Coyotes attack habits

[Kenneth66]

Have a little beagle that was attacked Mon. She was chewed up pretty good , mostly hind quaters and belly a few neck bites . Vet and neighbors say probability of coyote attack . Neighbors say there are several in the area farms . But I am thinking the coyote would have attacked for food , meaning he would have made short work of her and ate her as she is only around two feet long and maybe twenty pounds if that much . Those of you experienced with coyotes , what would be your take on this ?
I'm leaning more toward a dog or dogs attack . Thanks , Kenneth

 

[BigBamBoo]

I am with you on this one. While coyotes will and do attack dogs, generally they will either pick a small dog....chihuahua size....or might tackle a larger dog such as your beagle in pairs or a pack.

But one thing I have leanered over the years of chasing coyotes is they are unpredictable.

My guess would be neighborhood dog(s).

Hope you pup recovers.

 

[rardoin]

I had a neighbor have 3 Boston Terriers killed by 'yotes over 2 years. Two were found intact with puncture wounds but no attempt to eat them was noted. A friend told me that they would find farm ducks/lambs killed in mid spring but not eaten. He claimed that the adults were teaching the young the art of the kill as more were downed than they could possibly eat. Plausible speculation I suppose.

 

[Chris Butler]

I have a buddy who's a wolf biologist. I came upon an elk cow that was killed and uneaten. He told me sub-adult wolves kill for practice or simply for entertainment.

 

[swd]

There's a lot of dogs and a lot of coyotes around where I live and the dogs just disappear. While it certainly could be coyotes I would tend to lean towards domestic or feral dogs.

 

[fredhorace77]

You might get a couple good trail cameras set up, there's a good chance whatever done it will be coming back thru the area.

 

[timeout]

My guess is dogs. That being said, I know a couple in OK. that watched their dog be picked up and carried off by a coyote - never to be seen again. I later trapped coyotes on their ranch and caught the largest alpha male coyote I've ever trapped or caught with hounds. Believe me, I had friends for life and fresh cookies the next day!

 

[fredo]

A coyote won't necessarily attack a dog, just to eat it.
Lots of other reasons for aggression, other than consumption.
Could be territorial, could be dominance, could be protecting den/pups, etc...

 

[NorCalMikie]

Coyotes can and will bring down small fawns so a 20 pound Beagle? Good eats!! My guess, Coyotes!! They live in big cities as well as out in the country. They know how to get just about anywhere by without too much of a problem.

 

[timeout]

There will be a coyote around to whiz on the last white man's grave. They have been trapped, called, trail hounded, sight dogged, poisoned, sniped by all types of game animal hunters, on and on. Most times they are afforded little to no protection under game laws and they just keep coming. Perhaps the most proficient survivor on the planet?

 

[fredo]

Watch & enjoy this video:

Cal is specifically using his decoy dogs to illicit an aggressive (territorial) response from those coyotes. Those coyotes aren't looking for a meal, they're looking to run those domestic intruders out of their country...

Back to the beagle attack. If the beagle was targeted as dinner, it very likely woulda vanished. Or, it was targeted by a YOY coyote that didn't quite have its killing skills honed to an edge, yet...

That said, I agree it could just as easily have been an attack by domestic/feral dogs.
Sorry 'bout your dog, either way! Hope it heals up, quick!!!

 

[snert]

yote got something in my yard last night. heard the commotion, kid said she saw it running something down in the moonlight. Pittiful moan for quite a while last night, but not a stitch of hair or mess....

 

[Patch700]

My experience with yodel dogs is expect the unexpected... If there is a pack of them in the vicinity then rest assured they will have no qualms taking on a german shepperd sized dog... Have seen first hand a pack of 4 that were within 60 yards of me at our pond waiting patiently for the crusty old farm cat to come out from the cat tails. If they feel threatened, and the numbers are in thier favor they will do strange things.

 

[BigBamBoo]

Read this:

http://www.grindtv.com/wildlife/coy...way-arm-hot-spot-coyotes/#VztH8k6sD3ZAo1Fm.97

 

[Kenneth66]

Thanks for all the replies . Guess it comes down to my dog is going to be ok and hopefully I'll get a chance to revenge her .
That is one really good video of the decoy dogs , thanks . I got deer hunting on the brain right now , hopefully I'll snag one soon and can maybe throw the guts out for bait . If I set on the roof of the house it gives me a good 180 degree view of some fields . 222 and a five cell mag lite ought to do the trick .
Kenneth

 

[Mudcat]

This one snuck up on me while on the tractor cutting in a shooting lane back in the woods. Unfortunately for him, he didnt know I had a Glock G43 with me.

 

[ratbuster]

I live in a semi-rural area outside of Sacramento (lots 2+acres) and there have been numerous assaults on neighborhood dogs. A coyote had my Rat Terrier in it's mouth on my patio until I shooed it off. Same thing with my neighbors cocker spaniel. Another neighbor lost his small dog and my kids found it's head and collar..we never told the neighbor. When our 40lb Brittany Spaniel was alive she would chase them. One day my wife and daughter saw her running home at full tilt with a coyote hot on her heels. The coyote stopped the pursuit when it saw my girls. Two other dogs on the street suddenly disappeared; these dogs were not explorers so they either got eaten or stolen. There is no question they attack and sometimes eat dogs.

 

[Fast14riot]

Doesn't take but 1 second for a coyote to snag a small dog...

 

[missed]

Damn!

 

[Frankr]

Well I live in SW PA just north of the WV border. We have a lot of whitetail deer. a big doe can go 180 lbs a big buck can go 225 lbs or more. so not small deer. We also have coyotes and lots of rabbits several buddy's have beagles and we hunt over them a lot and they are always out running dogs and they worry about coyotes coming in on the dogs all the time. One guy was running a rabbit with his dogs and he said here came a doe ripping right past him with a coyote in pursuit he said they past him and about fifty yards from him the coyote took the doe down he went running screaming and yelling and chased the coyote off but he said the doe was dead. DEAD!..wow I never knew a coyote could take down a full size deer by itself . I thought just fawns, rabbits. small critters. But he said no he seen it. We kill a few a year by chance, We hunt them but thick heavy cover we don't have a lot of luck but we keep trying.