
Now is a Great Time to Keep Your Dog on a Leash in Connecticut
Be careful before you take your small dog or cat out for a walk from now until March in Connecticut, while most of our wildlife is sheltering from the cold. things are just starting to heat up in the coyote world.
The middle of January is not the right time of year in Connecticut to let your small pet roam off-leash, when the temperatures drop below freezing the libido of coyotes heats up. According to a social media post from Connecticut Fish & Wildlife, the breeding season for eastern coyotes is underway from now in mid-January until March. Over the next few weeks coyotes will be mating, preparing their den, and brewing up an average of 5 to 7 pups for their April world debut.
While all of this is happening, and honestly even when the coyotes aren't mating, your small dog, pet, or sugar glider may be at risk. Coyotes are 45-55 pounds on average, and they are experts at hunting rabbits, turkeys, deer, squirrels, your pets, garbage cans, and smaller livestock.
An important tip that the Connecticut DEEP points out is that you should never feed coyotes. Coyotes are opportunistic predators and remember food sources, don't make your porch a stop on their travels. If you're still leaving out food for birds and small, unfrozen mammals, clean up the area underneath the feeder, you have put a coyote target on the animals you are trying to feed.
CT Fish and Wildlife suggests that if you do cross paths with a coyote to not run or turn your back, and calmly leave the area while controlling your pet.
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