Feces or no feces? That is the question.

January 8, 2010 4:51 PM

There is a bold and hungry coyote visiting my yard. If I leave my dachsie's poop down on the ground will it attract the coyote or keep it away?

Trust me, either way I'll be very, very careful and not let her out on her own. Dachshunds are generally fearless and I'm just wondering if hunter dog feces carry a 'hey, I'm scary' scent which will keep cowardly killers away or if coyotes just smell it and think food-is-near.

posted by Pennyblack to Pets & Animals (4 answers total)

The coyote will neither be attracted to or scared away from dog feces. The coyote is likely being attracted to open trash cans or other sources of food (cats?) in the neighborhood. Solve those problems and the coyote will go away.
posted by Cool Papa Bell at 5:04 PM on January 8, 2010

And if you want to take extra precautions, buy some coyote urine and spray it around your property.
posted by billtron at 6:59 AM on January 9, 2010

I would recommend calling Animal Control or Fish & Wildlife depending on where you live. If the coyote is so hungry as to be in your yard where you can see it (and it sounds like you've seen it more than once) then it should be easy enough to trap. They'll just set a trap with food inside and release the animal into a wilderness area where hopefully he'll be able to find food.
posted by blue_bicycle at 7:17 AM on January 9, 2010 [1 favorite]

Coyotes eat domestic dogs and cats all the time. Even if you can keep your daschie safe, what about the neighbor pets?

You should call animal control or fish and wildlife or a local wildlife rehab group and have someone who knows what they're doing remove this animal, or animals, before something goes wrong. (And if they can't relocate the coyote, perhaps they can at least install a sense of caution, which can't hurt.)

Coyotes, a lovely as they are to watch, can be very dangerous.
posted by Lesser Shrew at 12:58 PM on January 9, 2010