Just a quick note. I was reading this thread the other day and wouldn't you know.... my husband came in from taking Cooper out to go potty and he said now that was to close for comfort. I asked what happened? He said he was standing along side Cooper and heard some crows making lots of noise. Then out of the corner of his eye he saw something - looked over and saw a bald eagle land in an oak tree in our yard. He picked Cooper up and tried to make enough noise to scare off the eagle. Whew... we live in West Central Minnesota and no snow as of yet. I'm not sure if that's the reason??? Who knows.

That's terrifying! So glad your hubby was so alert! Eagles don't show up often in our side of town but they can. I do the same thing when I see them. That's a good tip to be alert for racket from other birds. thanks!

In my part of Pa. we have lots of prey birds, my yard is safe, too many tress canopy the yard, it's when I walk Cody my eyes are to the sky for prey birds, to the woods for stay dogs and always looking over my shoulder for a dog that may have gotten out of their yard or house. YES always be vigilant when out with your fur babies.

Yorkie weight
 

I am about to purchase a little girl. She is 8 months and 2.5 pounds. Her hair is thin but she is healthy. The breeder says her little brother pulled out her hair. She say it will grow back. What do you all think?
5

Hello and welcome to yorkie talk :) I think the seller should provide and up to date health certificate from the vet, that way you make sure you are buying a healthy dog and that the thinness isn't from a health condition like mange mites or a thyroid issue etc. i think it would be worth it even if you paid for it and you and her went together to the vet before the sale was complete- the money you would save in the long run would be well worth it if you paid for an exam and she was found to be ill and you did not purchase her. Of course my hope is that she is in excellent health and you find yourself with a sweet new beautiful girl. Let us know! :yorkieg:

I have a 3lb boy from her. She is a reputable breeder. She said that I.could choose another little girl. She is 2.10 pounds and a year old with a long beautiful thick coat but I have fallen in love with the other girl. I have been waiting for 6 months for her. She would not let her go until now because of her weight. Will keep you posted.

Welcome to YT you should start your own thread, this thread is for HAWK ATTACKS. If you start your own thread you will get many more responses.

Update on bald eagle: Dave was out again just last week with Cooper and did not notice the bald eagle sitting some 50 ft away in a tree in the yard. He scooped Cooper up and came in. That bird is scoping out our little one. Scary!

Yes, very scary, seems like that eagle is trying to learn your schedule, have your DH check your area before going out.

I agree and we are both watching for it. Now that we have a foot of snow and no leaves it should be easier to spot it, but that also means that the eagle is looking for food also. I am thinking of making a covered run this spring for him so he can be outside and safe.

Covered run sounds perfect. Poor Cooper can't go for walks with prey birds stalking your area. Were I live we have the Delaware river which is appox. 7 miles from where I live, the eagles stay and nest on the cliffs, there's plenty of fish for them to eat. I see Falcons and hawks where I live, they can't "swoop and grab" in my back yard, to many trees canopy the back.

so sad, but glad it worked out for the best. I also had a turkey vulture in nj swoop down on mine but thank god i was outside to scare it off.

Turkey vulture's are dangerous? I have a large flock of them in my community, about 20 including the babies, they come behind the back of my fence, I open my back door and they meander off into the woods. They look ugly but I never heard they were prey birds, I have to research that.

Ok this is what I found on Vulture Turkeys
Turkey Vultures Aren't Interested in Our Pets

It turns out that our American turkey vultures aren't interested in our pets at all—or in our kids, either, for that matter. They probably wouldn't even eat a dead dog or cat that's in the road. They prefer to eat herbivores, not carnivores or omnivores—in other words, they eat animals that eat plants, not meat. They'll even eat some vegetation.
They also won't go after anything that is moving, only animals that are lying still and appear to be dead.


Thank God

YIKES! We have Bald Eagles here as well (in BC Canada). I've been keeping my eye out for them; especially when Bailey was a pup. He's is just over 10lbs, at 5yrs.old, so I'm not sure he would even be picked up... however, just having the situation would freak me right out. Does screaming help, 'cause that's what I'd be doing?:aimeeyork

Just a swoop and grab of those talons can be fatal, the dog does not have to be "picked off the ground" to have injury. If you have eagles where you walk your baby I would be carrying a stick for "just in case". If you have them in your area and you use your yard I would again have a stick ready to fend it off if you see one. I would "think" SCREAMING would / could scare one off, but always "better to be safe then sorry" is my motto.

What a simple and great idea. Thanks for that!!

Are you in the lower mainland of BC? I've read several signs on the northshore mountains (i.e. places such as the Capilano Suspension Bridge) where they recommend carrying small dogs to prevent them from being preyed on as food. But on the Vancouver side, I think it's more or less safe. :)

We have chicken wire over the area our yorkies go to potty, I do believe this keeps them safe

Very sad stories here ..

Well now I HAVE a situation, 3 houses to my left just took down their 6 foot high stockade fencing, I have a 3 foot high wire fence. 3 days ago I was on my deck and a falcon came from behind these house that have no more fences, now it's a straight run, it was 4 feet off the ground and 20 feet from where I was standing. My yard has a canopy of 150 foot high oak trees, there was no way a prey bird could swoop, grab and fly off. Now that these fences are gone it's a straight run for these birds, thank god I was outside and saw this. Although Cody weighs 12 pounds a prey bird could grab him, if Cody is to heavy and the bird releases him, the damage those talons would do could be fatal. So, the yard has been banned. I feel so bad because my little boy cry's to go to his yard and it is just to dangerous now, there is no way to put up netting, that day I sat for hours trying to figure a way for netting or stringing up cords so these birds cannot fly low to the ground when they get to my yard.

Oh Joan, I am so sorry to hear that situation that came about to cause your sweet little Cody boy this distress in his life.It must be so hard on you hearing him cry to go out and not understanding why he cannot. Poor baby! That's really a miserable situation.

I hear and relate to all of your comments having had the hawk attack experience with my 4 pound little girl. She fought for her life and it was just about the worse experience of my life right down to the federal court fines and attorney expenses because they would not believe that little dog killed the hawk so they beleived I did it. $10,000 citation/fine and threatened several months in federal jail, not to mention attorney fees!

The bottom line is - we have to do everything we can to protect the vulnerable! Cali can no longer get to go out and play freely in her yard without protection. It the other side of that coin is, I watched her fight and would not have been able to stand if she had died that way.

So, yes either I am out with her, or my yard is once big lanai covered area. We make it work. Cali has also learned from that one experience to watch for the hawks. And we run drills where we go outside and check for hawks and if we see them we run run run back inside!

Good luck to alll! Let me know if you come up with a viable solution. We have infringed on the hawks' world, but it doesn't seem that we can co-exist with our little ones and the hawks.

A friend of mine said the other day that she was so tired of fighting with her kids to get into and stay in their car seats -- guess we have just got to stay vigilant and fight the good fight:D

I am always out with Cody, he is never in the yard alone and if I have to run in for a second, as much as that boy loves his yard, he is right behind me. Poor little Cali, how terrifying for her and you. Thank god she survived. I was horrified when I saw this falcon, there is a small clearing right behind my house then the woods, that bird perched on a limb for a while saw there was no action and flew off. I am just grateful I was outside and saw now these birds can access my yard.

Thank you Sherri, it's heart breaking to hear him begging for his yard, I feel horrible having to deny him, but that bird was so low to the ground, I don't know if it would realize the size and pass Cody by but I am not taking any chances. For now it's the deck only for us.

response to hawk attack
 

I live in Nebraska and we are in the middle of a cold snowy winter. For the past several years there has been a mating pair of chicken hawks nearby. One of the hawks stay year round and hunt prey regularly.Our yorkie weighs 7 pounds and runs the yard freely. After reading about the hawk attack we will be much more aware.

Help with hawks
 

We have a fenced in yard. It is 280 feet wide. Last year my beloved collie was t-boned by a deer damaging his liver. The deer had jumped the six foot fence. Four months later, after many hospitalizations, Jami died. We raised the six foot fence to an eight foot fence, albeit too late for my boy. Now we have hawks circling and diving the yard. While we always walk Max, 5#,and Audrey,6#,on lead in that yard, we are increasingly aware of hawks circling the yard. Only twice have they dove down. Both times both yorkies were on 6 foot leads and Finley, our remaining collie, right beside. However, one hawk came within a foot of Max . I just can’t stand the thought of losing another dog.
We have the “big eye balloons,” we bought 475 bland cds and strung them to reflect attaching them to ropes we strung across the yard attaching them to the top of the fence posts. Still a hawk dove down.
Has anyone made an enclosure of part of a fenced yard large enough for the yorkies to exercise some, but covered so they are safe? It was a fortune to have the fencing, then the extension to eight feet, but I can’t cover the entire area, but I will cover a portion.

So sorry about your sweet Collie, how very tragic. Yes deer can jump a 6 foot high fence, 8 feet they can't.
If you have a corner area close to the door that leads to the yard, determine how much area you want to devote to your pups. The area should near the side of your house and the 8 foot fence, these are used as walls.

You can hire a carpenter to put up 6 foot high 4x4's posts for roofing use chicken wire, although not attractive it provides air circulation and protection from prey birds. For the 2 remaining openings, one being a side the other being the front, you can use 4 foot high lattice as a wall,very attractive looking, use lattice for the front with a gate that locks to keep the pups contained. Just a suggestion.

Meant to add, 6 foot leashes are to long if you have diving hawks, you will never be able to reel in two pups fast enough to avoid a hawk grabbing one of them, best to use 4 foot leashes and have them closer to you. I know you want to give the pups a little lea way using the longer leash but that could become a safety issue JMO.

Help with hawks
 

Thank you so much for your reply. I called the man who installed all our fencing. He is going to make a “room” 14 x 50 abutting my eight foot fence with a door and net cover. It will cost what seems like a fortune to me, but I just can’t lose another dog. While we were outside checking out what he suggested, hawks were circling and screaming. $2000 later........but Max and Audrey will be safe.

It was kind of you to care.

Thanks.
Gew