Birds of prey

[gordnbec]

Originally Posted by Jaykup

The local wildlife preserve in calias maine collected 13 flee collars from an eagles nest last year....

small pups would be an easy meal.

Anything under 10kg probably would be no sweat, they can swoop down so fast that it would be on them in a flash. With those powerful talons and sharp beak it would be very hard to defend against. Even a big dog would have a battle if caught unawares.

[K_J's Dad]

I would keep an eye on both the Bird and pup.
We've had a Hawk in our back yard just recently, I was able to get about 10 feet away to snap some pictures. He's also been on top of the utility poles "watching" the smaller dogs in the area.

Clicky here for Hawk pics

[RoxiesEcho]

I don't want to hi-jack this thread but K J's Dad, those are really nice pictures of the hawk. It looks like it might be an immature Cooper's hawk. They don't typically go for animals as large as a small dog. They much prefer other birds which could explain why it landed in your yard. We have Cooper's and Sharpshin's that frequent us because of all our bird feeders.

[LILYLARUE]

We have hawks in the hills here and there are always news stories about them snagging little dogs and cats. When spring hits, there are always warnings to not leave your small dogs unleashed or left alone outside.

We have sparrows and bluejays that seem to love to tease Lily. She chases them, they dive bomb her. But she's quicker to catch them and too big to be scooped up. When she was a puppy though, I kept my Eagle eye on those dang birds. In the evening now, we only have bats who swoop down and freak her out cause she can't see them but knows they were too close! LOL She looks like a loon out there spinning around and running from the invisible monsters!

[Mesquite]

Around my neck of the woods coyotes are more of an issue. They will definitely snatch a small pup or dog and make a meal out of it.