No problem asking here. Fall is the time Coyotes start forming packs and become dangerous to people, pets and cattle.

I had one howling about 15 feet from the bedroom the other night.

Why are they a protected species in CT.? Where I live they're allowed to be hunted because they do so much damage and we have a ton of them.

Are you in town or in the country? What we did to protect our dogs from Coyotes is install those tall chain link dog fences. They're not the prettiest but it keeps animals out of the yard. We have half an acre fenced in. Could you do that? Or just a tall privacy fence?

Are you aware of the "Conversations" side of this forum? That's the spot for off-topic posts. You can find it just at the top of these posts and it looks like this, just click on 'Conversations."

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But back to your post. I don't think coyotes are protected but you should check with your state. The link below from CT states that they can be trapped and hunted but obviously you need to check with your municipality too.

Are you sure she just had a litter? We have coyotes around our place in PA and they have one litter a year in the spring. They are so numerous that it's open season and there's no limit.

Have you tried calling recently? Have you checked with your neighbors? There may be other homeowners who have reported this coyote and your call may add more weight to the problem. I don't know if your yard is in a rural area or a more populated one, but normally coyotes are more elusive and tend to avoid open areas. Perhaps this one is ill in which case you should call and report it.

Here is a link that might be useful: coyotes

This post was edited by maire_cate on Fri, Oct 25, 13 at 8:03

I found this in a fact sheet on Coyotes in CT at the link below.

'It is legal to trap and hunt coyotes in Connecticut. Hunters and trappers are required to follow strict laws and regulations. Hunters and trappers are required to report and tag coyote pelts before they are sold, tanned, or mounted. There are special provisions for using land sets to trap coyotes on private land from December 1 through January 31. For more information on coyote hunting and trapping seasons, consult the Connecticut Hunting and Trapping Guide.'

Here is a link that might be useful: D.E.E.P. - Coyote Fact Sheet

Unless your golden is a puppy, I doubt s/he's looking to eat it...they usually go after small prey. I don't know who you are calling, but if you want to eliminate that particular coyote, you'll need to find a hunter to do so. Otherwise, you can go out and scare it away so it stays away from your house. And don't let your dog or any pet alone out at night. In addition to coyotes, we have bob cats and there have been quite a few black bear sightings in town.

Just the other morning I was wakened by the sound of coyotes howling and yipping...they do that when they make a kill. 5:30 am thank you very much!

This post was edited by AnnieDeighnaugh on Fri, Oct 25, 13 at 8:21

Annie, coyotes have killed adults dogs in my neighborhood! (and yes one was an adult Golden:( )
Dogs should not be outside unsupervised.
We have spotted coyotes in our backyard wooded area. They usually just move on.
There was an attack on children a few years go as well. Scary.

Butting in here .... please don't kill her. And if she actually did just have "pups", that'd be even worse. Don't let your dog out alone, buy pepper spray, keep a hose nearby on jet stream, put up a fence, etc. Lots of potential solutions.

Get some predator pee from a sporting good store and soak your perimeter with it. She just need to know someone else has claim to your property. Go to your nearest Tractor Supply store and get some electric fence with battery might be a couple hundred $, and put it up so she knows there is a barricade; she'll go elsewhere, coupled with the pee scent.

This is one of those times when my soft heart for animals gets me in trouble. My first instinct is, "Awww, put some food out for her!" And yes, my next thought is to recognize how stupid that would be.

Perhaps something like this might be available locally?
(and if you get any baboons it'll take care of them too!)

Here is a link that might be useful: Infrared Pest Control

Thanks ellendi, I stand corrected. Not that they would attack a large adult dog for food as much as a territorial threat. The majority of dogs killed by coyotes are small unleashed ones as they are prey.

Here's more info on them locally. They are apparently a larger, separate species from the western coyote.

Here is a link that might be useful: Coyotes here to stay

I live very near coyotes too.

It is a problem without an easy solution.

I love animals, and my personal ethics are at odds with my desire to protect my own dog and our neighborhood dogs and cats.

The coyotes have - we assume - eaten some of the friendly neighborhood cats who are no longer around. :( Some families persist in letting their pet cats out at night.....and sometimes those cats don't come home.

I have a small dog who is never, ever out alone, and never off-leash. I have seen eyes glowing in the hedgerow, watching us at night.

My local newspaper had a story a few months ago about a coyote taking a small dog in broad daylight right in front of her owner. :( It was heartbreaking to read. The dog was off-leash but only running a few feet ahead of her owner. The coyote ran out from behind a hedgerow, snatched the dog, and neither of them were ever seen again.

Again, no good answers from me. I think all you can do (short of hunting/killing them) is to be very aware that they are around you, and so you need to protect your pets. I would never let them out alone (during the day or at night) or let small pets off-leash.

We have coyotes, though I haven't seen any in a couple years. One year I saw one hanging out in our horse corral mid-morning, though the horses, even the little pony, didn't seem to mind. I chased it off anyway.

Last year, in town, a 4-year old girl was snatched by a coyote near some soccer fields (lots of people) and had a few injuries before people could get to her. I'm pretty sure officials hunted down that particular coyote.

Just saying .... be careful!

Removing one, or every, coyote from your town will make no difference because whatever attracted the first ones decades ago is still there. Coyotes have spread into the East coast because people killed off all the wolves which used to keep the prey species in check. You are up to your ears in bunnies and white-tail deer and the coyotes followed the prey.

You are better off with a stable population that is wary of humans than removing the adults and having young coyotes move in to the newly vacant territory.

Connecticut coyote info:
http://police.southwindsor.org/Coyotes.htm

Fairfield info:
http://www.ctpost.com/local/article/Hazing-coyotes-urged-at-Fairfield-forum-3726665.php

Basically you make them wary of people, and do not let them start looking to people for food. But it takes an ENTIRE neighborhood to get behind the program of cleaning up the food supply so the coyotes go back to hunting bunnies and fawns.

Gee and I clicked in here thinking Coyote was some designer brand of furniture or lighting or something that I had never heard of that I needed to check out! LOL!

We have coyotes too. I've read a single coyote will show up to entice a large dog/pet to follow/chase hm, then the pack is waiting to kill. Our dogs go out with us, and the large dog only on a leash.

We've had problems with beaver on our lake and hired a trapper to catch - in our state only licensed trappers can set traps and kill beavers. They cannot be relocated as that is against the law. He also traps coyotes. Is there a service in your area? Are you sure she's just had a litter? Not the right time of year. They start mating Feb/Mar and have pups about 2 months later.

Here in North Dakota it's open season for coyotes year round. You can shoot or trap them as needed.

We have a local pack that comes closer to town in the winter; I love to hear them howling but they will kill cats and smaller dogs.

We have our yard fenced, my dogs are huge hunters but indoors most of the time. The open "prairie", thousands of acres of fields and tree lines all around the town, give them plenty of room and prey to hunt away from us.

Still, I almost fell over a small female coyote last winter. I was stepping off the front porch, taking some trash out to the bin late at night; she had apparently caught some critter and was eating it by the steps. I nearly stepped on her in the dark.

We both jumped and yelped. She grabbed the carcass and ran off with me in hot pursuit. I didn't want her to feel too welcome, but I didn't want to shoot her without provocation, either.

I think she had been tossed out of the pack. I'd hear the pack howling a long distance off, and she'd be at the end of our block (which is the end of the town and the beginning of the back of beyond) whimpering and howling. After a month or so she was gone; I hope she found a new pack.

Anytime I go out after dark now I knock on the door, stomp my feet on the deck and make enough noise that the critters can slink off into their invisible mode.

Annie, if Coyote's can eat a cow, they'll definitely eat a large dog.

On the national news last week they showed a guy who was walking in a populated area when a C. attacked him. After being bitten pretty bad, he was able to scare the C. away with his flash light.

I don't think they howl when they've caught prey. We'll sit on the porch at night listening to them howl going from one area to another.

Now, can someone tell me why I found an itty bitty baby snake on my sidewalk the other day when it gets down to freezing at night? LOL.

I'm on the CT shoreline, and we have lots of coyote in the wetlands and woods in the area. I can often hear them barking and howling at night when I go outside. My yard is fenced for my small dogs, but you really need at least a 6 foot fence to keep coyote out. Someone makes an attachment that goes on the top of the fence that has a roller bar on it. It prevents them from getting a grip on the top of the fence and hoisting themselves over.
Small dogs and cats are easy prey, and I always keep an eye on mine, even with the fence. Dusk and dawn are prime time, but I've seen them cut through my yard in mid-afternoon as well.
One of my neighbors shot a coyote in his yard, and no one paid much attention. It's true though, that if you remove one, another will takes it's place, as long as there is food. Lots of rabbits here, and mice.

If I had that problem I'd use a Bear Banger which is a noise-making wildlife deterrent. I have them to use against bears but they are recommended for other wildlife as well.

Here is a link that might be useful: bear bangers

Interesting, oakley...I've not ever heard of coyote bringing down adult cows...maybe attacking sick or downed cows or eating recently dead ones. I know they will run deer though, and of course sheep and lambs. From an FAQ on coyotes:

Q: Do coyotes attack livestock?

A: Yes. Most larger livestock are safe from coyote attacks unless an animal is very old or sick. Coyotes most often target foals, lambs, calves, pigs and chickens.

And our eastern coyotes are different than western coyotes in that they have interbred with eastern wolves and thus are larger. They have some different behavior patterns as well including that they howl less than their western counterparts.

Thank you, everyone. I now drive into town to walk my dog during the day, and my husband will stay with her outside at night. By the way, my husband also thought the howling of the pack was unusual and could possibly have been coyotes who had interbred with wolves, as Annie has suggested. Discovered there was a woman in town who had them trapped and moved to another location (hopefully not mine). Also, we made some phone calls to police department and discovered a coyote had walked onto soccer field while children were playing. Hopefully, we can get them off our property.