Keeping My Yorkie Safe from Hawks
 

a hawk swooped down and grabbed a squirrel from a down the street neighbors lawn a few days ago. I've been in such fear for my lil' 3.5 lb Yorkie ever since...I go out with her now, but I read some where that if you put bright orange or hot pink clothing and bells on them that it helps to deter the hawk from attacking her and thinking she could be a meal...but sadly I can't find that thread any more...do any of you know if this is true?

I would make sure you are with her at all times and on a leash

Oh yes be very careful about those hawks and your little one!
I don't know about the colors etc , but don't leave them unprotected. Always use a leash.

After a close...TOOOOO close!......encounter with an owl and one of my babies, I called the Houston Zoo and spoke with someone in the "Bird Exhibit".....He told me that these birds (hawks and owls) do see color and if I were to put something made of "hunter orange", that covered the dogs body almost completely, that would certainly lessen the chances of my Yorkie, who to a predator bird, looks a lot like a rabbit or squirrel from 400 feet in the air, being mistaken for a squirrel or rabbit......So, I had "Hunter orange" vests with sleeves that covered all 4 legs, back and sides and even high up on the neck made for each of my kiddos. Of course, I never let mine out unattended and under cinstant supervision, but I almost lost one of them to an owl that swooped down in the early evening, while my baby was on a 6 foot leash.....I was standing very still so the dog would do her business, and the owl did not realize I was standing right there, alive and a danger to the owl! For summer, the vests were made out of a mesh material that was that neon orange....."hunter orange".....so the babies would be cooler.

Thank You Yorkiemom1!!! that is very helpful!! I have had the hardest time finding hot pink and hot orange in pet sections, so I went to children's section of walmart and found some cute newborn & 0-3 month lil' baby dresses, bathing suits and shirts that fit perfectly after a few minor alterations. Where did you get your vests?
Did the incident with the owl in the later part of your post happen even when the vests were on?
I also found some of that neon orange and reflective wide strip that you can stick on clothing that I'm going to put on each of her outfits, the reflective stripe is so blinding when you look at it in the sun.
I'm also gonna try to find some of those biker spikes that you see some people wear as chokers and armbands and try to fasten that to the back of her outfit as well so if something did try to swoop down it would have a nice lil' stab in the claw if it tried to grab her!!

Thank You Yorkiemom1!!
I haven't been able to find any dog clothes small enough and in hot pink or hot orange colors for her so I went to childrens section of walmart and bought a couple newborn and 0-3 months bathing suits, dresses, and tshirts that after a few minor alterations fit perfectly and were only around $3.88-$7.88. I also bought a neon orange with a reflective strip in the sewing section that can be attached to clothing and the reflective strip is really blinding when in the sun so I'm gonna attach those to her clothing as well. and I am going to get some of those biker chokers and armbands that have spikes on them and attach to the back of the outfit so if something does swoop down it's gonna get a nice stab in the claw surprise!!
Where did you get your Yorkie's vests?
Did the owl in the later part of your post happen with the orange vest on or before?

We have hawks and owls here too, and it scares me bc our smaller 2 are about 4lbs only and could be swooped up. I don't leave them unattended outside.

so sorry for the double post...i'm new to this and this was my first reply and I didn't see it post immediately so thought I had hit the wrong button...

thank you all for your posts!! Luckily we have not had a problem in 7 years so my lil' Prada has been so lucky to have free run of the back yard, she's such a tomboy, don't think she knows she is suppose to be a lil' princess..LOL...I will so be going out with her from now on, but I'm not home a lot and I'm afraid my boyfriend will not take the time to go out with her as she is such a tomboy and every time she hears something out back she always wants to go check it out as we have always had many wild rabbits and squirrels in our backyard. which many days is 10-20 times a day. This past couple months have been the most hectic for us..one neighbor had 2 baby gators under their window and one had one in their pool, neither have fences but we have a high privacy fence so we haven't been too worried about them, but that hawk landing in our neighbors front yard and picking up the squirrel was the first any of us have heard or seen anything like that on our street..

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I would definitely make sure you are taking her out on leash and not an flexi leash. My yorkie is 17 pounds and I still get scared about birds of pray getting her because I swear the birds are getting bigger.

No worries about the double posts. The reason you don't see your posts right away is bc they sit in the Moderation Queue until you hit 10 posts, then it stops. This helps mitigate the 1-post spammers that come here just to post spam.

Is that hawk just sitting in your yard? Or is that your neighbors? Wow.

Yup. I've read the average weight a bird of prey can pick up is up to 13 pounds. So, 17 wouldn't totally be out of the question for an unusually large bird.

My friend who sews, custom made my vests for me. I had to REALLY
Aggie engineer" my vests.....I bought vests that people wear doing road work or work in parking lots, and also what cyclists wear....they were very light but they were the Hunter Orange the man at the zoo told me to use. They even had the blinding silver reflective stripe and my friend cut the material where she incorporated that reflective stripe down the back and down the sides of the little vests. The incident with the owl happened before the vests. I had watched years ago, as an owl swooped down and carried off my little chihuahua girl.....I have NEVER gotten over that and I have been soooooooooo protective and cautious about predator birds since that happened (1970's).....I NEVER let my dogs out unattended....even though I was with that little chihuahua, the owl still swooped down and took her.....so I keep all my dogs very close. THEN, along comes this incident with my Yorkie! I had her on a short leash, and we had just stepped out the back door for her to stand in the grass and pee along side the house.....the owl did not see me standing there, waiting patiently for Aisa to find the exact right spot, the exact right position, the exact righ direction.....and it swooped down....it came within 3 feet of me before it saw me, and pulled up so fast out of that dive, it hit the overhand on the house, flew / tumbled uncontrollably into my patio cover.....fortunately for it, it regained control before it hit the ground within my reach.
The vests you are making seem like a very good thing....sound like they will work. Those CD discs also frighten the birds with that reflection thing they do....anything that reflects brilliantly like that would work.....

Even if they are unable to pick up the animal, the hawks and owls can do a lot of damage. Our neighbor's 9 pound Yorkie was almost killed in his front yard by a hawk. He survived only because he had a good layer of fat that prevented the hawk's talons from shredding vital organs. Came very close to his diaphragm.

After Jack was attacked, my father finally understood my concerns in our yard. We have hawks and owls living in our trees, so we are unable to use our yard for running around. :(

That is so scary! It really gives me food for thought... To Yorkiemom1 can you please post a picture of your vests?

After Cali's hawk attack I made her a vest with Kevlar fabric on it because the main physical damage was from the talons the try to get a hold of there prey with. This way they can puncture very well. In general she does not go out alone.

Be very careful - they are feeding their nesting young right now and food is important to them.

:thumbup::thumbup::thumbup:

Such a good point...the puncture wounds alone could kill them even if not picked up :(.

Geez, this scares me so much!

The talons are way sharper than the beak... that's why people wear heavy leather gloves when handling large birds. They also have one heck of a grip. We did wildlife rescue at the Vet Hospital I worked at and I cared for an owl and a Bald Eagle once till they recovered enough to be set free. The eagle had been shot and his wing had to be amputated so he went to the zoo to live out his days. Their wingspans are awesome.


Shiny, reflective things are unnatural and they will avoid them. Also any colors that do not look like their prey will help, or rhinestones/sequins that catch the sunlight and reflect it back to the bird will freak them out.


I read where in a yard a person made a grid 2ftX2ft on top of his fence using fishing line which catches the sunlight and prevents the large birds from gaining access to the yard as their wingspan is greater than 2ft. CDs hung from the branches of trees can help deter them too. I have garden art with metallic gazing balls placed around the yard.

Buy one of those metal things that you put in the ground and they have the 20 feet leash u attach and they can have lots of room to play and the hawk want be able to take her away if you turn your head for a few minutes. I use them because I don't have a fence and my puppies love to play outside. I can just hook them up and watch them through the window if I don't wanna go out.

FYI: Hawks/and other birds of prey dive from very high altitudes, and SLAM into small dogs, cats, rodents, etc, BREAKING THEIR BACKS TO IMMOBILIZE THEM. Then, with the immobilized prey clutched with a death grip in talons that range in length from 1 inch to 5 inches, depending on what bird you are dealing with, they then often begin to rip and tear the flesh from the prey, especially starting in the underbelly, where the prey is quickly evicerated. I would only pray you can get up and mobilized inside the house, witness such a horrific site happening to one of your babies, and have the emotional where with all to get to your tethered pup before the predator finishes its meal.

There have been several Threads here, where encounters with Hawks have resulted in the death of the Hawk, My two adults have done this as well.
Please don't think that my seemingly caviler attitude toward the freedom I give my guys as I may have implied in my Posts, as something that would cause you to treat the threat lightly.
These situations are very serious, and you should apply every effort to avoid unnecessarily exposing your animals to it.

Watch um like a Hawk :eek: npi

When Cali killed the hawk that attacked her the fish and Wildlife and animal control could/would not believe it. They fined me $10,000 and threatened jail time as they are protected by the international migratory laws.

Eventually a couple eye witnesses and the vet, who had asked me to bring the bird when I frantically called them, still had the bird and talked with the people in charge. But, be assured they were very serious about it all.

Had I been there when the attack started, and would I have killed the bird - you bet.....but with what I know now I would have said nothing and buried it to China. You have no idea the hassle and red tape we had to go through, not to mention the attorney fees. Theses are federal laws!

So good luck every -- what'em like a hawk:D

Reading your discription sent chills through my body...sorry that you even have to worry about such a thing...just keep an eye on your baby. That's probably the only thing u can do or make them a play area inside and only take them to a dog park for some free play.

That's news you can use. Thanks for sharing.

Yeah, leashes are best way to give you a fighting chance -- and make sure you have a good grip on it. There was a horrible story on YT a few years ago where I coyote grabbed and escaped with a leashed Yorkie who was being walked by a burly football player.

Did they rescind the $10,000 fine or did you have to pay it? I understand the Federal Laws are there to protect birds, but this seems utterly ridiculous given the circumstances.

Cathie

Hawks, Owls etc...
 

This topic really freaks me out. Our little Gracie loves going outdoors and begs to go out constantly. She weighs 5 pounds, is usually in a dress (Sorry, I got hooked on doggie apparel) but the dresses are not hot pink or orange.

I need to reread this topic to see where people are getting the fabric.

We have a doggie door, but I am afraid to let her use it. We have had 6 yorkies previously and never had any problems, though I had not read of these happenings. Recently though, there was a Red-tailed Hawk flying right over my neighbor's roof. This bird is plenty big enough to grab a yorkie.

Cathie

P.S.
 

In the terrific heat of last summer, we drove up in front of our house and were surprised to see a Cooper's Hawk sitting in a water dish full of water on our front sidewalk This happened on two different occasions.

I don't think this bird is large enough to take a dog, but I could be wrong. It comes around here and takes Mourning Doves sometimes, which makes me really mad. It is also federally protected or it would be history...

Cathie

I think anything that makes a dog not look like prey would work. I walked my girl in a dress and a Pit Bull that had chased us once before was out without a leash and just sat there with a very confused look on it's face, cocked his head a few times, but no prey response at all!

No I did not have to pay the fine in the end but had to get an atty and go to court because I had been charged.

That was way more dramatic than necessary. :rolleyes:

Thoughts on Kevlar fabrics: They may not prevent your pet from being picked up and carried off, or dropped from a height. Thought about protection from dog bites too but I doubt it prevents crushing type injuries. Still feel it can make a difference.