Now I have more to worry about besides feral cats..coyotes.

[Peeps]

They must be a lot bigger. My German shepherds are 130 -145lbs. The coyotes here never get close to that. Maybe 75-80 lbs tops.

The whole hunting thing is a completely different situation. You have a dog hunting another dog. Of course there is going to be a fight. A dog protecting it's property is unlikely to get attacked by a coyote. The coyote will just move on. Coyotes are skittish and don't want a confrontation, they just want some easy food.

At least that's how the west coast ones are.

 

[chcknrs]

Quote:
This is where a Rhodesian Ridgeback come in handy. They were bred to hunt lions, have been clocked at up to 40 mph, have been measured to have a 900 psi bite, and can manuever well a very tight situation.
My lab mix is best at alarming for predators, but they both do well at deterring them. I love my dogs, both as pets, and as predator deterrents.

 

[Peeps]

I think it isn't really the size or strength of the dog that matters so much, but their character. Some dogs are just not into "protecting" or defending their territory. My neighbor has queensland healers, they are small, but very good at protecting their property, they have chickens free ranging.

Animals have territories. They know when they are in somebody else's (your dogs) territory. They know they shouldn't be there, so when they hear your dog bark and running towards them they tend to just run off. Your dog just "marking" his territory is sometimes enough to keep predators away. But sometimes you get an ornery pest who will try to "test" your dogs territory. That is where a strong territorial type dog comes in handy.

I recommend german shepherds only because I raise them and know how territorial they are. But there are other dogs that would protect just as well. There are also dogs that are pretty worthless as far as protecting your livestock. I feel anybody getting a dog for the reason of protecting should research the temperament of the dog to be sure you get one that is going to do it's job.

 

[Henrietta23]

Quote:
We've got three dogs of our own, but three GSDs on one side and a newfoundland on the other. Ours are fenced and the neighbors on each side have theirs fenced. We've been very lucky. We did have a fox once but we rarely see anything here. The shepherds bark a lot. They'd make a real stink if they spotted anything. I think the newfie would invite a coyote to stay for dinner.... but none of them are out all the time.