Now here's a new predator!

[Scott H]

I saw a pictorial, years ago, in OutDoor Life Magazine of a cougar killing a 7 point bull elk. Jumped on it's back and reached around and grabbed it's nose and broke the bull's neck. They can kill anything....

 

[troy4]

well good luck my dog got in a foght with o0ne in almost got killed so dog might fight but probably won't last more then four minutes

 

[troy4]

maybe not even four mintutes

 

[Ohgrr]

In my experience cougars are generally afraid of a dog. It was once the standard way to hunt them but it is illegal (at least here in Washington). The side effect is that the cougar population has exploded without being thinned out and now they there are tons of attacks. If the cougar got it into it's mind, however, the dog wouldn't stand much of a chance. I have only seen one in the wild and it still raises the hair on the back of my head thinking about it.

 

[centrarchid]

When you are messing with multiple predators of size greater than a coyote (real coyote, not the wolf hybrid of north and east), you need multiple dogs as guardians. Multiples may need to be three or more. Once that line is crossed you will either need to look into other types of defenses or consider keeping birds indoors. For many, that will make keeping chickens impractical.

 

[mudd32]

Bottom line is this...if a moutain lion wants your chickens he's gonna get them and kill your dog in the process.
If he's nearby it might be time to beef up security.
If that don't work...a little rabbit squealer call and a 12 gauge works wonders.