To all you hawk people - Would......

[Thomas423]

putting a bright colored outfit on my small dog deter a hawk from snatching her?????

I recently got a small Maltese dog. She is white. Yesterday, I saw our 2 local hawks start circling the yard and moving in closer. A neighbor (about 1/4 mile away) feeds these hawks, so they probably don't fear people. Right now she is perfect hawk size food but even when she is full grown, they could still try to pick her up and end up hurting her.

So what's everyone's opinion?? Hubby says they look for movement, not color and a bright colored outfit might make her stand out more. I'm desperate because I spend the whole tiime out in the yard looking up. These 2 hawks are a pain in the butt. I can't even let my girls out in the yard because of them. They have actually landed in the tree above the covered run, checking out the girls.

 

[annageckos]

If you have predators in the area that can take your pets the only thing to do is keep an eye on them. Hawks are protected, and can not be harmed or harassed. I would say until your dog is larger always watch her.

Edit to add

Do you know the species of hawks? I am guessing red tails, they are most common. They commonly prey on rabbit size and smaller animals. They hunt by vision, so putting bright colors on your dog will not help at all. You can always get a pot and pan or something else that will make a loud noise and if you see them close by make a bunch of noise. Crows and jays will also chase hawks away.

 

[33yardbirds]

I would think that a brightly colored garment would only give the hawks a zeroing in point.

 

[WoodlandWoman]

A white dog really sticks out in bright sun. Maybe a camo yarn or fabric would be a better idea? It's pretty hot for that here, right now. I would keep a close eye on her until she's full grown and maybe as an adult, too. If it was me, I'd buy or build a covered pen for her, so she could still be outside, when I was too busy to watch her. She could have a comfortable bed and toys in there. Maybe give her a stuffed Kong when you put her in there, so she has something to look forward to. She'd still be able to see you, plus sniff all the smells in the air and listen to the sounds outside. When you're free to go for a walk, play with her or sit on the patio, she can be out.

Our cocker spaniel is at risk from larger predators. Mostly coyotes or a big mean coon. Sometimes there are bobcats, cougars and bears spotted in our area, but that's rare. He's small and more of a cuddler. He has a German shepherd mix for a buddy and body guard. If he needs to go to the bathroom and there's been anything odd going on up in the woods or it's late at night, we send his "sister" out with him. She's a seriously tough dog. I noticed you have two dogs listed in your signature. Does your other dog pal around with your Maltese at all? Is it any larger than she is?

 

[BayouPoules]

We had a Red Hawk swoop down out of nowhere and grab my 4 month old miniature poodle right in front of us! That dog was screaming! About 10 ft up he dropped Lafitte and that dog hit the ground running and yelping and didn't stop yelling for 20 minutes!,.. It was sort of funny after it was all over. We had never clipped him so he was 50% hair and 50% dog,.. I think this might be what saved him because we could't find any deep claw marks on Lafitte! He was a washed out gray color and was on a gray driveway,.. kind of camouflaged,.. but Hawks have such awesome eyesight it doesn't matter.
I think an outfit would make your dog miserable and would only attract more attention to it.
All I can offer is if you are not feeding the wild birds,. do so,.. You already have hawks,. so it it's not like you will attract them(,. but like annageckos said,.. you will sure know when they are around! We can be in the house and know a hawk is around ( or a cat) because the Blue jays start making a huge racket and we have seen them gang up on a hawk and chase them off. We love to watch the local hawks and eagles and kites,.. but we are glad to have the jays chase them from the yard.
Hope you figure out something that works for you.

 

[FireTigeris]

no one should be feeding hawks... you could report that...

 

[Ariel301]

I don't think a sweater will stop the hawk if it wants to eat your dog. And your dog will not get big enough to ever be safe, I've seen them try to take large adult cats. I would not let your dog out unattended if there are hawks around. Around here, a bright dog sweater makes a small dog a bright target for mountain lions to snack on!

I would also report the neighbor feeding the hawks, getting them tame that way can lead to aggressive behavior towards pets and people--we had one here last summer that would swoop at my head while I was out milking my goats! Fortunately he moved on, I think that one was just inexperienced because he was young.

 

[desertdarlene]

Quote:
I agree, feeding hawks (or any predator) is dangerous!

I know people who feed squirrels and, in a sense, are feeding the hawks, too. I also knew people who fed coyotes because they theorized that it would make them less likely to kill the ducks and other birds. It ended up causing them to kill more birds because they associated people with food and began to hang around places where they normally weren't seen. A really friendly goose was killed during the time period when people were feeding the coyotes.

I agree with the others in that putting a bright colored outfit won't add any protection to your dog. I wonder if a brown outfit might help? Even then, hawks have very sharp eyesight, so you dog wouldn't be able to "hide".

*edited for grammatical error

 

[Gallo del Cielo]

Quote:
That is a great story! I love the part about the 50% hair.

Yeah, small pets are just at a risk where ever there are large raptors. We don't see as many feral cats anymore and I'm convinced the great horned owls are having their fill. I was talking with a friend this morning who told me about a great horned owl that recently went after his pit bull mix in his own back yard, he couldn't believe the attitude of that bird. Unfortunately, even a person standing there don't seem to bother the hawks much.

 

[Ang]

Quote:
I think what was meant was to feed the song birds. That way you have jays and other birds in your yard that tend to chase the hawks away.