Coyotes are actually pretty small, if it was wolves it would be a different story and if it was wolverines he’d be dead and if it was X-Men wolverine he would be Rogue’d:
Those coyotes didn’t expect to meet the Good Boi of DeKalb, Woofer of Woe, the Hound Who Watches the Herd. Legends says no coyote can kill him and he can lift three sheep in his mouth
That dog is at least part Great Pyrenees, and those dogs were bred to protect livestock from wolves and bears. We had them growing up, my parents still keep a couple. It’s not unusual to wake up to 4-5 dead coyotes in your yard.
Is coyote meat any good?
Probably not. Most nonaquatic predators are awful tasting and very unhealthy to eat due to the buildup of heavy metals and other nasty stuff from further down the food chain.
Ah, figures. Otherwise it could be a source of free meat.
The comment is not entirely correct, it’s more if it’s a scavenging predator or live hunter. Something picky for food they have hunted themselves like a mountain lion can be amazing meat, or a bear feasted on berries or live fish. But if they’ve been scavenging like a bear with dead fish and garbage or a coyote, it can be horrible meat. Depends on species too as well as diet.
Sorry mate, but any first year biology student learns that the higher up the food chain the more concentrated the heavy metals are. Take Tuna. As free range as you can get but it is advised to minimize consumption, particularly when pregnant, due to the high mercury content.
While lifestyle does affect palatability of the meat (Bear near the dump always tastes ‘off’) it is more a question of ‘what’ is being bioaccumulated, not ‘if’. In your example scavengers are bioaccumulating pesticides and preservatives, whereas the successful predator accumulates all the heavy metals its prey, and their prey, and their prey (repeat until the bottom of the tree) consumed.
You can’t get around it. All high level predators have shitty meat, whether it tastes bad or not.
Isn’t it all in the way you cook it?
Herd dogs were bred to protect the herd. While many may show a more gentle demeanor most days, when the time comes, they are absolute machines.
Funnily enough, I live close to DeKalb. Great Pyrenees are one of the more common herd dogs around here, and are a great example of gentle giants that will crush throats. They adopt just about anything smaller than they are, treat anything they see as their territory, and are known for tracking coyotes for miles just to exterminate them all for fucking with their stock.
It doesn’t end with their herd, either. They can be highly responsive to their owners. You start showing any signs of tension, they will put themselves between you and whatever is bothering you.
"Are you really going to die, to save a sheep?
“Someone is”
That’s another terrifying thing about when they’re on the hunt. They have been found in near-death states, still fighting.
So sometimes that “someone” is everyone involved.
It doesn’t end with their herd, either. They can be highly responsive to their owners. You start showing any signs of tension, they will put themselves between you and whatever is bothering you.
Well I can’t get one because the fucker would try to wedge itself between my brain and the bottom of my skull
That’s a trick many/most breeds of dog can pull off. It’s amazing how well a wet nose, and a slobbery smile shoved in your face can break a bad cycle.
There’s a reason they are used as emotional support animals so often. They can guard us from ourselves almost as well as this dog did the sheep from coyotes.
Unless you just gave birth apparently. I guess its common for new mothers to get extremely agitated by their beloved dogs for any noise or sound they make
It’s often one way or the other. “Get away from me!”, or “more babies!” Pregnancy hormones do a complete number on the mother. That’s before having a parasite attached to you near 24/7, demanding your attention, day or night!
Interestingly, her pheromones can do a similar job on any males around her (both human and dog). That was an interesting surprise.
They can be highly responsive to their owners. You start showing any signs of tension, they will put themselves between you and whatever is bothering you.
When we watch my sisters dog, my wife has to use a vibrating collar for the dog. He reacts to everything as a potential threat to her, and that ramps up with my kids being there.
If its just me walking him, he tends to just be a roaming doofus. If I add in our (little and much older) dog, he’s fine until the moment our dog reacts.
Its actually extremely wild to me just how responsive they are to those around them.
Edit: Forgot to mention, he’s a mutt - consisting of like 7 different herding breeds common to the southern US. He’s also well over a hundred lbs, and the goodest boy (of the lovable idiot variety).
He also has zero response to my kids, they can lay next to him, on him, whatever, his only interest is looking out for them. And treats.
They’re also not deferential or clingy like a lot of dogs (and honestly, why a lot of people want a dog).
Pyrs/Maremmas have a job to do and they don’t want to sit around being scratched while staring into your eyes.
