CLIFFNOTES - Birds of Prey and small dogs....anyone have advanced knowledge? Ive done some research but it hasnt helped much, any info/experiences would be greatly appreciated!! Ive listed a number of things Im already aware of if you make it through the whole post!!!

Does anyone know more on birds of prey and small dogs?? IE. my teacup chihuahua (She fluctuate between 3 and 4 lbs). Ive done a bit of research but am torn on what to do.

Ive always semi kept an eye on her when she is outside and over time I have let my guard down a little. I have a large fenced back yard so her and my other dog (40ish lb staffordshire bull terrier) come and go as they please. Rocki (the chihuahua) loves to sun bath on the deck and slowly sniff her way through the yard while I play poker, while Tas on the other hand goes out...does her business...and comes right back in (not offering much protection for Rocki if need be). The dog door has been amazing at allowing me to leave for days to weeks at a time (they have a huge water feeder that lasts over 2 weeks, someone comes by daily to feed them, and dry food in an auto feeder is left out as backup).

Anyways, a few weeks ago at my lake house I had the first REAL scare with her. Birds have circled before but never swooped and as I was sitting out on my deck she was exploring the tall grass there (she had never been there) and a Bald Eagle swooped quite low above her (although it didnt extend its talons THIS dive). I threw everything off my lap and took off down the bridge calling for her. She has no sense of danger in anything (cars, etc) cause shes a tiny dog and I keep her away from most things. If anything its the opposite, since I took her with me to train my horses one day and she ran right at them barking (trying to show them who was boss or get them to play...since shes not the typical "barky chihuahua"). I told her NO an BAD countless times but she would see Tas get around them so she would try and get the horses to react again...obviously not understanding one mis-step or kick and shes toast! (Tas used to endurance race train through the national forest with me and the horses so shes familiar with horses). ahaha sorry to get so detailed about how Rocki is, bottom line she would walk up to a lion and wanna play or challenge it.....so I dont think she would stand a chance vs a bird of prey's talons.

After we got back from the lake I sorta worried but not really because they had released Bald Eagles a few years back to breed and they had taken well, I "live" over an hour south of my lake house so I dont really think about Eagles here. (There is a resident owl in my yard BUT hes active at night and she will NOT go outside at nite without me). Just from growing up as daddys little girl I know most birds wont carry off prey more than 1/2 to 3/4ths their body weight, and the latter is pushing it....which makes me worry minimally about falcons and half-heartedly about hawks (there are about 6 types here in Georgia).

Now after all that the point of my post!!! Jeez me!! Today I was sitting here playing and I have two very large room length windows I keep open in the office directly behind the computer. My eyes catch most movement....my dogs, squirrels, birds, cats, etc. but I can only see about half the yard. I had seen a few bluejays already today and was like aaww, etc. Mid hands I half see something in the top field of my vision blur by from the deck and land on a branch ALMOST out of sight in the upper right of the window. For a few seconds I dont even mentally pay it any attention, then subconsciously a wave of fear/panic hit me, its a hawk at BEST (an Eagle didnt even enter my mind because it wasnt ginormous nor did I think about them being "here") I start screaming at the top of my lungs for Rocki and the bird stares straight in at me (half my plan to pull its attention from Rocki until I get to her). I glance beside me and shes not in her bed....I dont stop to look or listen (she wears a bell) for her anywhere else in the house, and my other dog jumps up and follows me panicked at how frantic I am being. I run to my back door yelling as I go (cause they can hear me from inside) and praying I am also scaring the bird off. I panic again because I start thinking what if me calling her makes her start running for me and the bird attacks because of the sudden movement. Its unreal how many horrid thoughts went through my panicked mind within the 10 to 15 seconds it too me to get to her from seeing the bird.

When I got outside I looked over ito the tree and the bird was gone. After coming back in and super babying her I took a few minutes to think. I could vividly remember it turning to stare at me as I screamed and the whole head was white, so that ruled out something such as a red tailed hawk. It was large but not massive, but after going through all the other alternatives the only thing left was a Bald Eagle...which is worst case scenario for me (8234238428934 times more likely to be able to kill/carry her away than most other local birds of prey).

I checked around a little, which didnt help to ease my conscience. A decent number of bald eagles have nested around this area now, and what I thought was a "few" years ago with their release program has been almost 15 years+ (thinking back it was before I could drive when I remember hearing of them releasing them around my lake house) which gives them plenty of time to successfully multiply....which they HAVE. Dont get me wrong, I think the eagles are amazingly majestic and awe-inspiring....but NOT when they are carrying off my dog and I am scared with that memory for life.....

I cannot put my mind on much else for the last few hours so I have been trying to come up with creative ways keep her inside but still allow my bigger dog out while I am not at home. Solution for now is closing the doggie door...but thats temporary. I even looked into "bird netting" for the yard...I frankly wouldnt care what the neighbors would say i it protected my dog. If the dogs were more buddy buddy I might could just net the porch and Tas would keep an eye on her in the yard...but alas Tas is semi a loner and only acknowledges the puppy when she wants to play IT. The netting costs about $1600 for 100x100ft sections...my yard is sorta large...so it would cost around 5k to cover it properly...and it would look like some freaky atrium!?!? As silly as it sounds I would spend it in a heart beat if I have no other options but I didnt know if anyone had an advanced knowledge on "bird of prey" behavior regarding TINY dogs that would help me find a more plausible solution (mainly larger ones such as Eagles).

Ive read a ton today, and over the years on such birds, but there are tons of contradicting things. Some say they go for other animals first BUT less experienced birds might go for the small dogs. Then some say colors matter (white being safer) - Rocki is tan. Others say that they dont go for dogs/cats usually cause they will put up a fight, frankly once those talons go in I dont see Rocki being able to do much but bleed out (she doesnt have much of a turn radius and would be somewhat paralyzed if the bird grabbed her right). And I mean hell...if these birds get cats....which I know would put up a nasty fight...Rocki is easy pickens. Squirrels naturally watch for these such birds and can make a fast get away....dogs wouldnt think much about one circling and would stand there until picked up....so again it seems like an easy meal?? Owls go for things as large as skunks, which Rocki is pretty small compared to, and again I think a skunk would put up a much nastier fight than my baby. I KNOW that when an animal is attacked they react to save themselves...so even though its not in her nature I know deep down she would fight back to some extent, but she is just so little I truely believe that if something even spiked her with its claws and took off for another hit that Rocki would be too damaged and shell shocked to defend against another swipe....my ONLY hope would be her high pitch squeals alerting Tas to the danger...but just thinking of the scenario makes me teary eyed.

Again sorry its so long, its just a constant stream of thoughts since that incident today. My only plausible option (that came to me while writing this) is constructing some sort of 7ish inch wall around the door in a half square...which keeps Rocki from getting to the doggie door but still allows Tas access. Going to email the zoo as well to try and get an answer from a bird expert if I can?! Ahhhh I hope someone can offer some better insight. Thank you either way!!!

it's only a matter of time before your dog gets soul raped by those birds.

Can't you put up a scarecrow or something that would turn away large birds?

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Problem solved.

I worked at the chattahooche nature center for 3 years in the wildlife rehabilitation clinic, they specialised in birds of prey, those guys could really do some damage to a 4-5lb dog. A bald eagle could easily snatch that dog up, they have very powerfull talons. A BOP can and will attack a small dog, it's unlikely but a real possibility.

7 minutes and 19 seconds well spent right there...

 

Originally Posted by stackinsideways

glad my little dog is a fatass...


notice the head to ass ratio.... pizza and pasta are some of her favorite foods... might be worth looking into

Believe it or not, since I first heard of a few friends having dogs attacked by birds, I have let her get a TAD bigger than her "suggested" body weight for JUST that reason. She used to weight in at around 3 to 3.2 lbs, now she hits from 3.6 to 4.1. I know that sounds ridiculous to be happy about but it is a big difference for her to be carried off. When I first got her I had never even THOUGHT about birds going for small dogs. Im sitting there talking about her playing outside etc and a girl friend goes "oh my god arent you worried about birds getting her!??!!?" Its always been in the back of my mind until these 2 close calls, and now I just dont know what to do???

Ive HEARD of it happening and know 2 people personally its happened to. One lives a little more rurally and the other has a few acres...so I figured it was the "open area" being the problem. One dog was a 9ish lb chihuahua, which it tried to pick up (in front of numerous people outside) unsuccessfully but the talon punctures near killed it and called for multiple surgeries, the other dog was a little jack russell which was never seen again :(

is that a rat terrier stackin?

Get a few owl statues and places them in open area's. I didn't know about this till a friend of mine told me to do it.

Man you guys are cold, girl is scared over her dog and you guys are posted missing pictures

Glad your dog is okay. I'm sure that freaked you out.

 

Originally Posted by peachymer

Believe it or not, since I first heard of a few friends having dogs attacked by birds, I have let her get a TAD bigger than her "suggested" body weight for JUST that reason. She used to weight in at around 3 to 3.2 lbs, now she hits from 3.6 to 4.1. I know that sounds ridiculous to be happy about but it is a big difference for her to be carried off. When I first got her I had never even THOUGHT about birds going for small dogs. Im sitting there talking about her playing outside etc and a girl friend goes "oh my god arent you worried about birds getting her!??!!?" Its always been in the back of my mind until these 2 close calls, and now I just dont know what to do???

Ive HEARD of it happening and know 2 people personally its happened to. One lives a little more rurally and the other has a few acres...so I figured it was the "open area" being the problem. One dog was a 9ish lb chihuahua, which it tried to pick up (in front of numerous people outside) unsuccessfully but the talon punctures near killed it and called for multiple surgeries, the other dog was a little jack russell which was never seen again :(

You need to get laid.

Peachy

We have a few in our yard and we havent seen a bird of any kind anywhere near our house in months. Just thought I would throw it out there. Can't hurt to try.