Dogs and mountain lions.

Figured this would be the best place to ask. I did some googling and didnt find much so wanted to see if you guys had any info. In general, would a dog be a deterrent, early warning, or attract a mountain lion when out fishing or hiking a trail?

 

Matters what dog.

I have one dog that just bays that is great for keeping watch at night camping.. My other dog on the other hand I have to keep tied up when camping cause she will try to take down anything that comes near us.

 

X2 , I was going to say could be all of the above based on the dog

 

In Colorado they use dogs to hunt mountain lions. The dogs tree 'em and then they're shot.

But as mentioned above. Depends on the dog. A small dog would be food. A large dog would likely get 'em to move on. They are sneaky and can hide very well. They like to watch. You've likely been around more than you know.

 

My dog thinks he is a guard dog.......

 

He is pretty keen to wildlife, so I will tie him at night so he cant chase anything into the dark. Hes a strong 85 lb lab mix (see avi).

 

If he is alone I would think again about doing it.. Only reason I will tie mine is cause I know my other dog will let me know if anything is close before I ever could.. My Shepard does not bark at anything just always goes after them ( only Bob cats, hogs and coons here ) but I would not want her tied up alone.

 

Well Id be in a tent and he would be tied in the bed of my truck right next to the tent. He will definitely bark.

What about during the day? If im out hiking and hes with me, would that deter a cougar or is it too hard to say?

 

I know nothing about your dog and even less about cougars so I can't really say...

I will say that I know 100% both of my dogs would keep one away from me.. Even if it got them killed.

 

Yeah I think thats what mine would do too, just wanted to check if there was anything else I should know.

 

I bet one of these may help

 

Most dogs would be food for a Mountain Lion.

 

Cougar attack incidence is actually statistically pretty minimal at any rate , especially on adults

 

40 attacks resulting in injury to a human in North American from 2000-2010

http://www.cougarinfo.org/attacks3.htm

 

My buddy has told me some creepy stories on mt lions. He hunts a ton in the PNW. He said When hunting for them, his hunting crew stagger at a long distance from each other, as apparently sometimes the mt lions will stalk the hunters from behind and follow them. Not sure if anyone else has heard of this??

 

Vancouver Island , BC has the highest concentration of cougar in the world and they swim to the smaller islands as well

http://youtu.be/-ycxSFVh5nQ

 

Thats bad ass- They are clearly very smart

 

Sick video Oz. For just a second there it looked like that Mountain lion was going to have a snack

 

Most dogs are a good early warning signal that predators and other wildlife are nearby. Many dogs will chase and tree cougars which means you have time to make a safe escape. However, cougars have killed many dogs, even big ones. A large, barking dog is best as cougars do not like loud, prolonged noise.

Cougars can run up to 46 miles per hour for short distances, swim for four miles or more at a time and leap 16 feet up from a standstill. And yes, Vancouver Island has the highest density of cougars and the highest rate of attacks on humans.

 

OK, this is your first post on a Tacoma forum? Any other Wikipedia entries you'd like to copy and paste here?