Originally Posted By: NoName1Originally Posted By: woodguruThere are way too many coyotes here to turn a dog loose on that doesn't know not to try to fight half a dozen at a time, the females try to entice the dogs into following them over the ridge where there are eight or more waiting.
We inadvertently turned my friend's 85 pound old school lab (long nose) into a decoy dog. He took off after one, went over the ridge, realized there was a whole bunch of coyotes waiting to jump him and came tearing back over the ridge with coyotes on his heels. I didn't know a lab could run that fast.
That is the point of using the dog isn't it?!?!!? If you have a dog that fights half a dozen coyotes at a time...#1: you won't have a dog very long and #2: you don't have any business getting another one because you don't understand from the beginning what it is that you and the dog are there to do.
I'm thinking I'd use two dogs for that, just saying.
The guy I got my Airedale from breeds larger ones that are supposedly from proven hunting lines, he told me not to let him go after coyotes by himself, that you'll lose a dog like that. The style of hunting for bears and lions that they have been used for intends for the Airedales to bring it on so the smaller hounds aren't injured or killed. A good Airedale is supposed to be a fearless dog, but that doesn't mean all of them are.
Our 85 pound lab/German Shorthair mix got into it with a 105 pound Wolf/Malamute mix, the Airedale took the back and it was absolutely not going to work well for the single dog. The neighbor who's dog it was kept telling me his dog was going to kill ours, I told him not to worry about it, they would work it out.
I'd be curious to hear from the guys who use Airedales and mixes thereof if they decoy or are more inclined to fight.