anybody got an experience with dogs that are suitable around small kids and still yote destroyers? my husky lab was but shes getting old. (no overchurkas please i'm not sure i'm man enough)
DobermanMax, our 7 month old Doberman*, has turned out to be wonderful with the kids. He is around 60lbs, likely headed to the neighborhood of 85lbs.
When I write "wonderful," I mean stuff like getting into the sandbox and sitting next to my boy as he plays in the sandbox. He will also crawl into the trampoline with my daughter and enjoys the jumping & tumbling she does. He adores both my son and daughter. My 5YO son can go up to him, open his jaws, and drop a heartworm pill down his throat. My 3YO daughter is not quite able to manipulate his jaws like that, yet. They can also use him as a pillow and play around with his ears & dewlaps, looking at his teeth. He
loves that sort of attention.
They are called "velcro" dogs because they like to be near their humans so much.
He has shown some prey drive, too, so varmints would likely get a chomping though I have yet to see him nab anything like a bird or squirrel.
Most references say that they need no training to protect their family members, though I haven't seen him get defensive around anyone yet. Then again, noody has threatened the kiddos in his presence, yet.
Max is the easiest dog I have ever trained. He is all about pleasing his humans.
I need to get some new pics of him, as he is getting quite handsome, even though he has not completely filled out yet.
German Shorthaired PointerYou might have seen what I wrote about Misty, our 45lb female GSP, and her protectiveness towards our daughter. I think she has proven her bona fides.
Ten, our late 65lb male GSP was a stone killer of varmints. He had at least a half-dozen feral cats under his belt that we knew of and could nab a bird on the wing. Squirrels used to outrunning other dogs were in peril if Ten was around. He also was of a musculature & size that young college gals thought he was beautiful, but young urban toughs and derelicts with any sense kept a distance.
Ten was not as human-oriented as Max or Misty, but he was still the sort of dog who liked his family and had to spend time with us to be happy.
GSPs were bred as utility dogs, able to point, retrieve, and control varmints around the farmstead.
CoyotesOnline references say adult coyotes usually get from between 15-45lbs, with the larger specimens found in the north. In Texas, most folks say around 25lbs.
I'd think a 45lb coyote would be a serious dang predator, especially if he was hunting with buddies, as they are wont to do in these parts. 70+lbs of coyote could be a serious threat to a human.
I'd assume more than one coyote as a threat. Matter of fact, doesn't the OP say it was two coyotes?
I think I'd want a med-large or bigger dog. Misty, at 45lbs, would be a little small for two coyotes, though she'd be a fine "CIWS" to complement a larger dog.
A few miles ot the north of Richardson, in Plano, I regularly saw coyotes inside the apartment complex fence. Some folks would let their cats out, so coyotes found easy pickings.
* He's got some German/Euro dobe blood in him, about 1/2. That'll make him a bit more stout than all-American dobes.
