Today I did my trail run in NC around 10 am. I run this trail often and it is pretty deserted and remote. My little dog Shanti always runs with me (off leash when we are alone) since she loves to run but she always seems spooked as the trail gets deeper into the woods and further from the parking lot.
Today about 1 mile in, I heard a dog bark/howl near us over my earphones. I knew it was close but I could not see it in the thick brush. Shanti was a bit scared yet intrigued. It kept getting closer and closer and then popped onto the trail about 30 yards behind us. And it stopped. Just stared at her and she stared back with her lowered stance, tail up. And it was not a dog. It was a Coyote. And they were having a stand off because my Shanti "don't take no shit". Like EVER.
We have never had any issues in the past so I kept running into the woods and got Shanti to follow me closely. The Coyote followed barking the entire time at us. I know they are afraid of people and obviously it was not rabid. At the end of the trail, we turned around and there it was on the upside of the hill from us so I did my best to get a video (please play below you will see it move about half way through). It followed us, barking all the way and crisscrossing the trail for 3 miles or about 30 minutes. You could tell it was agitated with us. However, every time I stopped, it would stop barking. Very odd. Only barked when we moved/ran.
After researching I found out that Coyotes do bark and they are territorial. Shanti was in her/his space and boy it was letting us know it. Other runners heard it and remarked- thinking it was my dog when they passed us exiting the trail. But I was the only one with a dog and I was the one it followed, deeper into the woods alone. It was not too happy. It was very vocal and always close.
We left unharmed and hopefully this Coyote will find a home a little deeper into the woods and not beside a public trail run. Some theorize that with our drought, the Coyote has increased or moved its territory in search of food and was probably also hungry to be up "this late" (11am) for a nocturnal animal. They do eat smaller dogs of course and Shanti is only 45 lbs so perhaps a target for a bigger, hungry Coyote. I let the trail owners know so they could post a sign so others can take safety precautions. All in all, a good run with my tame dog and my wild dog in pursuit. If you knew my Shanti you would understand this...."and I am not sure which was which". :)
Today about 1 mile in, I heard a dog bark/howl near us over my earphones. I knew it was close but I could not see it in the thick brush. Shanti was a bit scared yet intrigued. It kept getting closer and closer and then popped onto the trail about 30 yards behind us. And it stopped. Just stared at her and she stared back with her lowered stance, tail up. And it was not a dog. It was a Coyote. And they were having a stand off because my Shanti "don't take no shit". Like EVER.
We have never had any issues in the past so I kept running into the woods and got Shanti to follow me closely. The Coyote followed barking the entire time at us. I know they are afraid of people and obviously it was not rabid. At the end of the trail, we turned around and there it was on the upside of the hill from us so I did my best to get a video (please play below you will see it move about half way through). It followed us, barking all the way and crisscrossing the trail for 3 miles or about 30 minutes. You could tell it was agitated with us. However, every time I stopped, it would stop barking. Very odd. Only barked when we moved/ran.
After researching I found out that Coyotes do bark and they are territorial. Shanti was in her/his space and boy it was letting us know it. Other runners heard it and remarked- thinking it was my dog when they passed us exiting the trail. But I was the only one with a dog and I was the one it followed, deeper into the woods alone. It was not too happy. It was very vocal and always close.
We left unharmed and hopefully this Coyote will find a home a little deeper into the woods and not beside a public trail run. Some theorize that with our drought, the Coyote has increased or moved its territory in search of food and was probably also hungry to be up "this late" (11am) for a nocturnal animal. They do eat smaller dogs of course and Shanti is only 45 lbs so perhaps a target for a bigger, hungry Coyote. I let the trail owners know so they could post a sign so others can take safety precautions. All in all, a good run with my tame dog and my wild dog in pursuit. If you knew my Shanti you would understand this...."and I am not sure which was which". :)
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