Using dogs to get coyotes.
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FearNoWind
Well-Known Member
cornchuck
Well-Known Member
I like coyote hunting in the area I live. Starting to see more in the fall when their fur gets fuller. But I am not able to hunt them hard because I'm a farmer and not done with field work. So I hunt them when I can. But I have to do it before the snow hits the ground. If not I'm screwed. As soon the snow starts, guys with dogs run up and down the roads looking for tracks. When they find them they let their dogs loose. I was told that the dogs chase the coyote hard enough they die from exhaustion or the dogs kill them. When the dogs get tired they put fresh ones in on the chase. Guys sit in their pickups about half mile or so apart watching for coyotes or the dogs. This is done just about every week in the winter.
The only hunting I do is for deer(food for the family, only harvest what we need), groundhog(they can destroy a soybean field pretty quick), and coyotes(to keep population down and maybe get some extra pocket money). I work hard for what I harvest and thank God for what I take. But what these guys are doing is lazy hunting. They go onto anybody's property without asking. Block travel lanes on roads.
I might get some people ****ed at me. Oh well. It would be nice to out law this type of hunting practice.
I'm NOT against using dogs for decoys. As long as the hunter kills the coyote like hunters should. Quick and humane.
Sorry if this is some rambling, but this subject gets my blood boiling.
Jason
The only hunting I do is for deer(food for the family, only harvest what we need), groundhog(they can destroy a soybean field pretty quick), and coyotes(to keep population down and maybe get some extra pocket money). I work hard for what I harvest and thank God for what I take. But what these guys are doing is lazy hunting. They go onto anybody's property without asking. Block travel lanes on roads.
I might get some people ****ed at me. Oh well. It would be nice to out law this type of hunting practice.
I'm NOT against using dogs for decoys. As long as the hunter kills the coyote like hunters should. Quick and humane.
Sorry if this is some rambling, but this subject gets my blood boiling.
Jason
royinidaho
Well-Known Member
Any breed of dog will work, if.......
It's the dog's traits that are key.
My catahoulas would try to run them down which didn't come close to working.
I had a border collie that was exceptionally well trained for sheep and cattle and I could command him well enough to lure the yote within shooting range.
Any dog that will run from the yote to you for protection or on command (whistle) or for safety will do.
Get something that's not a lap dog. They are too easy for the yote to catch
I have a Hangin' Tree Cowdog that is great for spotting them well before I do and waits for the "go get'em command". She's just a beginner but shows great potential...
Catahoula
Well-Known Member
I have had great results with Catahoulas & Blackmouths. Catahoulas can be too aggressive if not trained right. I think Blackmouths are more even tempered. My old Catahoula "Rebel" helped me kill coyotes that I know I would not have gotten without a dog. He would go out & tease them & run back as if to say, here ya go! Shot some bad coyotes at about 50 feet. When checking mmy trapline I could tell when I had a catch long before I could see the trap just by watching him. Really miss that old boy. Also just had to put down my old Blackmouth female "Goldie". She was hell on bears & coyotes.
Get a Blackmouth, you won't be sorry.
Thanks, Kirk
Get a Blackmouth, you won't be sorry.
Thanks, Kirk
azsugarbear
Well-Known Member
I've been running dogs for several years now. They go with me whenever I am out hunting. They are fantastic on young, inexperienced coyotes. and also work well on yotes in areas where they have been called a lot and are very wary.
The idea behind using a decoy dog is to trigger a territorial response in the coyote. They create/trigger a need in the coyote to run the dogs out of their area. Their presence is usually enough to do the trick, but even more so if the dog(s) are aggressive in challenging the vote(s). Add food (a distress call) or young yote pups to the equation (early to mid spring for denning) and you can get explosive results.
The key is to use the right size and temperment of dog. If the dog is too big or too aggressive, the coyote will not engage, but run away (self preservation). Use too small of a dog and the dog will have trouble defending itself (run too slow to get away) or if it should it run into a pack.
I have come to the conclusion that dogs in the cur family are best suited for working with coyotes. The breeds include the Catahoula, Mountain Cur, Black Mouth Cur, Texas Blue Lacy, etc. All these breeds tend to fall between 18" to 21" at the shoulder when mature. Just about the same height as a coyote. The weight will be 40 to 60 lbs - a little more than a coyote, but not enough to make a yote think twice before engaging. These breeds have a great temperment with a lot of grit and bottom to face down or engage several yotes at the same time.
A shock collar with good range is an absolute must. The collars I use have a beep or tone button on them. That button is used for only one command: "Come Back! Come Back Right Now." This is how you get the dog to disengage and come back to you. The cotyote is led to believe the dog has had enough and is leaving. If the coyote does not follow your dog back far enough to come within range of your muzzle, you simply send the dog back out again. He re-engages the yote and then called off again. The yote begins to think that this dog just isn't getting the message and needs to be chased even further out of the area. Usually one to three engagements is all that is needed to get a shot at the yote.
The ability to shock is sometimes necessary in order to break the dog out of his tunnel vision. While neither dog nor coyote want to fight, both recognize that the encounter could quickly escalate to a life or death struggle. They focus all their attention to the encounter at hand and usually become oblivious to their surroundings. The shock helps to break the dog out of his tunnel vision so that he can hear the 'beep' commend to disengage and 'Come Back' - usually with the coyote it tow behind them.
I have had hunts where the yote was so focused on my dog that he sprayed gravel on my boots while coming to stop once he realized something wasn't quite right with his surroundings. At this point, I would never hunt yotes without my dogs. Too much fun and I love the companionship.
The idea behind using a decoy dog is to trigger a territorial response in the coyote. They create/trigger a need in the coyote to run the dogs out of their area. Their presence is usually enough to do the trick, but even more so if the dog(s) are aggressive in challenging the vote(s). Add food (a distress call) or young yote pups to the equation (early to mid spring for denning) and you can get explosive results.
The key is to use the right size and temperment of dog. If the dog is too big or too aggressive, the coyote will not engage, but run away (self preservation). Use too small of a dog and the dog will have trouble defending itself (run too slow to get away) or if it should it run into a pack.
I have come to the conclusion that dogs in the cur family are best suited for working with coyotes. The breeds include the Catahoula, Mountain Cur, Black Mouth Cur, Texas Blue Lacy, etc. All these breeds tend to fall between 18" to 21" at the shoulder when mature. Just about the same height as a coyote. The weight will be 40 to 60 lbs - a little more than a coyote, but not enough to make a yote think twice before engaging. These breeds have a great temperment with a lot of grit and bottom to face down or engage several yotes at the same time.
A shock collar with good range is an absolute must. The collars I use have a beep or tone button on them. That button is used for only one command: "Come Back! Come Back Right Now." This is how you get the dog to disengage and come back to you. The cotyote is led to believe the dog has had enough and is leaving. If the coyote does not follow your dog back far enough to come within range of your muzzle, you simply send the dog back out again. He re-engages the yote and then called off again. The yote begins to think that this dog just isn't getting the message and needs to be chased even further out of the area. Usually one to three engagements is all that is needed to get a shot at the yote.
The ability to shock is sometimes necessary in order to break the dog out of his tunnel vision. While neither dog nor coyote want to fight, both recognize that the encounter could quickly escalate to a life or death struggle. They focus all their attention to the encounter at hand and usually become oblivious to their surroundings. The shock helps to break the dog out of his tunnel vision so that he can hear the 'beep' commend to disengage and 'Come Back' - usually with the coyote it tow behind them.
I have had hunts where the yote was so focused on my dog that he sprayed gravel on my boots while coming to stop once he realized something wasn't quite right with his surroundings. At this point, I would never hunt yotes without my dogs. Too much fun and I love the companionship.
azsugarbear
Well-Known Member
Here's a pic from a couple years ago. Remington (Remmy) is on the right and Ruger is on the left. Ruger is now bigger than Remmy and is a fantastic coyote dog - even though he is a little too big for the work.
Very good description. Thank you. The dog I showed in the picture is a Catahoula with just a little bit of Pitbull. The collar she has on has a vibrate function on it. When we vibrate it she knows to come back. Really effective and really fun.
jakelly
Well-Known Member
You do realize that is not how coyote dogs are used. And that's a left wing anti-hunting site.
The you are right. I never even looked at the link.
oldmossy
Well-Known Member
Getting ready to send adeposit to shootersservicesunlimited for a started catahoula/cur dog. I live in WVa and daylight sightings of coyotes are almost non existant. At night, with thermal scopes, we see them alot. Usually out of range though. Im wondering if this dog going to help get them closer. And how i continue training of dog. Does he learn on his own just by hunting him or is there things i need to do. The coyotes are really call shy. Even at night. Suggestions/reccomendations. Buy or not buy dog. Buy different type of dog? By the time i get dog from oregon, i will have alot of money invested. He will b a year old.
Big Sky
SPONSOR
I've spent the last 5 years doing a lot of research on this. I finally decided a Mountain Cur would be the best fit for me. So I'm currently training this little guy. He's a mountain cur I got out of Arizona. He is already showing lots of grit and drive. If we survive his puppy stage I think he's going to do a great job decoying coyotes. Mostly I've been amazed at just how smart he is. He learns quick!
