-
Step 1
If you must leave your animals alone in the yard, make sure they are in strong pens or kennels. Rabbit hutches should have solid bottoms and cages made of strong bars, rather than chicken wire.
-
Step 2
Keep your yard clean. Do not leave trash cans open, and pick up any spilled trash. Coyotes are scavengers, and will sniff out any trash that you have left open. Once near your property, they will eat anything they can get close to, including rodents and small pets.
-
Step 3
Install a fence that is at least six feet tall. The fence should be buried at least 12" below surface level, to prevent coyotes from digging under the fence to get onto your property.
-
Step 4
Never let your pet wander alone. If you're on vacation, or live where coyotes live, always walk your dog on a leash. Coyotes are not afraid of small animals, but they are afraid of humans. Keeping your pet close to you will keep it safer than if it were wandering alone. Jessica Simpson's dog, Daisy, was not on a leash and was wandering around alone. Although the dog was within Simpson's sight, she was too far from humans, and Simpson was unable to reach the dog before the coyote grabbed the dog and ran.
-
Step 5
Carry a whistle, air horn, or pepper spray. If a coyote gets too close to you and your pet, look the coyote in the eye and yell. If it's not immediately scared off, use your noise maker or pepper spray to make the coyote run away.
-
Step 6
Stay facing the coyote. Walk backwards if you have to, but don't turn around. If you turn your back to a coyote, it may take the opportunity to grab your pet while you're not looking.
Comments
joanhaines said
on 9/29/2009 Yikes. A coyote sees a little dog on a leash, and thinks of it as a meatball on a string.
jfjones said
on 9/17/2009 Interesting article.