A wolf bite.

[JayinMN]

Today before work I decided to take a quick trip around the property grouse hunting. As soon as we got out of the yard and started heading down a the trail, Molly rounded a corner and started barking and screaming. I thought she met the porcupine that is planning to den down there. Instead I round the corner and not 75 feet away from me she is trying to fend it off a timber wolf that is a good 6 inches taller then her. I shot my gun in the air to scare it and instead of being scared a second wolf jumps out of the pines and grabs her back. The other wolf stops and looks at me for one second and goes back to the attack. I fire again the they second wolf lets go. Its like a scene from discovery channel when two hyenas are trying to fight a lion. She is spinning in circles snapping at both of them trying to hold them off and I shoot my last 2 rounds into the air as I am running towards them screaming my head off for them to leave. They pause and walk into the woods but that is it. Of course Molly has no clue how close to dieing she came. I didn't think she had any marks on her till I checked her over in the house and found two puncture wounds. I usually do not carry a gun but I am glad I had one today. She has one bite mark on her back and acted like nothing happened at all. This is the second time in the last few months I have had wolves approaching me and my dogs on my property. This time I called the dnr. That is my adrenaline rush for the day.

Here is the bite. There is one deep puncture from a canine, the other is not too bad.

.

[Jack Peterson]

Have you ever seen 'Old Yeller?' Hope this doesn't turn out the same way. Good luck with the healing process.

If you or your dog are in danger of a wolf attack, can you shoot them? Heck, I think I would.

[tacklejunkie]

Will she be ok or will she need some stitches?

I've been hearing from more and more people stories about how bold wolves are getting in Northern Minnesota

[PurpleFloyd]

Sorry to hear that. If it happened to my dog the lead would be sent in the direction of the Wolves and I would not care what the consequences were.Glad you dog looks like it will be just fine but what will happen next time now that the wolves are getting braver?

[JayinMN]

I was worried firing a shot gun at them I could hit my dog as well.

They usually do not stitch bite wounds because they heal better if they can drain. I have to bring her in for a booster shoot and antibiotics.

[pushbutton]

wow! thanks for sharing that great but rather troubling story. i have a feeling we are going to start hearing more accounts like this, although some are not going to end as well as yours did. down in the "lower 48", we can't let our kids roam about because of the wackos, up there you may not be able to because of the wolves....hhmnn.....

[Matt Breuer]

Bad deal, Jay, but a good outcome. Glad she's okay! My dog had an identical bite from a freakish dog who thinks he can run off every dog in one field we hunt. Healed up nicely, but with draining and area of bite it took awhile. Hope she heals fast!

This is the 4th attack on dogs I've read about or heard about this fall.

I too would've been aiming differently... a little wide of the dog and a little dead center on the T's...

['ol paddler]

Glad to hear your dog is going to be OK, Jason! I stopped bringing my dog up north when I go shed hunting or check my trail cams. I miss bringing her but it's starting to get a bit crazy up here. Wolves are cool creatures in my opinion, but they are going to have to be controlled before somebody gets nipped by one or worse. Then, they are all going to suffer the consequences. The last three years, I've started carrying a pistol when going up there; a little protection from some of the four legged and a few of the two legged kinds!

A couple of years ago, I was shed hunting with my wife and cocker spaniel. My wife was taking a break on a rock holding the cocker. The cocker started sniffing and whining. Not 25 yards away was a good size timber wolf sizing up the dog and I wasn't more than 50 yards away. One time, we had skied into a lake off the Norway Trail called Gowan Lake, with our older cocker. After skiing around the lake we headed back. Right at the landing, there was a set of "huge" wolf tracks inside of our ski tracks! He had been following and watched us going around the lake. I followed the tracks for awhile and could see how he had backtracked in our ski tracks for a ways and then went up on a ridge. He was probably watching us up there. On the way back, the dog was put in my pack!!

I'll leave you with a pic I got a few years ago. It shows a wolf claiming his/her territory. In fact, if you look close, the shutter snapped as he was peeing. When I later checked the camera, the date and time showed me it wasn't long after the dog and I left that he came in and claimed his territory. Just wanted to let my dog know who was in control here! The cocker would have been only a small appetizer!

Glad your dog will be all right. It could have been a heck of a lot worse.

Gerry

http://www.pbase.com/paddler

http://www.flickr.com/photos/paddler60/

[finnbay]

Glad to hear your dog is okay, Jason! I am not anti-wolf and admire the "wildness" of the SNF and BWCA that the presence of the wolf signifies, but there are times when defense of your pet, property etc. is called for. You handled this well - I'm not so sure I would have done that well. I too have started to carry a sidearm when out in the woods. Won't use it unless as a last resort. Hope your pup's recovery is fast!

[grousehunter]

Glad everthing worked out OK. Hope I never have to deal with an actual attack..have had a couple close calls.

[shortfatguy]

I also would have shot them. If the CO wouldnt do anything to get ride of them I would sit out back with the 300wsm and get rid of them. I have kids and a wolf that bold is a threat to their safety.

[Todd Caswell]

When the fear of humans is gone stuff like this is going to happen, thank the tree huggers. I love the sound of a pack singing and have only seen wolves in the wild three times and it was pretty cool but there needs to be some control braught back into the system. I personally know of three instences( from close friends) in the past two years where wolves have confronted pets 2x labs and one time a golden retriever. These cases were not close to one another 60 plus miles in either direction from Duluth, all involved going and getting the mail with the dogs. In all of the cases it was like a ambush, one wolf in the middle of the driveway yipping, dog runs towards the lone wolf while two or three others come out from the brush, luckyly these were trained dogs and they came back, I also know that there are 4 less wolves.

[JayinMN]

Just got home from work and I can tell she is a bit sorer now and bruised.

This was not my first wolf encounter at home. A few weeks ago I came home from work. Let the dogs out of the house and was walking back to my chicken coop to lock the chickens in for the night. As I was shutting the door, my other dog started barking. He rarely barks, and this is a bark I have never heard out of him. I knew something was up so I come running around my pole building and he is under the yard light having a stand off with a wolf. Armed with a flashlight I charged it and it takes off for the woods. Since then I have been making sure the dogs follow me into a fenced in area I have my around my garden, apple trees and chicken coop at night. That way they are not loose in the yard while I lock things up and its been working out well until today.

I am expecting to here from the federal wolf people and will see what they say. I'll update the post if I hear anything.

One of the bitten dog.

[MuleShack]

Sorry to hear about the dog and glad it didn't turn out any worse.

That has got to suck to have to worry about predators coming in your yard and attacking your pets. I understand you live by/in a woods, an i'm guessing the problem isn't going to go away on its own being that is their territory too. Just wondering what your options are?

It's pretty bad when you have to be armed to go outside....

[Jim Almquist]

Good to see that Molly is all right. Hope the Feds do something about your problem because those wolves sound just a little to brave for there own good.

[Steve Foss]

Jason, sorry to hear about this. Sucks for sure! Glad the dogs are OK. I'm very interested to hear what the feds say, too.

[MN Shutterbug]

Wow. That's not quite what I expected when I saw the title of the thread. I'm glad all is well now. That would be quite unnerving, to say the least.

[Hwood]

Very interesting. I have played that scene out in my head more than once walking my dog.

[Canon Guy]

Oh my Jay! I hope Molly continues to feel better. Thanks for sharing this story.

[JayinMN]

Quote:

Jason, sorry to hear about this. Sucks for sure! Glad the dogs are OK. I'm very interested to hear what the feds say, too.

What it basically comes down to is that unless something is killed they do not do anything. Also I have been told you legally cannot shoot a wolf if its attacking your dog or livestock. I was under the impression you could. Hopefully in the next few months here they will be removed from the endangered species list again and their control can be given back to the state.

[bopper4]

Who do we contact up here to get them removed from the list? I live next to a good sized farm and the day they come near my dogs they will be eating lead!! After talking to some farmers and hearing what they get back for lost cattle, its a joke They need to go!

[tacklejunkie]

What it basically comes down to is that unless something is killed they do not do anything. Also I have been told you legally cannot shoot a wolf if its attacking your dog or livestock. I was under the impression you could. Hopefully in the next few months here they will be removed from the endangered species list again and their control can be given back to the state.

So what they're saying you cannot protect a pet or livestock. It's the Feds

[JayinMN]

Actually its not the feds or the state holding up the de-listing. Both want gray wolves removed from the endangered species list to allow the state to handle wolf issues. The federal government has tried six times in the previous five years to drop wolves from the endangered species list, but lawsuits from activist groups have prevented that. As it sits today, the delisting is tied up in court. The officer I talked to suggested that hopefully in early 2011 they will be removed. Even when they are removed there is not likely going to be a wolf season as people are anticipating, but it will make it easier for the state to help people with wolf issues. We will have to wait and see.

I never posted a post vet visit shot. The puncture wound was a lot deeper then I though. You could stick a q-tip half way in it.

[Jim Almquist]

That is one heck of a puncture!

Not good at all.

Hope the pup is no worse for wear.

[goblueM]

[quote=JayinMN

What it basically comes down to is that unless something is killed they do not do anything. Also I have been told you legally cannot shoot a wolf if its attacking your dog or livestock. I was under the impression you could. Hopefully in the next few months here they will be removed from the endangered species list again and their control can be given back to the state.