Eagle attacked my 85 lb Rough Collie

My husband was home today and heard our Collie start barking like crazy. He looked out the window and an eagle had landed in our chicken/duck run. The ducks and chickens were all in their respective 'safe' runs (which are smaller runs completely enclosed with chicken wire) so they weren't actually in danger. My husband headed outside anyway, and the eagle proceeded to jump out of the run and ATTACK our barking collie. My husband says it was an all out fight until he got almost on top of them, and only then did the eagle fly up to a nearby limb and perch himself there until my husband left with the dogs (we also have a border collie who was giving his best protective barks from a 'safe distance' (bless his brilliant little herding dog heart). Our Collie came out with a somewhat battered nose but proud as could be and received tons and tons of praise.

None of our friends and families ever seem to believe me when I talk about what a huge problem the eagles have been for our little menagerie here, but my husband says he will now unequivocally back me up. He says he was absolutely blown away by how big AND how bold they are. And, the eagles are 'protected' -- what would have happened if our collie had actually killed or maimed the thing? (Though my husband wonders if the eagle wouldn't have ultimately won the fight.)

Wow, thats awful! He must have been big if he took on a big dog. Hope your dog is okay and the eagle never comes back!

Type "eagles hunting wolves" into your browser and get ready for a shock....if you have an eagle that has already demonstrated readiness to attack an 85 lb dog, you need to take it seriously, AND report the incident to game authorities. Yes, eagles are protected, BUT, game authorities do often have to deal with individual protected animals that have become a danger and threat to people or property.

THANK YOU! It seemed like a pretty brazen act to me. When I told my daughter the story she said "That's it! Between the coyotes and the eagles my babies aren't coming to Grandma's house anymore." I think she was kidding but I'm not sure. I will follow up on this with the appropriate authorities.

Your collie's 'somewhat battered nose' takes on a whole new scary reality if you watch the videos you found, your dog is lucky to have survived it. Given now a start at the idea, that eagle won't take long to learn how to perfect its technique, and the danger will increase dramatically...adding that it was bold enough to do this right in your yard, not afraid of even your husband...well, your daughter may just have a good point!
The eagles aim for the head of the wolf with their talons, their ideal grip on the head of the wolves both immediately disables the wolves only real defense, their teeth, and the kill is usually actually accomplished by the talons puncturing the wolves skull and or jugular vein.
This ancient tradition among those central Asian peoples is an incredibly beautiful example of the kind of symbiotic relationship human kind have developed with animals in context of suriving harsh environments...in their case, the wolves both prey on their livestock, mostly sheep and goats, and their furs also provide clothing and other useful items.
But it is also a good demonsration of how deadly and destructiive eagles can be.
Good luck. Be determined when you contact those game officials, don't let them brush you off lightly.

eagles hate coyotes and will fight with coyotes so it probably thought thats what your dog was

the eagle was in defense mode NOT PRedatory mode its not going to bug your dog it was interested in the chickens yoru dog (coyote canine something the eagle hates) freaked it out and ****** it off so it went into defense mode


very simple

many birds will fight a dog cranes, swans, etc.. an eagle is a very powerful bird they dont put up with coyotes


WAS THE EAGLE a bald eagle or a golden eagle? only a golden eagle have very strong talons
bald eagles are much weaker and your dog would have killed it

do not assume a bald eagle is as capable as a golden eagle if it was the falconers would use them truth is a bald eagle doesnt even hunt foxes or cats

I've loved my collies and always protective of our livestock and good with kids!

Good boy! Next time, he might end up killing the eagle and you will have to report it to the game authorities that the dog was defending the livestock and eagle was coming on.

bald eagles can be around friendly cats and dogs but goldens would kill a cat at the risk of being poised by bacteria in the cats mouth bald eagles will kill falcons and red tail hawks if they can catch it by suprise also they are bird kills so yeah they will kill a goose or a chicken

There would not be a problem if your dog killed a bald eagle when the dog was defending itself.

The eagle could have flown away rather than attacking the dog. It sounds like that eagle was trying to kill the dog.

I did not know bald eagles had weaker talons than golden eagles. Is that true?

I was amazed when I saw the videos of Mongolians using golden eagles to kill wolves. I didn't think eagles could kill a wolf, but I was wrong.

of course it is true it doesnt take a scientist to figure out that eagles just like many other animal species vary in their hunting ability and power and no the bald eagle wasnt trying to "kill" the dog if it eas a golden eagle then yes it could have been trying to kill the dog a golden eagle will sometimes even try to kill a coyote so it can kill a dog bald eagles dont kill canines. The eagle got in a fight with the dog because it didnt have enough time for take off. How on earth is that so hard to understand? Big birds need a bit of time to get airborn i own a herding dog also very fast she can catch a bird pretty easy sometimes a big bird like a eagle or a goose would not be able to fly away just like that with her charging at it.


there are 59 species of eagle out there you really think every single one can take on a wolf??????????? understand only a few the most powerful largest species in the world can do the job.


love how some people think eagle means 1 bird