Those BLINKING HAWKS were 5ft from her!

Arg I thought this was over as I havent seen them in a bit. And she is now 10lbs (as of last wk). In the puppy photo section I just posted last wk kodees first time playing in the fenced backyard without someone hanging on her leash. So unfair I had to wait so long because I feared the hawks while she was little. I thought we were past this! DARN!

I let go of her leash after our walk in the backyard. I rolled the soccer ball to her she likes and opened the screen door to switch my glasses. I walked a total of 6ft to the counter got glasses and started to close the screen patio door. As i did it stuck so it BANGED when it closed. That bang, was a lifesaver - out of the corner of my eye I saw a large brown flash. There only 1.5 ft off the grass and literally 5 ft from Kodee up flew the huge #&*@ hawk! Do you have any idea what would have happened if my glasses had been on the other side of the kitchen counter. That hawk only needed literally 2 more seconds to grab her!

She is not going to understand me not letting her free in the backyard anymore How much does she need to weight before she is not of interest to it? Oh and I am not lax about this, if anything over attentive. I scour the tree tops and sky line before we ever go out and do a double take before i let go of the leash! I have even at times gotten the binocular outs! My neighbours must think I am a peep :sl*p:

Debbie, I just googled "What do Hawks Eat", and your question can be answered there......good luck.

Lots of information about how to protect your Kodee.....such as an outdoor, covered run, etc.

Not what you wanted to hear, I imagine......but you've sure got a problem. :flwr: :flwr:

Debbie that is terrifying!

Kodee's guardian angel was with her today. *ng*l

Some words of advice:
Hawks hate crows. You can find fake crow figures in specialty stores like Hobby Lobby, or on the web. If there is an Agro store near you, they can find them for you. A third alternative, is to hang relective ornamnts in trees aroud your yard. Mirror like flashes of light bother the big carnivore birds. Lastly, you could take steps not to attract them. Don't feed songbirds in your yard and Hawks will seek the easy prey. Good news is Hawks don't really want to feed on an animal that will fight back as she gets older she should be more "off limits" where a Hawk is concerned. Also ballons can cause a distraction. Something that moves in an unpredictable way would be a good deterent.


Hope this helps and I'm so glad Kodee is safe.

I'm so glad that Kodee is okay!!!

My heart almost stopped when I read your story.

I had a very similar experience too... but instead of hawks, we have a bunch of coyotes in our backyard... :yikes

I'm so glad that Kodee is ok!!!!! That must have scared you horridly.

Bronte...thanks for sharing ideas on how to scare the hawks away. My dh and I were just discussing this and what could be done...we didn't know. We have a wild life area right near us with nesting eagles. (less than 1/2 a mile away!) Eagles could do the same, and dh said there was a story in the news of an eagle grabbing a dog a few years ago. (I don't remember it) I think our trees will have some shiny 'decorations' and when we install a fence, maybe whirly things attached that move in the wind. I don't intend on letting the pups out alone, but could see me running into the house quickly for something, just like you did.

Thankfully, Kodee is ok and it's got us thinking of how to protect our precious pups.

Most big raptors can lift about half their weight and carry about a third of their weight. The main, immediate problem is not so much them taking a small dog airborne, as them attacking and killing it on the ground which they can do very swiftly. If one was this close they would definitely see a dog as potential prey. I know breeders who live in roural areas who never leave their cavaliers outside alone except in cases where they also have very large breed dogs as protectors. At least one breeder I know of keeps and breeds Great Pyrenees specifically because they are one of the only breeds that can take on a coyote and will scare off hawks. I grew up with this breed, they have a strong guardian instinct (their native working purpose) and easily outweigh a coyote as they are a mastiff breed. But that is a bit excessive, to adopt and train as a guardian, a breed the size and weight of 10 cavaliers!

Yikes :yikes ! It makes me glad to live in Ireland where the most common dog-thieves are the human kind. At least if they run off with your Cav you have more of a chance of getting her back alive.

Honestly, sometimes I wonder why parts of America were settled. Between floods, tornadoes, carnivorous animals, earthquakes, and extremes of temperatures, I'm starting to think it's a very dangerous place to live.

At least here we only had to worry about bombs(!). And not even that anymore...apart from the usual global stuff, of course.

So glad Kodee is ok! How scary that must have been! :yikes Hopefully some of these suggestions will help you get rid of the hawks...I was sure hoping the lack of news on them lately was a good sign!

Wow, that was a close call. So glad everything turned out all right...it's not a little scary! I've gotten some pictures of red-tailed hawks in our backyard...yikes.... :shock: -Natalie

Lisa_T said:

Honestly, sometimes I wonder why parts of America were settled. Between floods, tornadoes, carnivorous animals, earthquakes, and extremes of temperatures, I'm starting to think it's a very dangerous place to live.

At least here we only had to worry about bombs(!). And not even that anymore...apart from the usual global stuff, of course.

Click to expand...

Not much we can do about Mother Nature, and every place has it's problems, but I think I speak for most of my fellow Americans, most of us, would never want to live anywhere else.

Edited to add: I believe Kodee lives in Canada and not America.

Hi Debbie. I know how scary that was for you. It happened to me to when Lily was only about 6 lbs. Very scary. I'm glad Kodee is o.k.

Thanks for the replies. There were good suggestions and I appreciate them - they beat my idea of throwing rocks and with my luck hitting the daycare kids behind my house by mistake I think Bronte has me creating some backyard decorations soon! Great Ideas!

We searched a bird database at the Royal Ontario Museum site - we know its a red tail hawk as we saw it about an hr later through the binoculars and yes it was being chased by crows. Funny I have never noticed crows in as many numbers they have been this winter. The website also mentioned crows will chase them. So I guess I will stop complaining that some days I have about 6 in my tree! Be kind to crows is my new motto.

The website said red-tail hawks attack skunks as they rob the hawks nest of its eggs. Kodee is 90% black with a nice white collar, I can see why the hawk may be making an issue over her this winter. This by the way is not the country at all but rather a mid sized town in a large populated home development about 15 yrs old. But north about 20 min new homes are going up in what was country - I think the hawks got droven out and have temporarily set up house in my area - well specifically MY street! I wonder how much a hellium tank is? Kodee could have a different coloured balloon everyday of the wk attached to her collar. I will do that before setting up a run - to me it just defeats the reason I have a dog!

I still always go out with her and keep her on the line most of the time but it was nice once or twice a day letting her run and throwing the ball. So I am going to have to wait to let her loose when someone is home with me, so one pair of eyes is on the sky while the other is one Kodee for a bit.

wow I didnt even know hawks attacked puppies....but does anyone know why hawks are scared of crows? It doesnt seem to make sense to me?

Bronte said:

Something that moves in an unpredictable way would be a good deterent.

Click to expand...

Well, I move always in an unpredictable way I'm told icon_whistling But seriously your ideas are great so I am going to decorate my backyard instead of planting pansies tomorrow! My daughter has a large feathered raven from a halloween costume I can make use of and maybe some of those nylon fabric tunnel kites in the birch tree which is where Kodee likes to hang out. She will probably bark at it, but all the better, it might give the hawk the idea she is no SKUNK!

Karlin said:

At least one breeder I know of keeps and breeds Great Pyrenees specifically because they are one of the only breeds that can take on a coyote and will scare off hawks. I grew up with this breed

Click to expand...

My grandfather had 2 that the breeder continued to show for years! But what I remember about them, was how at Christmas he hooked them up to a sled he bought and took the kids on his street for a ride. They had great personalities, were very affectionate but really clumsy dogs! Like elephants in a china store is how I remember them :lol:

Dont mind me replying to myself... i'm stressed, can you blame me? OK I think I have something that might help a little! The hawks really hate skunks - so although I promised no dog clothes on this dog (my husband wasnt sure about a small breed after only having had labs) - I think putting her in a grass green coloured coat or whatever other colour than black may help. I really think its that white head, tail and black body that is getting the hawks attention. Well the good news she is about 10 days past her last shots so we should be ok to go to the park in a few days where lots of nice big dogs, and noisy little kids hang out to deter hawks.

Debbie, I'm not surprised you're talking to yourself! If a hawk appeared in my garden I think I'd do the same! Whilst they are magnificent birds, they're not really what you want to see hovering above your beloved Kodee. Boy am I glad that we get Blue Tits and blackbirds in our garden and I will try never to moan about the pigeons again!

Good luck in your efforts to prevent the hawk from coming near, it sounds like you have a job on your hands. :flwr:

Debbie- the idea of balloons attached to Kodee every day has me laughing!! :lol: :lol: :lol:

lindsey said:

Debbie- the idea of balloons attached to Kodee every day has me laughing!! :lol: :lol: :lol:

Click to expand...

I tell you its my best line of defense at this moment! So my husband calls, here's the conversation "dont worry about the hawk they cant pick up more than 2.5 lbs" My reply, "%#&* no they just swoop down and their claws go straight thro her throat, then they have a picnic on the ground!" *hangs up* Yup its the Taurus in me!

Oh CRAP! :yikes

I have red tailed and sharp shins around here...of course I worried last summer when Katy was just a little baby but she is still quite petite...about 10 or 11 pounds at almost 10 months and I am thinking ...she's fine now!

I've watched the hawks get rabbits around here...they go for the kill then sit and eat it or if scared try to fly with it.
They hang out at the bird feeders and snag a few of them now and then and fly away.


Thanks for the warning!!!

Nancy
Teddy and sweet, little Katydid