Dog Community

Raccoon obsession?

Posted : 4/8/2007 8:41:43 PM

My catle dog mix, Ixa, is obsessed with the raccons who have been nested in a huge cypress tree in my backyard for a few years. Ixa spent part of last night and most of this morning glued to the tree, circling it and watching excitedly. Before I blocked their acces, Ixa would wake me up many nights with growling and barking excitement when spotting the racoons move across the front yard. She's got a dog door to the back, so she can patrol more directly there, without barking.

Before the racoons, the obsession was a squirrel, Ixa would sit in the yard and stare at it or pace underneath where it sat on the power lines.

At first I figured it was great that whe found herself a job to do in the yard: critter patrol. I wasn't really worried about it till recently, especially this morning, when she didn't even seem interested in breakfast, in favor of keeping up her vigil out back with the racoons. When I'm home, she usually hangs out in the house with me, so her critter vigils are not constant. I don't know what she does when I'm not home. It seems to be more when the racoons/squirrels are active.

How much critter patrol signals an unhealthy obsession? Is it a matter of time spent? Certain behaviors?

Should I block the dog door at night, and remove her access to looking out back to get it off her mind?
Will the racoons eventually get tired of her harrassment and move on? (that would be great to help my flea control)

What should I do, if anything?

Mark

Posted : 4/8/2007 11:56:04 PM

i would definitely block the door at night..

Racoons are nocturnal,and very protective over thier young..they can be very defence agressive when cornered.I wouldn't want my dog to corner one.

If it were possible to have someone come and remove the racoon from your yard,that might be one way to deal with that problem.Racoons ussualy wont stay where there is no food,so make sure your garbage cans and such are secured..

As for the squirrels,you problably can't do much about getting rid of them unless your willing to shoot them with a pellet gun or something more lethal.Or train the dog to somehow ignore them..

I would think that if her patrols are interfering with commands to come,sit ,stay or do whatever you want her to do,than its probably too much of a fixation,and a problem.

SHe is a cattle dog,and i am assuming they are herders?Maybe she just wants to herd the racoons..lol..Something i bet the old coons probably wouldnt put up with..

P.S...Shes a cutie btw...Great looking little girl

probe1957

Posted : 4/9/2007 8:58:53 AM

A raccoon can put a dog in a bad way very quickly. One of their favorite tricks is to lure a dog into water, then get on his head and drown him. I would shoot or trap the coons.

houndlove

Posted : 4/9/2007 10:04:58 AM

Racoons can also carry diseases which they can transmit to dogs through close contact or being eaten. The reason why the affliction known as "coonhound paralysis" is called that is not becuase only coonhounds get it but because it is transmitted to dogs from racoons and naturally the coonhound breeds tend to have more contact with coons than other dogs. But any dog can get it.

I don't like to encourage prey-seeking behavior 24/7 around here. Marlowe's prey drive could cause a lot of problems if I did not actively help him learn self-control and when it's time to just put a lid on it. Approrpriate hunting times are arranged and supervised (in the dog park, or on a long lead at the regular park) and all other times are non-hunting-approved.

Mark

Posted : 4/9/2007 10:10:20 AM

Houndlove,

You bring up another good point.

The immediate area around the animals home is probably not the best place to let you dog engage in hunting type activities.No matter what breed.To me it seems like the place the dog should be able to relax.

Ixas_girl

Posted : 4/9/2007 12:35:19 PM

Great information, folks, *thanks* !!

Thanks for underscoring how dangerous the racoons can be, I didn't realize that. And yes, a safe and relaxed home environment - that sounds smart.

Do you know of a way I could shoo off the raccoons myself? Could I put some kind of blockade on the tree trunks, or smoke them out a bit, or trap them, then release them in the woods? They live and hang out in two massive cypress trees in my yard that look like the pic below. The trunks are each probably 3-4' in diameter. There's 3 in their family, one is slightly smaller than the other 2. They've been here for a few years. I'll call animal control, to see of they will help. But I can't afford to pay much for professional services - that's why I'm asking about DIY.

There's no way to cut off food supply, there are a ton of fruit trees around here, and they don't get into the trash.

Similarly, do you know of a way to shoo off the squirrel? I only have a .38 ... I don't think the neighbors would approve (jk) [8D]

jjsmom06

Posted : 4/9/2007 1:02:07 PM

I'll call animal control, to see of they will help.

They *SHOULD* be able to help you with this problem. Racoons are VERY smart and can be tough to get rid of... short of Billy's "shooting" suggestion I am not sure what else can be sure to work. I have known many folks who didn't have any successful attempts at "trapping" them either... they are damn smart creatures.

I'd call animal control for suggestions and they can probably even give you some traps to try. The other thing would be some sort of wild animal "rescue". We have ones in Southern California for possums and such...

janet_rose

Posted : 4/9/2007 2:17:42 PM

The other thing would be some sort of wild animal "rescue".

Wildlife rehabilitators may have contacts that would trap the raccoons for you.

U.S. Wildlife Rehabilitator Contacts by State
[linkhttp://www.tc.umn.edu/~devo0028/contactA.htm]http://www.tc.umn.edu/~devo0028/contactA.htm[/link]
[linkhttp://www.tc.umn.edu/~devo0028/contactN.htm]http://www.tc.umn.edu/~devo0028/contactN.htm[/link]

Ixas_girl

Posted : 4/10/2007 4:47:27 PM

janet - thanks so much. I found somone local on that list, and have a call into her.

Also have a call into animal control. It's unclear if they can help. From their message it sounds like, exterminators have a license to remove wildlife, but not to relocate, so that's certain death [

] It also sounds like no one has a license to move them, but I can work with some one to shoo them. I dunno if that's right. I'll get more info.