Whether you’re living in an urban area, a rural area, or a suburban area, chances are that you’re closer to wildlife than you realize. raccoons, coyotes, and skunks are quite prevalent in these areas. Many of these animals aren’t a good mix with dogs. Thankfully, we have some easy-to-follow tips to help you keep your pet safe from such potentially dangerous predators.
Raccoons
Those cute seemingly innocent animals can be downright vicious! Raccoons are highly intelligent and have a savage scratch and bite attitude in any fight. They know right where to strike to do the most damage to their predators.
When in a fight, a raccoon may try to scratch out the eyes or roll an animal onto its back and disembowel it. This is their natural response to a fight.
While the Humane Society states that raccoons aren’t likely to start a fight without provocation, they’re still quite brazen and a protective dog may strike out at them and inadvertently start the fight. Humans that see these animals as cute and feed them are causing the issue to be even worse.
The more humans feed raccoons, the less likely they are to be afraid of predators. If someone tries to chase them off, they may well turn and attack because they’ve come to expect being fed by humans.
You’ll need to be prepared to protect yourself and your dog if you have raccoons in your area.
You have 3 options if a raccoon has taken up residence on your property:
- Go after them with a bat or some other object.
- Wait them out until they leave.
- Call a professional exterminator and have them removed. A wildlife removal company will professionally remove them to another area.
Here are some ways to avoid a conflict with a Raccoon:
- Don’t feed raccoons
- Keep pet food indoors
- Keep pets indoors at night
- Lock pet doors to prevent raccoons from using them
- Use secure compost bins so that raccoons can’t access them
- Lock your garbage up
- Clean-up the barbecue area
Train your dog to “leave it”, “Off”, and “Come”. A well-trained dog will help avoid any confrontation with a raccoon.
Coyotes
As long as a coyote has plenty of food, they’ll stay out of sight. They don’t like humans and will shy away. They build dens that are hidden and often can be found in city parks or on preserves. Learn to avoid contact. Don’t walk dogs at dawn or dusk when coyote activity is higher. Keep dogs on a leash and close to you at all times.
Avoid walking dogs in areas where you know coyotes like to roam.
Dogs aren’t a typical food source for coyotes, coyotes prefer rodents and fruit. On occasion, they’ll eat a feral cat or a domestic cat if it’s left outdoors at night. Bolder coyotes may go after a dog but it’s pretty rare. Keep dogs close in areas where coyotes are known to be
Skunks
Skunks tend to avoid any form of contact with humans and pets. They like to roam at night and lights frighten them off. Skunks have very poor eyesight and will spray if frightened to protect themselves. They spray as a last resort so try not to startle them. Once they do spray, it will take them several days before they can spray again.
Avoid trying to scare a skunk so that it won’t feel threatened and attempt to spray. Simply back away slowly and allow it to pass through your yard.
Again, train your dog well. Ensure that they will back down and come when called. A well-trained dog will help prevent skunk sprays.
If your dog does happen to get sprayed, make sure that you have some things on hand so that you can get your dog cleaned up without having to run out shopping to get supplies.
Or you can use Nature’s Miracle Skunk Odor Remover
Use towels that can be tossed into the garbage as they’ll never be the same again. Wipe your dog down to remove as much of the oil as you can possibly remove and then bathe your dog in the aforementioned solution. Leave it on for 20 minutes and rinse. Repeat as needed.
Keep in mind that wildlife isn’t bad in and of itself. Just be prepared for interactions with your dog and in case of emergency have a well-trained dog so that you can peacefully coexist.
