Urgent help needed: How to kill feral dogs and save our hunting season?

[wombat13]

I haven't been this disappointed in a long time. I've had deer on my cameras daily since March, including a couple of big bucks every few days this summer and my daughter is going to hunt for the first time this year. I checked our cameras today ahead of the 10/1 opening day for bow and I have at least two feral dogs on my camera. The coyote are more active now as well and the deer are nearly gone!

Coyote season opens 10/1 as well. We were planning to bowhunt this weekend, but now we need to try to kill the dogs and coyotes to save our hunting season. I've never really hunted coyotes (or dogs) and could use some tips for this early in the season. I'm in NY. We can use calls of course, and I believe we can use bait (just checked the regs and don't see anything prohibiting bait).

Finally, I could use some help identifying a couple of critters. Coyotes up here have bushy fur and tail. I'm attaching a picture of each of the feral dogs, an obvious coyote, and then a few that I'm not sure what they are. They don't look like any coyotes I've seen before (not furry/bushy), but they aren't obviously domestic dogs that have gone feral.

 

[Buzznrose]

Could be mange making the coyotes look strange

Could also be a hybrid coyote-domestic dog, but I’d bet mange.

 

[Highland Lofts]

A couple of guys out here were getting dead calves from the larger dairy farms to use as bait stations for coyotes. They would set them up where they could cover them with the wind working in their favor and had trail cams set so they knew where they came in from and what time they hit the bait.

 

[Whizzbang]

I would probably be careful with bait. If there is no food they will move on (hopefully). If you feed them they will stay and most likely the scent will only increase your problem. Think bear bait station. I hang what I call the gut bucket every spring in a tree to increase the amount of bears to my bait. If it were me and you have the time I’d just sit with your daughter preseason and try and kill them if you can pattern them at all.

 

[wombat13]

I would probably be careful with bait. If there is no food they will move on (hopefully). If you feed them they will stay and most likely the scent will only increase your problem. Think bear bait station. I hang what I call the gut bucket every spring in a tree to increase the amount of bears to my bait. If it were me and you have the time I’d just sit with your daughter preseason and try and kill them if you can I

Thanks for the advice. The property is two hours from our house. We won't have many opportunities to get down there between now and when the rut kicks off in about a month. I know the coyotes will be difficult to deal with, but we've always had coyotes. The dogs are new in the last two weeks and I'm hoping they're not as cagey as the coyotes.

 

[Patocazador]

The dogs are new in the last two weeks and I'm hoping they're not as cagey as the coyotes.

When I first bought the 60 acres where I live, there was a large pack of dogs that harassed my cows and horses. It took 3 years but eventually we killed 37 dogs. They had killed 6 head of livestock, mostly the young ones, in those 3 years.
I used a rifle and no bait except for a litter of pups we found under a tree. I put the pups in a cage in the backyard. Next morning momma was laying next to the cage. After the shot that's where she stayed. Then we disposed of the pups.

 

[dh1633pm]

I live in Central New York. When hunting deer and a coyote hits our path, we will shoot and hopefully kill it. My dad shot one with his muzzle loader last year. The large slug made him tip over. My brother uses a wounded rabbit call with good luck. Even where I live closer to the city I can hear them after nightfall.

 

[daniel craig]

Looks like mange on those coyotes. There are rumors of CoyDog hybrids but I don’t know how common they are in NY.

 

[Random 8]

The unknowns are all coyote in my opinion. Pretty normal looking for this time of year when they are adding their winter coat. They get pretty scruffy looking. I think the night picture is also likely coyote, but not clear enough to be definitive.

Both are very hard to hunt. I've had the best luck with feral dogs by walking my own dog in the area and encouraging him to scent mark everything in sight. Post from downwind or trap your dog's pee line. Be prepared for a shootout to save your dog, sometimes they are highly aggressive. I think trapping is your best bet. #2 Bridger coilspring offset on a dirthole set cross staked is the best option. Will take any canine. Post sets work also, but a bit more random.

 

[wombat13]

My BIL is an experienced trapper, but I think he got rid of his equipment. I’d have to convince him to run the trap line. He lives near the property and I’m 2hours away.

 

[FL-NC]

If you know anyone who is "solid" and lives nearby, you could ask him if he wanted to put the smackdown on some coyotes.

 

[748]

If you want to eradicate coyotes it's best to have some very close by to the area.

 

[Flintknapper]

If you know anyone who is "solid" and lives nearby, you could ask him if he wanted to put the smackdown on some coyotes.

Yep,

Even if that person doesn't actually kill very many, Coyotes are sensitive to hunting pressure and will learn to avoid areas where they are hunted often.

 

[buck460XVR]

I would make dang sure those dogs were really "feral" before I shot them. The dog in the second pic almost looks like he has a collar on. I'd contact/inform the local warden if you really are convinced they are feral and have him give you the "go ahead" before you start shooting. Most the 'yote pics seem to be the of the same animal. Probably lives nearby, so you may not have a lot of 'yotes, just one and it's mate that likes the trail by your camera.

 

[Meeks36]

One could build a hog trap. Have it remote operated with camera. Dogs walk in to eat. Trip the trap. Then you could do what you need to do.

 

[skeeterfogger]

I would make dang sure those dogs were really "feral" before I shot them. The dog in the second pic almost looks like he has a collar on. I'd contact/inform the local warden if you really are convinced they are feral and have him give you the "go ahead" before you start shooting. Most the 'yote pics seem to be the of the same animal. Probably lives nearby, so you may not have a lot of 'yotes, just one and it's mate that likes the trail by your camera.

Dog approached and was aggressive, end of story.

 

[jmorris]

How much land do you have and do you have any photos of the “feral dogs” that’s not Friday, Sat, Sun, they look a bit healthier than your coyote.

Some dog treats would likely do it for them, or left overs, that’s what we give our neighbors dogs. If they chase cows he gets them to stop one way or another.

You will likely find coyote hunting to be more challenging than the deer. If you don’t get rid of him, don’t sweat it, he’s not going to put much of a dent in the population. We’ve got them pretty bad, you can hear how many during the night and a few weeks ago had a couple crossing a pasture we have our heifers in, they were down in a draw and popped up about 40 yards from us. Either their movement or sound caught the attention of one of the heifers and see took off after them, then another joined in the chase. They got split up and went opposite directions exiting the pasture, the heifers stopped at the fence and watched for awhile before heading back to the feed that had been put out for them.

As far as livestock destruction from a single coyote, chickens would be #1, everything likes the way they taste and for coyotes, killing them would be the equivalent of shooting fish in a barrel for us.

Put out poison for rodents, and there can be collateral damage down the food chain as well.

 

[Ru4real]

I live in Central New York. When hunting deer and a coyote hits our path, we will shoot and hopefully kill it. My dad shot one with his muzzle loader last year. The large slug made him tip over. My brother uses a wounded rabbit call with good luck. Even where I live closer to the city I can hear them after nightfall.

I lived in NY state for 10 years. And I saw lot’s of dogs hunting. I don’t miss that one bit.

 

[Dibbs]

3, 4, 5, 6 are coy-dog, probably the same one.

1 and 2 are dogs. Is there the possibility that other hunters are running dogs on your property, in order
to train their dogs for hunting, on their property? IME, hunters who use this practice have no respect for your property, and don't care if they ruin your hunt, either.

See if you can spot the dog's scat. If it is brown, they are kibble fed, and owned by somebody. If the scat is green,
black, or has hair in it, they are feral dogs. The Coy-dog scat will be half the size, deep green, black, or have hair in it.
I would bait some large box traps, see if you can trap the dogs. They may even have ID collars, or ID chips in them. One way to find the source of these dogs is to find out where they are entering your property. Figure out the time they enter your property, that may be close to the same time they are being released by their owner, onto your land. Manipulate your game cameras, to cover entry points onto your property. With pictures, you can turn these guys into the game authorities, and let them handle it.

As to the coy dog, he's not as likely to run off the deer, but he's going to be a hard hunt. Best of luck.

 

[buck460XVR]

Dog approached and was aggressive, end of story.

But the OP has not approached the dogs......much less seen their aggression. He only has trail cam pics of them. Both appear healthy and one looks to be wearing a collar. Odds of them really being feral is low. Odds are higher they are neighbor's dogs being allowed to run loose, could be someone running 'yotes with dogs, or as with the pic of the dog during the day, could be someone hunting small game. Coyotes for the most part are not really a threat to deer and will not "drive" them out of an area. They are simply tolerated by deer. I have seen deer feeding in a field and paid little heed to coyotes in the field with them. I have watched coyotes stalking Turkeys and watched deer follow them as they did. Now extremely large groups of yotes are a different story, but all the pic shows us is one at a time.....and mostly the same 'yote.

 

[huntsman]

deer not showing up on trailcams doesn’t necessarily mean predators,

A carcass maybe but deer have seasonal patterns and they could have just shifted their patten a bit.

I would error on the side of caution when it comes to killing dogs, yotes have at them but not dogs.

researchers claim that domestic dogs can’t really go feral but instead have exist on the fringes of human habitation, so how do keep from killing some kid’s pet?

 

[d2wing]

Pets can also be feral. Many dogs are allowed to run loose and at night they may hunt or even form packs and kill both wild and domestic animals. It broke my heart as a kid to kill our own dogs. If you see them chasing wildlife unattended you can shoot them in our state last I knew.

 

[jmorris]

After killing 13 hogs in it yesterday morning, there were a couple of dog I didn’t recognize in one of our traps.

 

[buck460XVR]

. If you see them chasing wildlife unattended you can shoot them in our state last I knew.

I believe the law only relates to big game.....

In Minnesota you can legally shoot a dog if it’s chasing big game, but only between January 1 and July 14, and only if the discharge of firearms is allowed.

 

[wombat13]

Good news - the dogs appear to be gone. My BIL lives adjacent to the property and had seen both dogs on our property a couple of times in the days before they appeared on my cameras. Neither was wearing a collar. He said that the white dog was small, maybe 30 lbs. and the brown dog was bigger but looked pretty old. They appeared on my camera 9/25 (both dogs), 9/26 (brown only), and 9/27 (brown only). My daughter and I went down to hunt this weekend. My BIL hadn't seen the white dog in several days. He saw the brown dog again around 9/30 or 10/1 and he said it was looking sluggish. Neither dog has appeared on camera since 9/27. I suspect both were meals for the coyotes.

We had what I believe were coyotes approach our blinds (blind 1 in the morning and blind 2 in the afternoon), but they stayed out of our view to the side or behind us. They made a strange vocalization; not a howl or a yip, but also not a sound I've ever heard from a dog. We heard the same vocalization from farther away a few times early in the morning and then suddenly it sounded like it was right behind our blind. Maybe it means he "busted" us, but that would not explain why we heard it a few times farther away and in different locations.

Now regarding whether the dogs were truly "feral" or not, I don't particularly care. Those dogs were seen or photographed at all hours of day/night in several different locations of a several hundred acre property. You don't want your dog shot for harassing wildlife on someone else's property? Don't let it run on someone else's property. Thankfully, it seems the coyotes took care of the problem for us. Dogs are gone and the deer are back on the cameras. Coincidence? Maybe or maybe not.