Bobcat - is a farm collie a good protection?

[centrarchid]

I am pretty sure Bennie will run off any intruder, without bothering to learn more about them first. He goes after anything except "birdies", which are a strict "leave it!". Vultures, hawks and turkeys are too big to fall into "birdie" category and are chased off, so are hares and squirrels and the fox. He did go after the bobcat that one time that it showed up here in broad daylight (it had fled over the fence already after seeing me) and asked to be allowed to chase it past the fence along the creek bed (permission not granted), so I have no doubt he will go after it, especially since it's a cat (the resident cats are kept to their own fenced in area at their owners cottage or the barn when Bennie is out).
I was just wondering if a bobcat could be expected to high tail it pretty consistently if you hex a singl farmcollie on it or if it might try and fight for a chicken dinner...

He saw the bobcat and it moved. Makes job easier.

 

[Stephine]

Haha! Yes, that would help...
No, he didn't see it, as it had fled the moment it saw me step out on the deck to see what was the matter. Bennie responds to rooster alarm calls, though, so he knew to run and check for danger, picked up the scent and ran to the fence line... then to the gate to ask to be let out to go after it. I did in fact end up opening the gate for him a bit later because he stood there for so long I thought he had spotted one of his balls on the other side (they do get lost there sometimes) - I had already told him danger had past... Instead of grabbing his toy he ran up and down the creek to look for the cat - but thankfully came back to me when called off.... we just need critters chased to the property line, not in our neighbors yards!
Having a rooster that calls alarm and training the dog to react to that works well for us (which I did just by running out to the chickens when I heard the call). I am sure it also helps that our farm is small, just 3 1/4 acres and fully fenced - that way an "intruder" is easily defined.
I am wondering about his reaction to a coyote, though. We once ran into one one a walk - it was sitting right on the path - and Bennie just thought "doggie!" (he usually loves other dogs). Our tenants little dogs go berserk though when they spot a coyote, so that might give him the right idea... I am sure we'll find out soon enough...

 

[centrarchid]

He will treat Coyote like another dog, but an aggressive one as Coyote will not likely give signals for being sociable in a positive manner. Coyotes and dogs effectively the same species so understand each other very well. My dogs in first in encounter with Coyotes were confused. Interaction went sour pretty quick, mostly do to Coyotes reaction setting stage for dogs to run Coyotes off. Some Coyotes can interact in positive manner with dogs they know. Scoob, male German Pointer I used to have, was hard on Coyotes that gave him lip or ran but would jointly scent mark with at least one. Those two knew each other for at least two years and may have jointly defended against other foe. Interactions can be complex.

Coyotes help keep Red Fox away better than any dogs I have seen. Coyotes less persistent in my setting when it comes to stealing chickens, but they will still do it from time to time.