Hi to all,

If anyone else has had eagles around, what do you do when your dogs want to go outside to play?

I can take Barney outside on-leash to potty, but he really loves to play and run around in our large yard by the lake...but after today, I am worried about migrating eagles picking him up and trying to take him away.

I read online that eagles can't pick up anything heavier than 4 lbs., but I'm not taking any chances unless I hear from all of you Hav owners/lovers that the eagle this morning wasn't looking at Barney!

Marge

Oh gosh - EAgles? That must be beautiful to see though. I only have Hawks and since mine are all now 15 plus pounds I am safe, but I still take them in when I hear a hawk. I dont know anything about Eagles, but I am sure you will find someone here who has had the experience.

We have these big turkey vultures that fly around our house. I do not let Jillee outside without me.... I do not want to take a chance. My other two dogs are fine out there....yellow lab and a cocker spaniel. Jillee weighs eight pounds but it still scares me.....we just go outside with her....although I think she would be fine now but when she first came home never was she alone outside!!!

Barney weighs between 10 and 11 lbs...and his rescue/Hav breeder told me this afternoon that if an eagle is hungry enough, they will try to catch something larger than their normal prey.

The hawks and turkey vultures are also very dangerous to our wee dogs outside...they can actually pick up an animal that is 4 or more lbs in weight (at least that was on a website that I was trying to get information on earlier today.

These eagles are migrating through MN right now and heading to IL, WI or even southern MN...and I, for one, can't wait till they get out of our air space!

Yes, they are awesome birds...but when I see them grab a duck and hold it under water till the duck is dead and then take off with it...it breaks my heart. Survival of the fittest and natural instincts and all the stuff I believe in ... it is still difficult to watch!

Marge

No Eagles here, I almost wish they were, but we do have large hawks. When Smarty was little I never let her be alone, I am not as worried now. We saw the hawks get a kitten once and they tried to get one of the large cats on the deck. With all of the developement in our area we have other animals moving through the woods, so we keep really close tabs on her.

My understanding of the turkey vultures is that they only go after dead prey, so although they look REALLY big, and ugly, I dont think they will go after moving pups. But best be safe than sorry.

We have osprey and hawks, but I hadn't really thought about them until DH mentioned it yesterday. My Squirt is only 4 1/2 pounds. I'm going to keep her on a leash and pick her up if the birds are around.

When our two sons were younger, we took them to see a raptor show and the caretakers explained that bald eagles can carry almost half their weight. So, 4 lbs is more likely the top limit than an eagle could carry since they weigh between 10-14 lbs themselves.

However, if an eagle or hawk kills something too large to carry, they will eat it there at the kill site.

Wanda

We have a nesting pair of bald eagles on our farm about a half mile from the house but they catch fish out of the lake. What kind of eagle is it? Our house is on the top of a hill and we see red tailed hawks riding thermals WAY high in the air circling straight up when the conditions are right. I saw an osprey catch what looked to be a 4 lb. bass in a 30 knot wind in between whitecaps off the end of our point once.

So far I've never seen any of these big birds near our house. We did see a sharp shinned hawk hit a nest of bluejays once and our son, 12 then, raised the baby that got knocked out of the nest.

Maybe somewhat worried about the dogs but not enough to make them stay in the house.

I have a story for you. I dont know how true it is.
My parents moved up into Lewiston and old historical district in the mountains above Redding California. They see bald eagles all the time. I even saw them drown a duck and fly off with it myself. Well the story I heard was one of their friends was gardening outside and a saw a deer looking up into the sky. She thought this was very strange and wondered what she was looking at...Well as she looked up herself she saw a a bald eagle flying away with a new born fawn. Geesh! Could you imagine!
About Turkey Vultures. We had some nesting in our Redwood trees in our back yard. They (there were 7) came down so low checking out the puppies and dogs that they were litterally only 10 feet from the top of our house. We got the brooms and made as much noise as we could to deter them. They did fly away temperarily but came back quit often for a week until we used something a little stronger to deter them. It worked and they dont nest in our trees or fly over our deck anymore. I was told that they normally eat dead but if it's easy prey or they are desperate they will go after live prey. After the experience we had I truely belive they wanted a puppy and would have if we hadnt been home.
Oh and Hawks...watch out for them for sure. They will take your puppy. A neighbor had her chihuahua puppy taken. Even if the puppy is too heavy for lift off could you imagine the damage those tallons and the drop would do to the pup?!
A friend of mine that I sold a puppy to in San Fran called me late one night to tell me she went outside to let the puppy go potty and a great horned owl was sitting on her fence. Could you imagine in San Fran right outside your patio door. Of course she swooped up the pup and took pictures. Very neat but scarry.
Sorry for rambling...