Living with Raptors: The Tiny Dog’s Survival Guide

Who isn’t struck by the beauty of a majestic hawk soaring effortlessly overhead on a thermal updraft? Owners of small dogs, that’s who.

Let’s face it: Hawks, owls, and other raptors don’t know the difference between a pet dog and, say, a rabbit. To them, if the opportunity presents itself, they’re all on the menu. And although attacks on pets are rare, there are some things you should know.

Any pet under 15 pounds may be at risk from the largest birds of prey, whose natural food generally includes rodents, birds, rabbits, snakes, fish and insects.  All the same, there are countless urban myths about hawks and owls that can be easily dispelled. Neither hawks nor owls can carry off more than their own body weight. For example, Great Horned Owls only weigh up to four pounds; they couldn’t lift more than a four-pound animal off the ground. The largest airborne predator in the Washington metro area is the Bald Eagle, which can weigh up to 15 pounds. Eagles have been known to bring cats back to their nestlings, much to the dismay of webcam viewers, which once included a classroom full of third-graders in Pittsburgh!

But while raptors are opportunistic, they choose their battles wisely; they don’t pick animals who might fight back, like dogs and cats.  That means they only choose these animals out of hunger and desperation. Statistically, as many as 80 percent of some species of raptors don’t make it to a year old. In the first few months of life they must learn how to fly and hunt — quite the feat when your meal is mobile and trying to escape. If a young hawk doesn’t learn to hunt successfully enough to sustain itself during the summer, when food is plentiful, the animal is not going to make it through winter, when fewer prey animals are available and surviving young prey species have learned how to avoid predators. Ornithologists believe that most attacks on pets are from immature raptors, due to their inexperience.

Raptors these days are often hungry. They too took a hit due to the pandemic:  Mice and rats became more scarce as restaurants and bars shuttered their doors, leaving hawks without a usually plentiful and predictable, food source.

Another possible reason for a hawk or owl attack is if you (or your pet) get too close to a nest. Raptors are fiercely protective of their nests, and have been known to attack pets — and even humans on rare occasions — if they feel they are being encroached upon.

Bear in mind that all raptors are protected under the Migratory Bird Treaty Act; it is illegal to injure, capture, or kill them, or to disturb their nests or offspring. Protecting pets is not considered a justifiable excuse for harming a raptor, and you may be subject to fines or jail time or both.

What can I do to keep my pets safe?

For cats, we recommend keeping them indoors at all times to minimize risk from a host of outdoor dangers.

For dogs, we recommend that they be leashed and that you stay with your dog(s) at all times if they are outside. And the general rule of thumb when dealing with any predator, is to make one’s self as “large” as possible. Carrying an umbrella or stick to wave about, yelling, and making noise are all deterrents.

At home, our best advice is to remove food sources that attract prey animals to your yard:

1. Take down bird feeders (at least temporarily) and never leave birdseed on the ground.
2. Implement a pest-control program: keep garbage and compost bins tightly sealed to remove food sources for rodents and other small animals and remove woodpiles and debris which may provide rodent shelter.

Aside from this, there are any number of products on the market which may or may not be helpful. “Scare tape”, a reflective metal tape, creates reflections and noise which scares away birds. Fake owls have been reported to discourage rodents and birds alike. And Kevlar or spiked dog vests are marketed to small dog owners. We can’t speak to whether any of these truly work, however; they may simply provide a false sense of security to pet owners.

As is often the case, seeking to understand your neighbors is usually the best way to prevent a conflict. Our yards and cities are home to countless creatures, large and small. If we take the time to learn about them, and their basic needs, we can learn how to peacefully coexist.