the worry of where you live
 

ive read so many posts about snake bites, killer bees, coyotes and things like that im so glad i live in the uk and we dont have to worry about things like that we only have foxes and badgers and nether would attack a person or dog for no reason . what are the dangers where you live for you and your yorkies? and any near misses with anything scary?

I've heard that badgers are very mean. If a small dog decided to chase them wouldn't that be seen as a good enough reason?

The bigest danger here are the hawks. We also hve the cow killer ants, that are normally not agressive, but if a dog decided to try to eat one it could be deadly.

we don't have much in the way of wild life around here but stray dogs and big dogs off leash are always a threat to little guys like ours. the severe heat is also a threat (we had a bad heat wave last week). Fleas and ticks are a common nuisance but that's pretty much it.

We have hawks, owls, rattlesnakes, copperheads, cotton mouth snakes, bear, deer ticks, yellow jackets, coyotes, black widow and brown recluse spiders....you name it, I think we've got it!

We live out in the "woods" surrounded my national forest on most sides of our land. We have seen all sorts of animals come through.

Once, in broad daylight, we were sitting on our upper deck watching a small herd of deer in our backyard (a few adults and a few little ones) and the deer seemed to be watching something in the woods, pretty soon, here comes a coyote out of the woods trying to get a deer. We freaked out and started yelling, which scared them all, but the deer went one way and the coyote another.

Our close encounter: We had a momma coyote that was looking for a place to den (our neighbors had her visit their places too)...anyway, she would come right up to the porch, she didn't seem very shy. I opened the door to scare her off and my DH, who was to have taken Mojo into the other room, had not gotten him or held him or something and out there door he went!! He chased the coyote off and I was running after him with no shoes or socks on, right after a rain to get Mojo!
Luckily, I was on the track team years and years ago in school, so I can sprint pretty fast. (Thank goodness) I caught up to Mojo and snatched him up (afraid of other coyotes being out). Needless, to say, we haven't seen a coyote in a long time, we hear them though on some nights. Course, Mojo is never outside unless we are with him and we now have two big dogs outside too.

yes if a dog attacked a badger they would attack back but there are not that many of them now after years of badger baiting and they are very shy and sleep in the day so your not likely to see one also they are mostly in woodland and no where near your garden. blimey killer ants:eek:

we have owls and hawks but have never heard of any hurting a dog maybe ares are smaller. im glad you got your dog in time lucky you can run fast. also whats a yellow jacket?

I'm lucky - no worries really and I have a fenced in yard - but yesterday the neighbors 2 dogs broke thru my fence ....what a surprise THAT was. It took me 2 bags of treats to get them back in their yard...one of them - Ray Ray who is Chanel's little Fence running buddy - was baring her teeth at me like she wanted to rip my face off.....yet the whole time her tail was going a million miles an hour - I don't know if she'd have bitten me but didn't take any chances.

our only worries are hurricanes. when isabel hit, we were out of power for a very long time

Ditto I haven't seen much wildlife here either.

i worry about hurricanes, maybe tidalwave, that hasnt happened yet..
im just not waiting for the big hurricane where i gotta take my canoe out
and row to another state.... my house would be distroyed.. but by all means, i would grab lexi first and head out...

It's not the wild life I worry about it's the pestisides that are put down in
the dog walking area in the condo complex where I live and also the
inconciderate pet owners who do not pick up after the pets. Buddy is very
healthy but since he was a pup he has had bouts with diahreaa. I was just
at the vets again last Fri. The vet has no explantion. I think it is a combination of both that give him this. I have had two dogs for 17 & 16 yrs
who never had this but we had our own fenced in yard at the time. There
are so many dogs that are sick where I live from cancer to heart problems.
I just don't know what to do anymore. Has anyone else experienced this
problem (diahreaa)and if so any suggestions? Carol

Here in Florida we definitely worry about hurricanes. As far as wildlife, my biggest concern is hawks. If we lived on the water, I'd also have to worry about water moccasins and gators.

The biggest concern we have would be the wildlife. We live in a very rapidly developing area and they animals are honestly running out of places to go. You see them crossing the nearby (major) highway all the time now. I'm always worried that there will be a possum or raccoon or something under my car...doubtful, but you never know. There are coyotes near, but they mostly keep to themselves and done come that close to humans...that I've seen, but again, you never know.

I guess our biggest problem is hawks--you see them all of the time here. Recently, my dad was on his deck (half is screened in, half is uncovered). They'd left the bottom screen loose so the dogs were going back and forth between the two decks. Dad said that all of a sudden they came hauling tail in and hid under him...he looked up just as a hawk flew in through the bottom of the door after them!:eek: :eek: And still came after them on the deck with him RIGHT THERE IN BETWEEN THEM. He opened the door and got them inside, but was still stuck with this hawk on his deck! Scary....he was right there, no more than a few feet from them in plain view when this thing came after them!

http://www.canyonlife.com/o'neillpark.folder/kerryweb/yellowj.htm

Hurt like the dickens when they sting. They hang around trash cans, picknick areas, etc, mainly.

We have basically the same here: snakes, hawks, mosquitoes, wasps, yellow jackets - but we also have hornets and bobcats. My DH, who is an avid outdoorsman (hunting), put out his camera behind the house a few months ago to get pics of the wildlife in the area, mainly the deer coming around the house. He did get pics of deer but he also got a picture of the biggest bobcat I have ever seen! They mostly range in weight around 18-20 pounds, sometimes smaller, but this one, based on the picture alone, looked like it weighed closer to the 40 pound range - he was HUGE!! Needless to say, neither Gabby nor Gage are allowed outside after dark without one of us with them!

maybe she was just scared:)

oh yeah i forgot about things like that

god im glad i dont have to worry about things like that:eek:

Ah I forgot about Bobcats...haven't actually seen one of those in a while though. We used to have one that lived in right behind our older house (10 years ago) when we had pekes...had to watch them. Maybe they are moving out of our area...coyotes are much more prevalent than the bobcats now...:(

maybe your yorkie has ibs, my yorkie sasha use to get it and she would get an upset tummy.

what are water moccasins? and does anyone no what a yellow jacket is?

i would of smacked it one with a broom:eek:

still not sure what they are, is it like are wasps bees?

oh we have hornets but not very many as we dont seem to see them anymore.

What is ibs?

Never mind I figured it out. No he dosen't according to the vet.

well my sasha would have an upset tummy which had mucus in it and my vet said thats what she had, if your dog just has a upset tummy now and again maybe they have a senitive tummy and you should just fed them bland stuff.

A yellow jacket has it's nest mainly in the ground (though it will build in tree trunks, stacks of firewood, etc.). They have a stinger, like a wasp or bee, and their tails are stripped black and yellow - thus the name. When they sting, their stingers are so very tiny, you can barely see them but you can definitely feel them until you get them out. Unless you can see it, using masking tape (or any tape) to pat on the area will help get the stinger out. They do release poison but it is not as potent as that of a red wasp - unless you are stung by more than one!!!

As for the water moccasin, it is a very poisonous snake that can live both in the water and on the land. They are black in color and definitely found here in the south! You mostly find them where water is (ponds, lakes, rivers - which is all around where I live!!).

Hope this helps you to somewhat understand what they are:) And if I've mistated anything or left information out, please feel free to correct or add to what I've posted.

Water moccasins scare me to death because unlike other snakes, who will get out of your way if given the chance, moccasins are aggressive and will chase you.