Local Wildlife

[Guest Waterdog66]

So Audrey has slowly come to realize that there is plenty of local wildlife where we live. (Our Community is surrounded on 3 sides by large tracts of open space that is mostly in its natural state)

Frogs from the creek, squirrels, rabbits have certainly piqued her interest and I work hard to keep her from exercising her prey drive no matter how much she craves a some hasenpfeffer.

Possums, Raccoons and a local Bobcat has been met with much more suspicion and trepidation which is healthy for her because they are definitely not pet friendly.

The really interesting bit was when started to hear the coyotes rooing in the canyon behind our house. They tend to roam around the larger open space and can be out of our area for months but lately there have been two groups moving about close by.

About 2 weeks ago she was out early in the morning taking a bio-break and as I turned to give her some privacy, I noticed a rather large Coyote walking right up the street behind us. He walked by like we were not even there. When Audrey turned and saw him her ears perked up and her tail went up in the air but then she realized it was NOT a dog and suddenly reached for her invisibility cloak. (Ears Down, Head Low, Tail pointed at the ground etc.)

needless to say she was in a big hurry to get back inside where it was warm and safe.

This morning (Like other mornings recently) We have been hearing the pack feeding in the canyon and they can get very loud rooing and yelping away. This morning in particular there were two groups, one on the hill at the end of the street, and another down in the canyon rooing at each other.

She certainly seems to notice all of the commotion but I am not certain if this actually generates any stress for her. She seems to take notice, but then quickly goes about her business. If she hears them when we are in the house (Especially in the middle of the night) she does wake up and take notice.

We seem to be doing a good job of NOT making a big deal out of it all but still, a couple of times she has noticed something hiding between the houses and has even "Woofed" a few times. One sign that she is "Concerned" is that she will walk a short bit and stop to look over her shoulder.

FWIW: Part of our decision to adopt a greyhound was that they are indoor dogs that are too big to be carried away by a single Coyote. We lose 1 or 2 small fluffies a month and I was not keen on stocking the pantry for them. Even a big dog will be no match for a persistent group of them so outside was not an option.

Edited January 13, 2014 by Waterdog66

[a_daerr]

Be careful, especially with the coyotes. They are very clever. In our neck of the woods (Southwestern PA), the game commission brought coyotes in to manage the deer population. Someone at our dog park had a close call after a female coyote started coming outside the fence whining like she was in pain/heat. His dog got curious and jumped the fence, and as soon as that happened, a pack of males came out of their hiding spot and ascended upon the dog. They were stalking him the whole time.

 

Of course, in certain parts of the country, greyhounds are bred to hunt coyotes, so they would stand a better chance than say, a little white fluffy. Still very scary, though!

[Guest Waterdog66]

Yeah, good point about being careful; they are very crafty animals. I guess they have to be to live in an area like this.

The are very bold and in any case, are not the least bit timid around humans. About the only good news is that we have a big protected area as part of their range and they spend a lot of time roaming that part of the open space.

I guess like everything else, Audrey will just get used to hearing them. (I am hoping she does not decide to start rooing with them)