HAWKS and Yorkies
 

So I had a really big scare today.

I had been told from the start not just with Athena, but my first toy breed shih Tzu that you have to be really careful about big birds of prey an your little dog. I have read stories about how little dogs have been snatched up by big birds.

for this reason I have always been real careful about not only not letting my babies go outside unattended, but also sticking close to them. I usually walked where they walk, staying within five feet of my babies, hovering over them like a bird myself because we do have a lot of hawks around us. I didnt keep them on leashes in my yard, but figured if im close enough to them, the big birds will leave them alone.

Well I admit that now that my Shih Tzu is 15 pounds and Athena has grown to be 11 pounds at 8 months old, I have been getting a little "too relaxed:. Although I still didnt let them go out unattended, I didnt necessarily stick so close to them. Ofte i would stay in my carport while the wandered around the yard, or even just stand in my back door and keep an eye on them, but not actually go out. My daughter did the same saying, well if a big bird is around, well see it shadow flying around above and know to get them.

STUPID STUPID STUPID and will NEVER do that again.

For one thing, even if that was true, what about cloudy days? There wont be a shadow then. I just never thought about that.

Well today I was standing in my doorway watching the dogs. Athena an Zeus were about 20 feet away from me by my front gate. My older dog sasha ( about 25-30 pounds) was about 10 feet away from them. Well, I saw a shadow alright, but the only shadow I saw was of the big hawk swooping down to grab my athena. I saw he shadow only for a split second before I saw the bird swooping down. THANK GOD, my older dog walked up to Athena just as the bird was coming down, and I guess being a bigger dog, scared the bird an it went back up just before reaching athena.

I went and grabbed athena and Zeus so fast it scared the crud out of them both and rushed them inside. NEVER AGAIN will I allow myself to get so "RELAXED". For now on, if my babies go outside, someone will be standing there right next to them. I got real lucky today.

Please take what happen to us as a warning and never trust your baby is safe from big birds.

We have a pair living in our area. I look out the backdoor and look on the power line that runs parallel to my backyard. If there are small birds sitting on the line then it is ok to send the dogs out with me following right behind. I don't think that I could be by each one of mine,there are 6 and most of them weigh less than 8lbs.

yeah that would be a little difficult to do......lol

I swear they just keep getting bigger and even if they can't pick up your dog they can still claw then and stuff. Ugh I hate hawks!

I dont hate hawks. they are just trying to survive like anyone or anything else. I think they are very beautiful birds. but yes, they are dangerous to our babies so we have to protect them. but to a hawk, that little dog is no different then a rabbit. lol Athena especially when she was little. same color and she had HUGE ears. I can understand why at that time at least a hawk would think she was a rabbit from the air.

They look mean to me lol but my mom is not a bird person so I was kinda always around her being scared of them and watching them get the prey and stuff of shows just freaks me out.

They will attack and can cause great damage to a dog even if they can't get them off the ground. If they can fly off with their prey they will disable it with their talons and beak and just consume it where they have it. :eek:

When my Cali was attacked (and we were sooooooo lucky) even though she miraculously survived we still had to do the antibiotic shots and pills, and stitches, because hawks are filthy what the road kill, rats and such they eat.

Also, they are fast so don't be naive about that. Stay close to your babies!
Plus, you cannot kill a hawk. -- the fine is very expensive because the are protected by an international migration law.

Wow, so sorry and glad she is okay. I live on a wooded 2 acre lot and haven't taken the puppy outside yet except in pouch because of that. My senior Biewer walks freely with me but no more. He will be on a leash from now on! He's thirteen lbs. I figured he was safe. Thanks for the warning I will be more careful.

When we lived in LA, we had a hawk land on our patio railing. It was so breath-takingly beautiful & scary @ the same time. I couldn't believe a hawk would land so close, it was after the pigeons. The total size of the hawk seemed huge bc his/her wings were spread out, flew away as soon as it saw me. @ 1st, I thought it was an eagle.The dogs were all laid around the sliding glass window, which was open, sunning themselves. Good thing I never let the dogs out on the patio.
Here, we have a backyard & I see hawks & other predatory birds gliding around, I never leave them unattended, not even for a second. If they're out, we all go inside.

Wow, what a scare and so glad everything turned out well. I appreciate your reminder to stay close to our little ones outside.

Jay, I tell your Cali and the Hawk story anytime hawks and pets are mentioned in conversation. So glad things turned out well for your little girl and her story might have saved a few pets in my area!

I live right on the water next to the lake. We have more eagles th a hawks here. We watch the hawks and eagles catch fish on a daily basis. Its honestly a beautiful site to see them swoop down wings out to their fullest. I have a great respect for the eagles. When Luna goes out I in no way leave her side! My back yard is totally covered by trees and I don't see how a bird that big could get to her but I take so chances!! Every time I let the dog out the cat walks on the other side of her I am not on. Or cat is a hunter and I always wonder if it the cats way of keeping the puppy safe too. I laugh at the cat being so protective but it does sometimes make me crazy! We are still in a potty training phase so 7 out of 10 times we go out Luna gets side tracked and wants to play with the cat. Ugh!! Regardless, the birds are my biggest fear and it's nothing to take lightly.

How Scarey:eek: - I am always so careful, there are a lot of hawks by my house.

We also have foxes in the woods behind my yard. I never see them except in the middle of the night. I tend to be a night owl and if im outside I might see one run across the road. Very beautiful, but thats another thing I have to worry about when it comes to my pups.