New to decoy dog stuff-somebody please translate for me what happened??

T

TheDenMaster

New member
I was out calling a couple days ago with my dog. I have done my best to train my dog to greet coyotes as they come in. When I was out I called in a younger looking pair. They held up at about 400 yards. My dog(black and white 25lb rat terrier/collie mix) was on the other side of the hill out of eye sight of the coyotes. I watched the coyotes. When they saw my dog come over the hill the first one immediately put its head down and came in on a rope. My dog has been on maybe 10 coyotes now but we train with a decoy in a field a lot. My dog met the first coyote at about 80 yards in front of me. They had a 5 second stare down about 5 feet apart. Then the coyote turned around and ran away. My dog chased her for about 15 seconds. I bet they got about 400-500 yards away from me. After I lost site of my dog I gave him the beep to come back and my dog turned around and came back to me. But,,, the coyote did not follow. The coyote never came back. I knew #2 was still hiding behind a bush where the original coyote had started. My dog came all the way back to me and watched the set. I hit a faint sound on the caller and instantly #2 started running in. #2 did exactly what #1 did. They had a stare down then ran away out of eye sight then I called my dog back... and again, no following coyote. We then sat there waiting and I played some distress sounds rather violently thinking it would help bring them back. At the 4 minute mark of playing those distress sounds a new coyote came in. This time a big male as far as I could tell. It was much bigger than the first two. My dog went out to him. But he was on a dead line to the call. My dog got on his tail about 3O yards before he got to the call. He looked at my dog like they do when they are running but won’t stop. He never stopped. Did a drive by and never stopped. I was frustrated and like an idiot I took a running shot at him and missed. Anyway no dead coyotes and no decoying action. Well not the come back action. My dog gave the coyotes a lot of confidence to commit but that’s it. I get that every stand is different and coyotes aren’t all the same, but I was really thinking that they would have followed my pup back to me. Any suggestions or interpretations, ideas, theories?
Thanks guys.
 
Any number of possibilities, not hungry and food source not threatened, nothing to protect and or none were Alfa maybe all with wimp dna, your guess is as good as any
 
This time of year the coyotes are setting up shop (territories) And they are protecting it form any newbys. Those that have not grouped up yet have been given the stink eye when they come into others territory and run out of dodge. So they just quickly move on so they can keep their ears. I'll bet the first two would (maybe) have come back but knowing that big male was there they thought the better of it. Remember breeding season is just around the corner so their habbits change.
You and your dog are doing very well, him coming back when you called, thats SO important. If you watch real close you will see the game quickly starts change as who is baiting who, make sure your dog always comes on the call. Keep after em, but remember breeding season they dont much want to play the game.
 
You can get dog work anytime of year, but you will run most off right now. The meanest coyote I have ever ran into was in November. He was the only coyote to ever cut my dog. My dog looked like she ran into a bandsaw.

Dogs can still be effective in the winter, but dont expect the coyotes to work much. What they may do is stop and just look at the dog. If they do, smoke em. Once and a while in January you can call in a pair of lonely males. Sometimes they can be vicious.

Overall, winter is not good for dog work. Size of dog dont matter. What sounds you play dont matter. Nothing but pure luck matters right now. If you just want to spend time with your dog, get him use to the game, gunshots, finding cripples etc then go ahead and take him along.
 
Hey guys. Thanks for the input. I will shoot when they stop and not do the decoy thing right now. I think that I will continue to take my dog because I really love hunting with him. I tried to explain it to my wife and the best thing I could say is it’s like having a 6th sense. It’s such an added bonus. I’m obviously very proud of my rat terrier/collie and so far he is exceeding all of my expectations. I had a Jagd before him and the Jagd was [beeep] on wheels. I loved that dog but boy was he intense. This dogs seems to be able to turn it on and off a little better than my Jagd. This is my first decoy/coyote dog and so far it had been a lot of work but very rewarding.
 
Last edited:
Awesome. My dog trained me to watch him and when its go time its go time. He senses, smells, see's whatever is out there usually long before I have a clue whats going on.
 
I currently don't have a DD as the last fell off the truck breaking a leg. I used to use her EVERY time I called no matter the date and always had a tremendous amount of luck. She was a smaller framed blue heeler around 25lb soaking wet and also had some wheels under her. All the stands she made with me I never did see a coyote that could outrun her. I had a few that would hang up and watch her but if they came in, they were committed. never had any that would run off which leaves me scratching my head as to why they did this to you. If there were any that she did give chase to she'd @$$hole them and kinda pick a fight before bringing them back in on a string. She always made me nervous because she was on the smaller side and if a big one got hold of her or a pair were to catch her, I don't know if she was mean enough to whip them. I never did let her chase one out of sight as I worried that they would get her. If I were in your shoes, I'd continue with the dog, if for nothing else to just give him the experience. It's definitely a blast watching a good dog work a coyote but they need the experience to be a GOOD decoy dog and they don't get that sitting at the house. I once had a big male so enthralled with my dog he didn't even notice me getting out from under and standing in front of the cedar tree I was hiding under to get a shot. When he decided to finally quit chasing her to give me a shot he stood no more than 30 yards from me and was still watching the dog.
 
Last edited:
That’s pretty good stuff. So my dog weighs 25lbs. It’s crazy because I was out this morning again with him and we called one in. We got back doored. The coyote came in from behind us. He got about 30 feet to my left and my dog took off after him. They ran and disappeared. I waited 10 seconds then called him back. Again, no coyote following. I was wondering if my dog needs to be more aggressive or if it’s just the wrong time of year. I’m In the desert and I have noticed that these coyotes are the biggest whimps I’ve ever seen. It seems like when I call in the mtns or near farms the the coyotes are a little nastier. Anyway it made me mad to have my dog chase off another one.
 
Originally Posted By: TheDenMasterThat’s pretty good stuff. So my dog weighs 25lbs. It’s crazy because I was out this morning again with him and we called one in. We got back doored. The coyote came in from behind us. He got about 30 feet to my left and my dog took off after him. They ran and disappeared. I waited 10 seconds then called him back. Again, no coyote following. I was wondering if my dog needs to be more aggressive or if it’s just the wrong time of year. I’m In the desert and I have noticed that these coyotes are the biggest whimps I’ve ever seen. It seems like when I call in the mtns or near farms the the coyotes are a little nastier. Anyway it made me mad to have my dog chase off another one.



Get use to it in the winter. I promise you that is what you are going to see more often than not. You wont get much of the real stuff in the winter.
 
Do you have enough handle on your dog to keep him put after he and the coyote acknowledge each other? I would wonder if the coyote knowing that your dog is there but not giving chase would peak the 'yotes curiosity and keep him around for a shot.
 
Back
Top