Hawks constantly overhead this year
 

I have seen hawks before, but this year they are always overhead. I have an acre of deer-high fenced property that my yorkies can never enjoy. I can’t let them off lead at all, even in the yard. My collies love the yorkies.

If I am out with them, would the yorkies be safe tethered to the collies, one each, on six foot leads? I had foot reconstruction surgery and have real difficulty walking on uneven ground too much so my little ones get few chances to run.
The collies do an absolute come.

I would not tether your yorkies to your collies, there have been cases where owner was walking their dog and a hawk swooped dog and grabbed that yorkie, the yorkie suffered server internal wounds from the hawks talons when the owner held on to the leash and the hawk had finally
let go.

Central Park NY, several years ago, lady walking her lil Chi, hawk swooped down and grabbed the dog, another severely injured dog.

Tethering your babies to a 6 foot leash hawk would still swoop, grab, fly only to find they cannot fly off with their catch, the talons of that hawk would shred your baby.

All of a sudden I am seeing hawks and falcons flying over my back yard, with no leaves on the trees yet it would be easy to grab my kid, now he is a 12 pound boy, but that is not to say a very hungry prey bird will not go for him, if they did he may be to heavy for the bird to carry off, but the damage those talons cause could be fatal to my dog. We are staying on the deck until all the leaves are on the trees, no swoop and grab when trees are filled with leaves.

Matese is so right, the talons do the most damage.
And, right now with spring trying to present itself the hawks are starting to make nests and will soon be seeking food for their babies. They get very bold when they are feeding and then when they start teaching their young to hunt.

Protect your babies! But remember, the hawks are a protected species ( via international migratory law) and you cannot kill or injure them by law!

Thanks for the advice. I have to think of a way they can be safe. The deer fencing is eight foot high. Wonder if there is a way to have a “top”. On a part of the yard.

There are no trees except on the border. My dogs are and will be exposed even when the leaves come out.

Good luck - I strung netting and fishing line on dowels around my tall fence. First event was a hawk getting hung up in the netting. With the help of a neighbor we got it out so then tied pieces of ribbon on it.

Two days ago I passed a dead hawk that was on the shoulder of this back road, this bird was huge. I see them on the highway perched on top of light poles, you really cannot see how big these birds are, they are HUGE.

Tips for keeping your pets safe from birds of prey:
1. Keep your pets leashed and supervise them while they're outside.
2. Remove bird feeders. ...
3. Put shiny objects that move out in the yard, such as silver streamers. ...
4. Build a mesh wire roof over the area where you let your pets out.

I do not think that’s a good idea. You would be better off fencing in a smaller part of the yard. If the space is not to big they can’t swoop in and out easily.

I wonder how realistically you can do a mesh roof because most yards have to be mowed and that would make it hard. Unless your rich and can afford to make it really high I think it would make mowing and picking up poo extremely hard and a pain in the butt. This is when it’s nice to have bigger yorkies lol. Making your fenced in area not large enough for them to be able to swoop in and out is good too. We have an eagle that lives near that scares me more then the hawks.

How big of an animal can a hawk pick up?

Large raptors, such as Red-tailed Hawks and Great Horned Owls, can attack and kill small pets. Dozens of inquiries about dogs and cats weighing anywhere from 6 to 60 pounds. There is no specific cut-off weight at which your pet's safety is guaranteed.

Hawks are scary. When I take Gidget out for a walk, I try to always be aware of my surroundings and watch everything that moves or flies. It's not a problem when I'm walking with her in the city but rural areas are especially dangerous for hawks to be flying overhead. Just be careful, vigilant and protective of your little ones. What a traumatic situation for both owner and dog to face when out for a leisurely walk.

I just took out the two yorkies on short six foot leads. The collies were nearby enjoying one of the few nice days we have had. They were panting back and forth. We were out no more than three to five minutes when across the field down by the river I saw two hawks heading our way. I ran (as much as I can run) back up the path, up the stairs, over the deck and into the house. The collies following close behind me. Looking out, the hawks were circling the backyard.

I’ve got to do something. Honestly, I am terrified.

OMG, my concern now would be, if these hawks see prey in that area they will be around more often. Don't go to far from your house when you take the little ones out, you won't have that far to hobble back.

I’ve just been looking on the internet for screen houses. I could put one at the end of the path or even farther into the yard to provide a place to go. Honestly I was only about 30 feet into the yard, but then there is the path ,stairs, deck...all uncovered. Then I could get the deck covered...... this is rediculous. What to do?

We have a bald eagle nest less than one mile from my house, and tons of hawks, buzzards and great horned owls in the immediate area...we even had a ten foot alligator on my next door neighbor's porch a few years back! When an owl started perching on the peak of a nearby roof during the late night bedtime walk my husband gives the dogs (and swooped down one evening), we have reverted to pee pads inside. We even have to watch them carefully if we are outside in our screened pool lanai since the birds do start circling when they realize the dogs are out with us! :D

I have a screen house / room you get very little air circulation I have to use a floor fan, I don't recommend that, also if pups get excited they could claw at the meshing. Putting a roof over your deck is a good idea if you don't mind not getting any sun. When I first moved here I had what I called a dog run built. At that time I had 2 babies, the run was made using white vinyl lattice, very pretty, wish I had pics of it. I think in my album there's a pic of my sweet girl burying her toy in one of the planters outside of the run, only a small portion can be seen. It was 24 feet long by 16 feet wide. It ran along the side of my house, entered from the deck. The back half was covered with lattice (used as roof), in the summer my girls went in and out as they pleased through an improvised doggie hatch in the screen door, summer I put their big kiddie pool in it, my oldest loved to swim. They were very safe in this area. You could do something like that in a portion of your yard, 10 to 12 4x4's, depending on how long and how wide you wanted. Lattice is sold in 8 foot lengths, 4 feet high, on mine I had 2 planks of 2 x 6 x 8 then the lattice. It's not a hard project, the hardest part is digging holes for the 4x4's. They sell these steel ground spikes that a 4x4 fits in, that can be used instead of digging holes. A friend of mine built it in 2 weeks ends. These are babies that need to be protected, and if you have a yard where they can run and play but can't because of prey birds you do what you gotta do.

Having lunch on the deck with two people and the two yorkies and two collies ( our deck has a fencing around it with gate, so pups are enclosed on deck even though the yard is deer fenced 8 ft. High) two hawks came over the house, circled and then dove. Fortunately, we saw them pass over so we grabbed the yorkies and ordered the collies inside the French doors in time.

I read 2 articles in the news paper, Central Park in NYC, woman walking her Chi, hawk swooped down and grabbed the little dog, because the lady had the leash and trying to pull the dog out of the claws of the hawk the dog had severe internal injuries from the hawks talons. NYC some years back due to the park being over run with rats and pigeons, they bought in several hawks, trained them what was prey, what was not prey (do not ask me how this training was done) the hawk that grabbed this chi had newly been released so they knew which bird it was. They captured it and the hawk went back for more training. The 2nd article I read a man was walking his yorkie, (I don't remember what state this took place) hawk swooped down, grabbed the dog and tried to fly off, same situation, man pulling back on leash, another severely injured dog from talon gashes, these birds when hungry do not fear humans. I believe it was yorkiemini whose little baby fraught off and killed a hawk in her presence, bird was not scared off by human.

They can't pick up over 12 pounds so yeah there is more safety in larger dogs sure they can mess them up but most of the time they don't just do that for the heck of it and it happens when they are trying to kill something to grab it. As terrible as this sounds I am lucky for many reasons but one of them being there are A LOT of rabbits on our property so they are going to go more for the rabbits then the dogs dressed in unnatural colors in a fenced in area that is not big enough for them to swoop in and out of.

I just ordered an automatic 68 inch golf umbrella. Until something better can be put in place I will carry it in one hand the yorkies on the double leash in the other. I will only walk a short way into the yard and as soon as I spot a predator, I will pop it up and spin it over them as we move inside.

Wonder how long it will be before I am put into a mental institution.

Does my newest plan seem at all viable?

Link below to 2018 New Jersey article "Hawk snatches dog from Fair Haven driveway." In this case, the target was a 25-pound French bulldog named Phoebe.

Hawk snatches dog from Fair Haven driveway

Phoebe "was able to fend off the attack." Indicates she suffered injuries--"shredded ... underbelly and legs."

Sounds like it would work as long as you keep your wits about you and not go into panic mode. That's why YT is here lol, so we all don't end up in mental institutions lol. The ppl that know me know how I am with my babies, babies always come first.

I think it’s going to depend upon what kind are in your area.

Thanks for the link,
ppl with larger dogs think their dogs are safe, yes safe in the sense they may be to heavy to be carried off, but a hawk snatching up a heavy dog, digging into the dog with their claws then releasing the dog can be fatal to the dog. My kido is 12 pounds, big compared to the 5 pounders, if the prey birds are hungry they'll go after what's available. I myself will not chance it, my boy may not get carried away because of his weight, but the damage those talons cause could kill him.

The hawks that are hunting here are red-tailed hawks. It was a red-tailed that took a friend’s Chin off her deck where she stood. Rosie was never seen again.

My two are 7+ pounds. I’m not sure but I think Rosie was bigger...not sure. In any case, I would think yorkies are within the hawk’s size range.

I’m reading a lot(thanks for the link) but really know very little, except i’m Scared.

Sorry. Rosie was in Neuton, NJ, not right here.

Look up Raptor Shield (Raptor Shield, protect your dog from birds of prey, Hawk, Owl, attacks). it's basically an armored harness. Saw this awhile back and thought the concept was pretty decent for direct attacks. so if there's hawks and whatnot, very active or prone to your area this may be something useful.

Not necessarily the bigger ones like 17 pounder I have. My research says most don’t mess with anything over 12-15 pounds. Occasionally it does happen but isn’t as common as smaller dogs.