Danger from hawks & owls?
 

This has always been worrisome to me, and it is one reason why I have no problem having the larger Yorkies, but I still wonder, just how large of an animal is a hawk or owl capable of picking up? I guess it depends on the size of the bird, but I know I read somewhere that they have been known to pick up dogs up to 10 lbs. Thats just hard to imagine! Willie weighs 20 lbs, lol, so I'm not too worried he would be potential prey, but Chloe is about 9 lbs, so I hate to even let her out this afternoon, since I noticed a Coopers Hawk perched up on my patio screen today, I think it was scoping out the little sparrows out there at the time. These things always start showing up as the weather gets cooler, for whatever reason, it draws them back into the city limits. They always seem to be around on cold or overcast days.

This also brings to mind another danger to those of us living in town, and like me, have wrongly assumed our pets are safe from wild animals. I know a family a few miles from me who had their pet Boxer torn up badly by a bobcat! Thankfully it survived, but it is a pretty large dog! The animal control said that they have had several reports of this happening. The bobcats hide in the trees and attack unsuspecting pets.



~Deb, Willie, Chloe~

My sister has a yorkie poo that is around 12-15 pounds and we are constantly worrying about the hawks. We have them in the backyard. Its stressful but I would say anywhere under 15 pounds watch out.

I read that they can pick up a rabbit up to 12 lbs or more. A ranger in a state park said with a dog that would be more likely to yelp, swiggle or bark under 10 lbs is more likely but it would depend on the dog. The sad thing is they may try with a dog as large as 15 lbs and then drop them due to weight so the dog to be killed that way.

This scares me as well! We have rabbits in our yard and the other day my husband and I seen a hawk fly by pretty low. We think it was stalking those, but worries me bc we are constantly out with Caylee. They are so stealth like! Eek!

You have to watch for coyotes also. I live downtown and My Husband saw one 5 mins away

i heard no matter the weight of dog the hawk will come down
and try to pick it up and dig its claws into it.. they will kill our babies that way. ive heard their wing span is like 4 to 6 feet long, maybe wider

OMG, that all scares me to death! I'm not letting Chloe out unless I'm right there beside her! I wish she didn't enjoy being outside so much. Willie doesn't really care to be out alot, but Chloe loves being in the back yard exploring and also goes to the far end of the yard and lies down to wait for the neighbors Schnauzer to come out. I have always checked on her often, but now I think we won't be doing that alone!

~Deb, Willie, Chloe~

me too!
 

I worry so much about that... we had pigeons (sp.) and a hawk was chasing them... they did go missing ... all of them. one after one sadly.

I kinda figured what happened to them,

I'm scared for my babies, i always go out with them and i never take them off leash, feebie weighs 5 pounds and she's be a nice lunch time snack to them!:eek:

I worry about this all of the time! I don't let Daisy out unless she is on her leash for a walk. My husband makes fun of me b/c I am so protective, but she is only 3.5 lbs. and she could be picked up in a second!! We have to watch out b/c they are so tiny!!

There are some huge crows here that worry me just as much..I hate those devil birds!!

My DH is always worried when take Cassi for a walk outside and it starts getting dark. So far, I haven't seen any huge birds around my area. The funny thing is everytime I hear a slight rustle in the tree, I would immediately pull Cassi close to me until I'm sure that it's safe.

I also worry becuase I have owls and hawks in my yard all year long and I have 3 to chase after. 3, 4, & 5lbs. Thank God when it gets dark they stay close to the back door, do their business and right in we go. I also follow them with a flashlight because as you know they blend in with the night. And I always tell them when I let them out to watch out for the owls = I think they understand and that is why they stay so close to me.:)

gosh it must be a constant worry for some of you!:(
I'm in the UK and have so far never heard of a Hawk of any kind taking a dog here...I walk Pixie across farmland near my home and there are large Buzzards around..they don't tend to get too close to be honest so I don't think they would be a threat..it wouldn't be hard for one to carry my Pixie away though with her being a tiny 3lb'er!:eek:

We are been hearing the coyotes lately and they are VERY close. My husband told me not to let them out at night or early in the morning because of this. We live in a very populated area~not out in the country and they are everywhere! Please be very careful, they are very sneaky and will literally trick your pets no matter what size (yorkie, lab, germany shepard) into traps and then attack as a pack.

Recently, a neighbor said that their 100lb lab was lured by a coyote to play. When the dog got a little away from the house a pack attacked and killed it! :eek:

Also, hawks and crows both will swoop down and carry off a small dog. When I was in HS my best friend's yorkie was picked up by a hawk and carried off! It happened with her standing right next to it, the hawk was that daring and bold! She was tramatized for years after. It was very heartbreaking. All she could do was watch as the hawk carried her baby away!:(

OMG I didn't know there was Coyotes that far East? I thought that they were just out here. I can tell you first hand they are vicious. I have been chased and had my husband hit it with a broom. It didn't want to hurt him just me for some reason. And I can tell you a few years back when a lady was taking out her trash in the AM, a coyote came up and took her newborn baby never to be seen again :(

We live right by the water where hawks and Bald Eagels tend to flock during late january/february... its scary, but Chloe is never outside unless someone is outside with her, or if she wants to potty we watch her from the door then call her in right after. IndianaGirl, coyotes are everywhere! I live as far east as you can get, without going off the continent (Newfoundland) and coyotes are a really big problem here right now too!

I really thought when I moved back to Indiana I would be safe from them. I love nature but I really don't like Coyotes :thumbdown:

I lost my 12 week old yorkie Mia to a coyote. My ex husband was keeping her for me and he was out in the yard with her around 5 in the afternoon when a coyote ran up grabbed her and took off. His chow chow Nickie ran the coyote down and killed it but it was too late for Mia. Needless to say my babies never go outside off leash.

Betty

That is very sad :(
Very sorry to hear that about your baby.

yeah, my husband and I was in the back yard the other day and Tyke was on a leash and a hawk was sitting up in a pine tree watching every move we made. My husband told me i better watch Tyke because they will come down and pick them up like they do rabbits. that's kind of scary....so he's always on a leash too.

I always scan the sky when we go out and I am CONSTANTLY scanning trees, sky, everywhere for anything. If I see one hawk even far off they IMMEDIATELY come inside. That's another reason I'm glad my little guys know to go outside AND how to use pee pads. Sometimes I'll come home from somewhere and see a hawk and not be able to let them out immediately like they always do when i come home. Pee pads make being safe more possible for us.

My husband is a falconer so I'm very familiar with alot of this. I worry more about owls then I do hawks. Usually as long as people are out there with the dog or a bigger dog is out there you should be ok. Of course you can never under-estimate a hungry hawk. Red Tail Hawks are more prominent in my area and I know they can and will go after rabbits. If you have a hawk hanging around your house you can put up statues of owls to scare them off. Owls and hawks hate each other and as a matter of fact hawks are owl prey at night which is why they take cover at night and during the day it's the opposite. Coyotes scare me the most and I've seen them cross our yard....very rarely but it still crosses my mind and I watch when Roxie's out.

We also had a hawk hanging out around the woods behind our old house for a month... there could have been a nest there, but most likely he was waiting for his supper (dinner as most would call it).

We have Red Tailed Hawks flying around our house quite often. When I first brought my baby home last year, a hawk was in a tree right near us. I never saw it until it flew right over to my neighbor's roof and sat there for a long time watching us. I scooped her up and went indoors. What a scare. I never let my dog out unless I am with her and she is on a leash. Even then they could strike. The talons alone would do a lot of damage.
I've also heard that if you are right there with the animal the hawk won't bother it. I just watch her all the time. I have a 10 lb. cat that goes out on a harness too. I've always watched her as well. You can't be too careful.

We have deer that stay in a thicket across the street and in the woods back of us so we have Coyotes around too. They kill the little fawns if they can.:( Years ago we didn\'t have to worry about Coyotes in this part of the country until someone brought them into the mountains of TN and now they\'re everywhere. We also have a lot of hawks,raccoons,foxes and bobcats. Our babies are in danger be it in the city or country. Very scary!

Wow...these stories all have my heart pounding...I am so nervous for Chloe when she comes home. We have alot of black crows around here in VA and I have even seen foxes! With her only being 10 weeks when she gets her, I will not let her out of my site! And even when she gets full grown, she will only be about 4 to 5lbs and I have heard of owls and crowns pecking dogs that size to death!!! I will keep my eyes open and my baby in my arms....I can\'t imagine seeing an owl carry her off...I would be devasted!!!

I have cats that go out all of the time and nothing has ever happened. One night hubby heard a scream and thought an owl had gotten the cat but it turned out it was a rabbit. I didn\'t know a rabbit could scream like that! I\'ve had cats for a long time and one lived for about 16 years and he was outside all of the time and nothing ever happened. He died of old age. My cats are bigger then my dog!! :D

Thought I\'d add that at night Roxie seems to have this instinct of just hurrying up and pottying and coming right back in. She really doesn\'t like to go out at night.

We have that worry here in Montana! Add to that list EAGLES!!! Which are WAY larger than a hawk or an owl!! We have alot of eagles in our area.....none have come close to our home..but we\'re always on the lookout.

On a wierder note.....MY niece lives in MO and a hawk literally came from nowhere and attempted to get her furbaby...he only weighs like 3 lbs!!! She said she\'s never been so scared!!! She ran across the yard screaming and it flew away. So it is very possible. Thank goodness nothing bad happened.

Wow, I didn\'t even know this was a possibility.
I am a big city girl.
We don\'t have coyotes, fox, deer, hawks or owls.
Luckily, I don\'t have to worry about that.
But since I live in the city, Buddy can\'t go outside without leash unless he is at a dog park.