in a grab & shake. It looks ideal for toy and mini breeds.

Click-N-Treat said:

Oh, and I will show the spiked leather suit to my husband to see if he thinks he wants one for Dear Francis. Thank you! We haven't seen coyotes around lately, thank goodness.

Click to expand...

While the spiked suit would provide some protection, I really think a determined coyote would get it's prey any way. The back end of the dog is still vulnerable, as is the belly. On a Standard poodle facebook page there was a horrific story about a Spoo who went into the woods behind his house and did not come out. His Mom found him a few minutes later and carried him to the house. His hind quarters and groin had been torn apart by coyotes. He had several surguries and a very talented Veterinarian who put him back together. They had even torn his thigh muscles right off the bones so that had to be reattached as well as internal belly injuries needed repairing. They work as a pack to disable their victim and it was horrible. Kahne is fortunate to have survived...his Mom, thankfully, is a nurse for humans so was great with his after care and hime care. It was a sobering story to follow. I do think the spiked suit would be protection from other dogs of similar size attacking but do doubt that it would do much for a coyote attack. It sure is cute in a goth sort of way. Technically not difficult to make, but time consuming due to the sheer number of spikes and spots.