Why this Doodle can not run free on our property

[Rosemary (Ro) and Enzo]

For Christmas, my son gave me a " Trophy Cam". We strapped to a Palm tree just outside the grass line and pointed up a hill on our property. It is motion activated. Here is what it "caught" the other night/morning! 5 coyotes!
I love seeing the wildlife ...but these guys make me nervous with Enzo. At 44 or so lbs( 7 months) she thinks every living being is her best friend. She'd be no match for these guys.
Now...if should catch Big Foot on the cam...I'm outta here! :p

[Rosemary (Ro) and Enzo]

I hate that the wildlife has been displaced. :(. There has got to be a happy medium.

[Rosemary (Ro) and Enzo]

Checked the camera footage this afternoon and it got a hawk in flight flying low this morning. Something set it off around 3am, but couldn't see anything. We moved it once again. Tomorrow is another day.

[Sally S Miles]

We also live in a rural area and have a couple of acres that is heavily wooded, irregular, with a stream = fencing is not going to happen (it's actually in our CCR's that we can't completely fence it in)   but we did fence in two areas for the dogs.  Our dogs never go out without us and until last year we had no fence at all - we just keep an eye on the dogs.

We have coyotes here, as well as raccoons, bears, dear, possum, two kinds of squirrel, rabbits, and others!  Eagles, hawks, owls and falcons.   Sometimes the noise at night can be cacophonous and I've seen coyotes outside our bedroom window and raccoons sitting in the meadow thirty feet from my chair.    Coyote's can sail over a fence like it isn't there and raccoons just scramble over!    Thirty years ago we lived in So Cal and our suburban neighborhood was really disturbed by those wily coyotes, they aren't quite that bold here - but they can walk through my woods and never make a sound - just appear for a split second and move on.

The raccoons frighten me more than the coyote they can really tear up a dog. 

So much building has happened in the fifteen years since we moved here and they are about the clear many acres that abut our property, so that the county can have some revenue from timber.  Where will the critters go?  

In this northern latitude the daylight vanishes early in winter and we have really bright lights outside, as do our neighbors - but I've seen the raccoons playing on their front porch.  Noise scares them off usually.   So we are always very cautious going out in the dark - but a hungry or sick animal will wander in daylight and most folks around here walk their dogs with a big stick in hand or something otherwise for safety.   We have a neighbor who lets their little dog out to go roam - sometimes they call her for what seems like hours - and I worry... 

[AndySharon BoomerShaynaMariner]

Perhaps this article may help:

http://www.humanesociety.org/animals/coyotes/tips/hazing_guidelines...

[Rosemary (Ro) and Enzo]

Wow....bears would definitely make me jumpy! Thanks so much for link! All good stuff to know!

[Rosemary (Ro) and Enzo]

LOL...I just went to check your page to see where you lived. NJ...that wasn't what I was expecting! I was born and raised in NJ, but thankfully, no bears!

[Lauria Orr]

Oh my word...this scares me so much.  My brother lives in Carlsbad and says there are lots of Coyotes there as well.  We have some that hang out in the field behind our house in Portland, Oregon. They have gotten several neighborhood cats.  I always go out with my dogs, day or night, and have put motion detector lights on the back fence, so that if there is something out there, I can tell, for the most part, once it is dark. We now see them occasionally during the day time.  I take a flashlight with me as well, and a can of pennies to shake and make noise with if needed for a deterrent. On another post, someone asked about other hints to protect pets from coyotes.  I had just heard of a company in San Diego called "Spike Bite", and they offer a padded vest that protects the pet from injury if attacked by a predator.  http://www.spikebite.com

[Camilla and Darwin]

That is scary!

[Rosemary (Ro) and Enzo]

Tell me about it! Saw one this morning crossing our property just upside the lawn line. It was about 11 am. He/ she did run off when my husband started yelling at it. Had Enzo been out off leash.......:(