Thank goodness your baby is safe. Today I noticed a hawk over in the distance. It seems that there are more of them as they are doing lots of building out here and clearing big tracts of land. Their hunting grounds are disappearing so they are moving into the neighborhoods. The only thing we can do is watch our babies with (no pun intended) an eagle eye.

yorkietalkjilly

Beyond the companionship issue, Dogs provide a fair Security Feature for many. Given the cost of maintenance, and, if one understands that it doesn't matter how large of a Dog you have, a Human can overwhelm it if he really wants to.
This makes a very good statement for smaller animals. Less maintenance cost, they're just as alert and bark loud enough to make you aware of a threat, and..

When's the last time you had an adult Great Dane sitting in your lap. :rolleyes:

I had large, powerful dogs as a younger person but the older I've gotten, the smaller my dogs! LOL! Guess my neighbors are following that pattern, too! It's a lot less worrisome to walk down the block and just hear barks & yaps instead of those deep booming big dogs sounding off. I'm not scared of any dog really just one one one but I worry what they might do to the Yorkie I'm walking if they get out of the yard. I think my naabs are learning what I learned when I got my first Yorkie - they are excellent watch dogs and companions and you can take them almost anywhere! Anyway, it sure was a wake-up to suddenly realize all but one of our neighborhood big dogs are now gone and mostly small dogs in their place! Guess it was happening over some years but I just never really noticed until the other day that I hadn't seen any but the Dobie for well over a year or more!

My boy isn't a Great Dane, but he IS 55+ lbs. And he swears he is a lap dog. LOL

Wow. You sure did an all out defensive against snakes! My patio seems to be very attractive to small snakes and lizards when it is rainy. When I move the various objects on the patio while I am cleaning after a good rainfall I find them snoozing under things. I have had to stop letting Gracie help me clean because she always has her nose right there hoping that I will uncover something. When my granddaughters are here they want to make pets out the little reptiles. I let them look at them for a while but they are learning that wild critters live in the wild and we do not disturb them. Yes, my back door is the boundary line. I have never had one get inside but I don't leave the door open.

When my kids were young we always had a big dog and a small one. Maybe the cost of taking care of a pet has influenced how people decide what size dog to get. Small dogs like Yorkies have had their faces in the media a lot and I think that has made their popularity soar. Sadly, just like the people who purchased Dalmatians when that movie was popular, many found out that the cute dog on TV or the movies needs a lot of care and training not to mention money to maintain.

HA HA YES !, I had Old English at one time, that thought the same. :D :D
(Just try watching TV with a Bobby sitting on you lap)

I really did! No more garden snakes for me, if I can help it. I don't have anything laying around my lawn or any objects sitting out on it except lawnchairs & table in good weather. Couple years back the Environmental Control Manager our city told me I have the neatest property on the block. Little does he know it's just out of the fear of snakes and critters creeping 'round and hiding under things! I don't even have bugs of any kind. Needless to say, I like things neat but do so love to see the properties of those who do love gardens of flowers and lovely landscaping textures up around the home and far out back of it. We have a neighbor in the next block who has the loveliest example of an English country cottage, beds of flowers, lovely shrubs, interesting trees, a little wicker cart of seasonals, stone bunny trio sitting amidst her monkey grass patch, ivy growing up 2 trees and a prettier place you've never seen. She has no blinds, frilly white Priscillas at all the windows and shutters in the windows rarely shut. At night, you can see in every room! They are out working in the yard a lot or having tea in one of their gardens. Jilly & I and now Tibbe & I always visit her and enjoy her lovely home and yard. But I'll bet she's got garden snakes & critters around aplenty!

:smile: I'll bet all the snakes moved from your yard to hers!:D Too funny!

You guys are really missing a good Nutritional Resource for your little ones.
Frogs and Snakes have a lot of Protein in them, and Lizard Tails are considered a delicacy among the Yorkshire. :D

LOL. I think they did. That couple don't seem like the kind who would even turn a hair at a real snake or anything so they are welcome to all the Hissy and Lizzie types they can handle. Sometimes when I am there, I do wonder a bit what's beneath the beautiful sweeping groundcover patches, the bowers of flowers(it smells so good there near her gardens) and creeping under that ivy but not for long. They are so lovely a couple and so hospitable you just relax and live and let live. But when we walk back to my own property, I'm sure glad there's not too much creeping around! :)

They sound like my kind of people. I love flowers and plants. I used to do a lot of gardening until my back went on me. I still do some but I'm more limited in how much I can maintain. Yes the toads and small snakes love the ground cover. It's the bugs that are a nuisance. Spiders are the things that make my skin crawl. I make sure those nasty things are no where near the house. I have to work at it to keep them away though. They don't seem to like the outdoors because they are always trying to get inside! We had a nasty couple of years with tent caterpillars. They seem to have moved on as we have not seen them for a couple of years now. I hope never to have to deal with them again. It's the little creepy bug things that bother me.

I think Gracie gets plenty of protein without eating lizard tails!:eek: I'm sure she would love to give it a try though. I don't mind the reptiles visiting but I would hate to have to take one out of her mouth.:eek::eek::eek: That is why she is not on cleaning detail after it has rained for a few hours.

They remind me of an English couple in the way their house and grounds look and the way they are always gardening and having their tea outside in their wicker chairs. But they are both from Texas and just Anglophiles to the max. Sure do have a pretty place.

Oh my another hawk encounter!:eek: Glad everyone is ok. Bad Tink for giving mommy a mini coronary! Sounds like something Mimi would do to me loll.
I've been noticing pigeon feathers on the grass where we go for walks...heard screeches too. I've never heard a hawk screech, but I think that's where it came from.

Crown eagles
 

[QUOTE=kjc;4032237]OMG! My heartrate is still up there. I've been thinking about the threads about hawks/big predatory birds lately. Someone said they were going to listen for flapping noises from their wings as they fly in. I just remembered something... this is what triggered it:

I was just taking a break and I let 3 dogs out and stood to watch them at the door. We have a roof over the porch, so they go down to the yard not too far, like 5-10 feet. I'm looking at them, and see a huge shadow moving across the yard and out to the parking area. I think What the heck was that? No sooner after that thought came into my head, a spark went off in my brain and I just wildly ran after them into the yard. It was a hawk! I had seen that kind of shadow before... it took a minute to register. Then I can't see Tinkerbell.

Calling and calling... she hasn't come yet. I look up and see the hawk circling over the houses in the block, peeking down into the yards. Starting to panic, screaming for her to come... I can't leave the other two to go get Tink, but I kept my eye on that bird. Finally I hear some russling in the bush, and out comes Tink, jogging towards me. Whew!

The hawk was going further away, so we stood in the yard for a few more minutes. Then I remembered, hawks and owls and all the bigger birds... fly silently... they make no noise at all when they swoop down on their prey! So listening for them is not a good idea. This is the second time I saw an odd shadow... 8-12 feet long and maybe 5 feet wide.. it looked like just one wing! I know the hawk wasn't that big (at least I hope not, lol).

Anyway we're back inside, and safe! I just aged 10 more years! Just wanted to warn everyone to LOOK out for the beasts... you won't hear them coming!:eek:[/QUOTE

Hi.. that is so scary. especially when you have a few doggies to watch. We have two Crown eagles circling daily. I am so scared to have Hollie outside but she needs to be able to go out and play. I stand with her while she is out but you never know when a big bird will suddenly swoop down when you least expect it. Ax

We have hawks and I can't let Bella off leash ever. I do feel badly for her, but safe then sorry.

avemike,

I would have been out of it too, my Becca gets stubborn like that.
However, I really think your guys were ok as long as you were out there.

I can't help but think about the "situation" called "Life Distance" in animals, where they won't let you get closer than a certain distance. That's genetic coding I think, given that even most animal young will go into a defensive mode when approached, specially by a Human.
That's a pretty conclusive statement about our threat to them, when God starts building it in from square one. :rolleyes:

I generally pull my guys inside when I see a threat like that, but also, I've checked after a few minutes, and "whatever' has always flown away.

Hawks again..
 

Hi..just talking about hawks..my son (who is very tall) was sitting at the beach front in Australia eating a hamburger when a ?Yellow bill kite came swooping down and snatched his hamburger out of his hands!!! He said there was a mad flapping of huge wings in his face and the burger was gone..What a Cheek! I fear for our animals..Ax

Wow! Noooo, not the burger!! :D

Guess that's a little scarier than those rogue chickens on Kauai stealing my sandwich out of my golf cart! :p

Hawks
 

I am so nervous about taking out my Willie Bear. He is only four months old and about 5 lbs. I never take him out without a leash, but am concerned that a hawk will come after him even if I am with him. We have a hawk in a near by tree. I was told that a hawk is afraid of humans because of our size, but have been reading articles about how fearless they are. Especially if they are hungry.
Little Willie Bear wants to go outside to go to the bathroom. He used to sit near the door to let me know, but I encourage the puppy pads to avoid him getting hurt. It is very frustrating because he doesn't like the pads but will use them if he has to. He wasn't making mistakes in the house when he was going outside, now he is on occasion. Not his fault. Any info you have would be greatly appreciated.

HA HA that's funny ! :p

But tell that String Bean boy of yours, he'd better put a couple Bricks in his pockets, or, he may be next ! :D :D

I wouldn't let fear get the best of you. If you keep your little guy near you a hawk won't get him. If he wants to go out to potty I would take him. Put him on the leash and just walk him in the yard or where ever he likes to go. It is leaving small dogs unattended or letting them way off on one of those long leashes that can cause problems. Some dogs do well with just pads but most dogs do need and love their exercise. If you are still nervous take a big stick or an umbrella with you so you feel safer.

I haven't seen a hawk for a few weeks, but my husband called me at work yesterday (he is home during the days right now) and said he thought he saw one sitting on top of the pine tree one yard over. He then went and got his binocculars and confirmed it was a red tailed hawk.

I made him promise they would stay inside the rest of the day. I know him..he thinks I worry too much. He wouldn't be "over and on top" of her the way I am. I'm the crazy lady that is clapping, talking loud, and waving my hands all while standing over Mandie the entire time she's outside when I feel "danger" is around. (he can't even confirm if she pooped or not so...)

Ugh! These darn, beautiful, scary birds!!

HA, I can just visualize that !! :D

But, are Hawks scared of Owls ? Would one/or more of those Stuffed Fake Owls work to scare them off ?

I ended up on a raptor forum the other day doing some research, lol,.... general concensus is that owls will attract hawks as they eat the same prey. They also do not believe a raptor can pick up a small dog... but we know better.... whatever eats owls may work...

I honestly don't know why they gauge the danger according to what a bird can carry! We have hawks that perch on tall poles and trees along the highway. They love to eat at the fresh road kill! It doesn't matter if they can carry your dog off. It does matter if your dog is a size that can be attacked and harmed by those talons!

From everything I've read, the fake owls might work briefly, but then the hawks and other birds eventually realize those fake owls aren't moving ..like ever. LOL

The suggestion of the orange doggie vest and hanging old CD's around are two I actually read here on YT. I'm going with those. They seem like the best option considering the size and shape of my yard. My hubby says the CDs will help scare away some of the squirrels too...

Haha! Yes... they were about 5 pages or so of pretty heated discussion on the topic...

YES, we certainly do know better...

They don't have to carry it off, I've seen (not personally but on TV) where they pounce on their prey, hook their wings around it to hide what they're doing and like that ! :eek:

However, I do think it has a lot to do with a size differential. Hawk as relates to what it think it can pounce on successfully, and possibly what type of prey it is. Something that won't fight back (like a Rabbit), gets it !

Hawks or something..
 

Something did get our poor yorkie last week. He was outside for just a few minutes and did not come back. My husband found him just off our property. We are all heartbroken! I don't know what it was if he chased it or a hawk or owl might have picked him up. We are very sad.

Oh no! I'm so sorry... this is so sad. Poor baby...