Coyotes and potty training
 

Hello,

I live in the woods of MA and my backyard is right up against some thick brush that could easily hide a coyote. I am crate and potty training and the combination is somewhat problematic. My first thought was to buy a small pen that I can put her in when she goes outside at night. This would be enough of a barrier where I could fight a Coyote off (with my bare hands of course) before they had a chance to get her. I brought a 24" tall 5x5 pen home today and I think the anxiety from crate training makes her focus entirely on worry about being left in the pen to the point that she doesn't go pee at all and just cries and looks at me.

So to sum it up, have to let her pee at night, I can't put up a fence, a leash might not deter the coyotes, and she won't pee in an enclosed area. Any thoughts?

You are going to fight a coyote with your bare hands? OK.....

Lol, I was joking of course but I would have an opportunity to scare it off before it chomped little squishy.

Lol, I am joking of course but at lease I could scare it off before it had a chance to chomp poor little squishy.

A coyote will jump over that fence grab your pup and jump out before you can get to it.
Unless you stand right beside the pen but you can not fight it with your bare hands.
We have them here now in Florida.
I would use a strong wire cover over the top and have more than bare hands ready just in case while your pup is in the pen. Also at night a bright outside light might help.

Yah I stand right by the pen and coyotes are usually too scared to get close to a full grown human. The neighbor across the street has a teacup and she just stands by it at night but that would still leave me nervous. Plus the issue is that the dog won't go to the bathroom in the pen anyways. I need a different alternative.

I fought a chupacabra once.

OK, Davy Crocket! Seriously, a coyote will have your baby in its mouth and back into the woods before your brain will even be able to transmit the command "MOVE!" to the neurons in your feet! The sheer shock of seeing a coyote with your baby in its mouth will probably render you motionless, at least until the beast is into the next county. If you are good with a 243, you may be able to nail it before it disappears into the woods, but you have to be a good shot so you dont get the pup!!!
If I were you, I would get one of those chain link fence kennels....they are completely enclosed so no predator can get the baby .....including owls and hawks from those woods you live by.....and you will just have to spend the time to work persistantly with your baby to get her used to the enclosed run. You cant let the pup out unattended, especially at night, exposed to the predators that live in those woods.....pup will get used to that enclosed kennel, and she will learn to pee and poo there. You can buy some drops that draw them to pee pads....maybe you can try some of those....if she uses pee pads in the house, put a soiled pee pad in the enclosed area, so she will know that is what it is for....Good luck and remember, you have to be more steadfast and stubborn and determined than the pup is!

I fought two chupacabras, with one arm tied behind me.

I see coyotes all the time, they leave me alone but then I don't have anything that they want (like a small pup).

never heard of a chupacabras, so I just googled it. God bless you gals that fraught off that thing, it is a horrifying sight to see. We have coyotes here in The Pocono's in Pa. I hit one with my car 3 years ago, these coyotes are shorter then a German Shepard, slim in build and very skinny, not the coyotes we see on TV that run in packs, we also have a lot of hybrid coyote/dog, if these are what live in MD, I could see someone fighting it off bare handed. I know for myself, I put myself before my babies and would fight off what was trying to get at my pups, I would protect them with my life. My house is also in a heavily wooded area, we have black bears, bob cats, fox,hybrids and coyote. I at one time had a dog run that my babies used because I didn't want a fenced in back yard, I love the beauty of the woods. Several years ago I installed a 3 foot high rabbit fence, it's almost invisible, I can still enjoy my woods and my babies could run free, but bigger animals can still jump over it. I no longer have the dog run. My last girl used a section for her potty. My new lil city boy was not use to running free and he LOVED the yard, running like a lil grey hound, I had spot lights installed at the back of my yard where it is very dark, so I could better see where my boy went and was always behind him. Now it is Spring going into summer, all the wild animals are now out. At night I do not take him in the yard, I have a very large deck, and that's what his has to use. When Nov. comes we will use the yard again and continue until the snow gets to deep then it will be the deck again. I am not afraid of wild animals, but, why should I take a chance of an attack and traumatize my lil boy. As suggested, I would get a metal dog run with a wired roof and train your pup to use it. When I started to have Cody use the deck he refused, he wanted the yard, but with 3 1/2 feet of snow that was impossible, the first day when he saw he was not going in that yard, and he could no longer hold his pee pee and poop, he used the deck. For the safety of your pup, so as not to traumatize your baby make the investment of the steel wired dog run with the wired roof, he will use it when he sees he has no other choice. Good luck

Snort, LOL.

To the OP- two words: pee pads. Train your pup to be an indoor/outdoor dog and use the pee pads at night.

lol! Good one!!!

I'm glad that you were not serious about your bare hands. Because of your post last night I had a dream about me, an apartment balcony and a bear cub that woke me up laughing at like 3 AM. I'd like to add a few facts before retelling my dream. First, we live in the suburbs of Chicago, in a house and the news has been filled in recent days about a young bear that has been spotted in IL. Bears are not native to IL so this is kind of big news. As a matter of fact it was on the news again just a few minutes ago. Kind of like the mountain lion that was shot and killed inside the city of Chicago a few years ago.

Here's my crazy mind:

My husband and I were living in an apartment that faced an alley with a large dumpster. The bear cub broke into the apartment and I grabbed it by the neck and flung it into the open dumpster which just happened to have a mattress inside. The bear bounced high into the air and landed on the ground then ran away. I taught him huh :rolleyes:

Here's my opinion on the coyotes. We have coyotes around us too so it is concerning when I let them out to potty at night. I know that a fence even 6' tall will not stop a coyote if they wanted to hop it. But I do let them out at night and always go out with them to watch and take a huge Mag Light flashlight with me. Before I let them out I'll check the yard and in and out they go. They are more afraid of us then we are of them. So if you want to potty outside I'd say stick close to your backdoor, take a flashlight and if you were to see one make a lot of noise to scare it off. During the day I don't worry but at night it's always a very quick in and out with me right there watching.

We sure are a tough crowd here on YT! :thumbup:

Don't forget to have your puppy out while wearing a harness and a leash to keep her near you.

Roflmao!!!

They don't scare off that easily...not when food is within reach...

lol that was some crazy dream you had, had me laughing too lol. DO NOT WATCH SCARY VIDEO by lynzy420 lol

I saw it in FB last week. Not good :(

All of this coyote talk made me nervous, so I spent the morning reading different websites with info on these critters. I'm even more nervous now! I live in Maryland, about 40 minutes NE of Baltimore; Aberdeen Proving Ground is just a few miles away. Apparently, a few years ago coyotes were intentionally brought to APG to help control the groundhog population. That plus their natural expansion into this area has made them a fairly established animal in Maryland. I don't want to be afraid to go outside, but I do think everybody should have a plan or two in mind just in case you come face to face with one while taking your pups for a walk--or even hanging out in your yard!
In all honesty when I first read OP's post, I thought OP was overly concerned. After reading what I've found on coyotes, I believe the OP is right, and you can't be "too concerned" when it involves the safety of our pups!

I myself had to rethink letting my pup out at night on the deck only when I saw how easily that coyote hopped that wall. Although my deck including railing is 5 1/2 to six feet off the ground, a coyote would have no problem getting into my deck. And I do have coyotes & hybrids in my area. I have several flood / spot lights in my yard, they are always on at night fall. After seeing that video, I will be the first one out on the deck to make sure my yard is free of critters, then the boy will come out. I suggest if you do not have back yard lights, get some. I only had 2 in the back, when I got lil boy I had several others installed in various areas of the yard. I also have black bears that crash through my small fence, they are so dark hard to see, main reason for getting extra lights. My deck is gated off at night, my pup cannot get to back yard, I thought he was safe on the deck until I saw that video. I just put a baseball bat outside my back door, for "just in case"