Dog vs. fox

[Anonymous]

I let my 8 month old dog out in the back yard this morning and she saw a fox on the other side of the fence, in the neighbor's yard. The were about 20 feet apart and just stared at each other. The dog and the fox are about the same size.

After about 30 seconds, the dog came back to the door, scared with her hair up. The fox just went away. I tried to coax the dog back out, but she wouldn't go.

Since we get foxes in, or near, our yard pretty often, my question is: will the fox attack the dog, if they're about the same size? I don't want our dog out there knowing a fox might attack her. I'm thinking they'd pretty much leave each other alone. Thanks.

[Anonymous]

No. At that size, your dog can be attacked by coyotes or other dogs, but not foxes - unless they're rabid.

My sled dog encountered a gigantic fox on a walk one day. They fox was nearly as tall my dog. They stared at each other for a long time, and then my dog tried to follow him into the bushes, to catch him or play with him, I'm not sure. It's interesting to see our domesticated animals interact with wildlife.

[Anonymous]

We have foxes through our yard and the woods behind our yard several times a day. We have a dog that is bigger than yours who would like to hunt/chase the foxes, and goes nuts barking at them. I do not worry about our dog being attacked by a healthy fox, but we also don't let her out when we can see one out there because we don't want to risk her interacting with an unhealthy fox or catching one and then we'd have to have animal control find the fox and/or have our dog treated. We've had to call animal control a few times over the years to deal with a clearly rabid fox. Anyway, your dog being afraid of the fox is probably a good thing, a healthy fox will stay away from your dog, but keep an eye out because unhealthy foxes/wildlife can act in unusual ways.

[Anonymous]

Fox wouldn’t attack a dog. They may fight back if your dog “starts it” first. They’re actually generally pretty shy.

Make sure your dog is 100% up to date with all shots, especially rabies.

[Anonymous]

I saw a fox get chased off by a charging cat once. The fox was larger than the cat, but it was startled and put off by the intrusiveness of the cat. I watched for a while, and the fox kept looking around for the cat, and slowly walking along its intended path.

[Anonymous]

Coyotes will kill small dogs and cats, and eagles will kill very small dogs and cats. But foxes do not attack dogs or cats no matter the size. They've been known to play together, which is fine unless the fox is rabid.

[Anonymous]

The foxes that visit my yard are very timid and will bolt if they catch sight of us or the dog.

[Anonymous]

No. They may be curious about your dog, though. But they're harmless, and super fun. Our local fox family does love stealing dog toys from the yard (especially Kongs). Adorable!

[Anonymous]

My little 10 lb dog loves to chase foxes.

We have a lot in our neighborhood, he'll bark and howl whenever he hears one outside, he's got a strong prey drive for such a little dog.