Pet Coyote

C

Cody Smith

New member
Has anybody ever had a pet coyote? Our neighbor dug out a den and got a couple of pups before their eyes opened. He gave several away and kept one. Of course, he bottle fed it. I haven't seen it for a while, but it was a couple years old the last time I saw it. It acted like a very timid dog, and very much needing affection. I was rather surprised as I thought it would aggressive and independent. It doesn't seem to be protective like a dog, but it does listen. He keeps it restrained most of the time as it likes to take off on hunts I guess. It always comes back, but he's afraid someone will shoot it. :eek: He's even spray painted it orange a couple times. Anybody have any similar experiences?
 
Cody...

I worked as an Animal Control Officer in my city for 15 years, and have come across 2 different times where people had a Coyote as a pet, both were, as you said, very timid, they also couldn't hold still, constantly pacing back and forth in their kennel, which is consistent with being a wild animal in captivity... At that time there was no approved vaccine against rabies, and only recently has any been in development. Canine vaccine does not work for the coyotes or wolves as it does for the domestic dog... Which was part of the reason they were illegal to own within the city limits...
 
I had a young coyote once. It never got tame enough to even get close to.I finally let it go, but it still hung around, 'til it was hit by a car.
 
I never had a pet coyote or knew of anyone who did, but on the farm I grew up on we once had a very "tame" coyote hang around the same square mile for about 3 months one year. It was a rich cinnamon color--dark color. Sometimes it just sat by the road, out about 50-100 yards. I thought it may have been a dog/coyote cross. It disappeared one day as all individuals eventually do. My guess it was shot by road hunters.
 
I was just curious. I wondered if anybody had learned anything from these tame ones. I was excited when our neighbor got his as I thought I would learn something valuable in hunting them. It acts totally different than I expected. It sounds like most tame coyotes act this way. I wonder what causes the timidness? Anyway, thanks for the replies. Also, I wonder how often dog coyote crosses occur. I have heard lots of people talk about them. I have never killed one I thought was a cross, but I have seen some that I wondered about. One is a huge, white looking dog that has eluded me numerous times /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/mad.gif He won't come to a call, and I've chased him on motorcyles, pickups, fourwheelers, and a snow machine. Somehow he escapes, I guess he's the roadrunner version of Wile. E.!!! /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/laugh.gif
 
I read an article in the trapper once about a guy with a pet yote. His was very affectionate but he said it would never sit still. Always pacing around. And he said it loved to eat the tomatoes out of his garden which pissed off his wife.
 
Robert,
The news media has reported in recent years the State of Texas has dropped rabies vaccine wafers from the air especially for Coyotes to keep Rabies in check. They even did a follow up story that the program was a success. Going on the assumption this is true, then the Rabies vaccine is effective on both Coyotes and Wolves, as the Wolf certainly crosses with Coyotes in southeast Texas...... From my understanding of the law, a 15/16th Wolf is considered a Dog, can be owned legally in Texas, and receive a Rabies vaccination..... Same for a 15/16 Coyote. The State Dog of Texas, the Blue Lacy is part Coyote, can be owned legally, and also vaccinated. I know the law prohibits owership of 100% Coyotes, Wolves, and even Coons, but as far as an effective Rabies vaccine on Coyotes I certainly believe it's been used successfully in Texas. This isn't a hard test for Texas A&M, or anyone with the resources and legal exemptions. Simply vaccinate a Coyote and Wolf for Rabies, allow time for the vaccine to take effect, then infect the Coyote and Wolf with Rabies. They either get Rabies or they don't, then you have the answer...... Texas law is very liberal when it comes to ownership of Wolf and Coyote hybrids. Now, City or county ordinances may be more restrictive..... The Skunk seems to be the main carrier of Rabies now.
 
Bandadog...

At the time there was no approved vaccine and has only recently been in development. I haven't worked for animal control since 1996 and the wafers are somewhat new and the state is still not completely positive of the results. This is something that will have to be measured over a period of several years, I know 2 of the veterinarians (Kim Haynes & Keith Clark) that were involved in the wafer drop and it is still experiemental at best.

This isn't a hard test for Texas A&M, or anyone with the resources and legal exemptions. Simply vaccinate a Coyote and Wolf for Rabies, allow time for the vaccine to take effect, then infect the Coyote and Wolf with Rabies. They either get Rabies or they don't, then you have the answer......
Click to expand...
Surely, your joking, right? NO vaccine is 100% effective on any species for any disease. And to suggest that they infect the animals with rabies to test the vaccine is absurd. To test the effectiveness of a vaccine a blood test is administered to determine the anti-bodies present. There are also several different strains of rabies, which can, in some cases, be traced to it's originating host species.

And a 15/16th Wolf Dog cross is not considered a Dog, it is considered a Wolf Hybrid or Coyote Hybrid, whichever the case may be.
 
Robert,
I don't figure the State of Texas spent the money on the Wafers, along with the expense of getting it into the field on a "maybe"..... At some point the actual disease must be given to the animal to know for sure. They run some radical test at Texas A&M, like the Fire Ant test on Fawns, so infecting a Coyote and Wolf with Rabies to see if the vaccine works is far from absurd. You must realize that in quite a few counties in Texas there is still a Bounty on Coyotes...... I personally doubt there was ever much question regarding the effectiveness of the existing Rabies Vaccine on Coyote and Wolf/Coyote hybrids, but the concern was more in regard to will the Coyotes and Wolves eat the wafers. Evidently they did eat the wafers, as the news media reported the project was a success...... I deal with Coyotes and Feral Dogs quite often, as I raise Goats, and both the Coyotes and Feral Dogs will climb over, or dig under a Goat proof fence to get to the Goats. My best protection is Dogs, who can usually kill them inside the fence. So, as you pointed out no vaccine is effective on every animal vaccinated with it, I do keep up on known diseases carried by the Predators which my Dogs will encounter on a regular basis.
 
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